The national government is showing it was ill-prepared to address the current oil crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The price of gasoline and diesel fuel has increased by almost 50 percent since the war in Iran broke out on the 28th of February.
Six weeks into the war, the national government has not found a solution to the ever-increasing shortage and higher prices of these fuels.
The accompanying inflation is nothing short of harrowing and clearly hurting the lower-income brackets. And for a region like Eastern Visayas, the crisis will undoubtedly cause an increase in the number of families living below the poverty line.
Why is there a case of poor planning? There are many given factors, which are obviously part of an existing problem that has been there for a long time. And it is a fact that we depend on oil imports from the Middle East. We did not have any options. If there are, the national government is only looking for these now that the crisis is so serious; we cannot do anything but wait for the conflict to subside. This means we do not know what the future will be like. There are a lot of “ifs”.
Reminds me of something related that happened in the country about fifty years ago. Gasoline and diesel fuel were rationed if at all available.
At this time, the government is starting to float the idea of rationing. So it is bound to happen if the war is not settled in a few weeks.
The case of poor planning begins with planners’ inability to identify and thoroughly understand the problem. It is said that understanding the problem is half of its solution.
The Department of Energy (DOE) should have led the preparation of this energy planning exercise. This does not seem difficult to understand. It is like not having a firm plan to address the threat of shortages in the electric power sector. Shortages in power have long been identified, but it does not seem to bother whoever is in Malacanang.
The national government is always in denial. Now that the dry season is here, this problem of power shortages will again emerge, awaiting disasters to occur, like frequent and long brownouts.
This brings up the point of sustaining planning efforts, not just thinking and doing it when the problem is already in our midst. Too late.
The quick, knee-jerk solutions so far have not even seemed to make a dent.
The four-day work week symbolizes the government's attempt to alleviate the problem of high gas prices, but does it?
It seems a novelty. But all it does is shift the spending and energy use to other ways of consuming electricity and gas. The number of hours at the office, which is, by law, 40 hours a week, remains the same. Electric consumption will remain the same. The employees who save a day of transport fares are happy with the setup. But is the public satisfied with the inability to transact with government offices for 20 percent or a fifth of the week?
But the government must respond. So the shortened work week serves a purpose.
The national government must accept that it did not plan well enough to anticipate and act quickly on this crisis. There should be none of this inefficiency next time around.
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