Transport sector calls for change as oil prices skyrocket

■ Brandon Jon Yulolo

As of June 2022, oil prices are still continuing to skyrocket steadily at an alarming rate – with the value of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene nearly being doubled when compared to prices from previous years, wherein most people are now relating the current price increase to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Former senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson openly urged the Philippine government to prepare for an economic fallout earlier in February as a result of the war. He claimed that an invasion of Ukraine by Russia may affect the international stock markets, thus, increasing the prices of basic commodities and fuel.

In response, the Concerned Drivers and Operators - Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Condor-Piston) held several discussions as to what causes these increasing spikes.

According to Condor-Piston Bicol spokesperson Joel Pillogo, the ongoing war did contribute to an increase in oil prices, but it does not entirely represent the majority of the price increase in the

Philippines.

Filipino economists also poimted out that the Philippines is a country that heavily depends on importing resources related to oil and gas, with its prices being swayed greatly by the international market.

“Noong nakaraang taon, Malaki rin ang itinaas ng produktong petrolyo. Wala pa yung giyera sa pagitan ng Ukraine at tsaka Russia. Ang isa pa, napakaliit na porsyento lang ang inaangkat natin na langis sa mga European country. Halos ang malaking porsyento talaga na pinagkukunan natin na langis ay galing sa China at iba pang mga bansa tulad ng Singapore at South Korea,” Pillogo said.

A data report from the Department of Energy stated that as of 2020, China is the top contributor of oil in the Philippines, with 31% being sold at gas stations. On the other hand, Russia only contributes 0.4% of their oil to the Philippine market. Former Trade and Industry secretary Ramon Lopez predicted correctly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that the impacts of the tensions between the two countries will greatly cause disruptions to global oil supply and price, but these effects will then be also minimal when it comes to Philippine trade.

Condor-Piston attributes the increasing oil prices on government policies that they have long sought to be abolished.

“Ang isa na nagpapabigat din yung patong-patong na excise tax sa produktong petrolyo, kung makikita natin halos 15 pesos ang matitipid natin kada litro kung natanggal ito,” Pillogo added.

The call to repeal the oil deregulation law and excise tax is due to the government having their lack of involvement and responsibility in the adjustment of oil prices directly to the fact that these companies who produce oil products are private in nature.

These policies were signed by former President Fidel Ramos in 1998, and were proposed with the intention of allowing private companies to sell oil products for a cheaper price now that there was no more government control on it. What happened instead was that these oil companies saw it as a way to increase the prices of their imported products without any interference.

Due to oil being imported from other countries, the excise tax rather affects the daily expenses of drivers and commuters.

Earlier in March, Malacañang asked the Congress to review the law after successive increases in global oil prices. However, the House and the Senate have not yet convened about the issue due to the events brought forth by the elections. Consequently, other lawmakers such as Sen. Risa Hontiveros also pushed for the removal of excise tax before the 2022 elections in order to mitigate the domino effect on the economy.

On the other hand, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) offered a solution to assist the transportation sector in the form of “Libreng Sakay” a program wherein the drivers involved would allow people to ride for free, getting their funds from the LTFRB based on their rate of travel. However, Condor-Piston sees this simply as a “band-aid solution”, as drivers who are not included in the program would have even lesser earnings in a day, due to people preferring to commute for free.

During this current situation of increasing oil prices, transport groups such as Condor-Piston will continue in amplifying their calls towards the national and local government to take action in order to efficiently handle this economic crisis.

Written by Jonas Ezra Macaraig and Updated by Hazel Ann Aligando

“Breaction directed to those who have protested against the signing of the Anti-Terror Bill into law on 3 July 2020. And they have a point, right? Why would these people protest against a bill seemingly protecting us from national threats if they weren’t aiding Terrorists or are terrorists themselves?

Well, yes, but actually, no.

Although it is true that, on a superficial level, a bill that promises “enhanced” protection from terrorism and other potential state threats seems like a good idea. Reading the fine print of what constitutes a terrorist, however, is alarming. The rubrics appear to be deliberately vague, with the underlying implication that one can be arrested for terrorism for sheer “hinala” and red-tagging. In the wrong hands, the vague nature of the bill can be exploited to unjustly arrest anyone and silence vocal but rightful critics of the government.

Which is exactly what they are doing.

Naga City was not safe from the apparent weaponization of the bill, as only four days after its signing into law, Bicolana Gabriela Chairperson Jenelyn Nagrampa was unjustly arrested, as well as Pastor Dan San Andres of Karapatan - Bicol, both charged with double murder related to an alleged New People’s Army ambush that cost the lives of two soldiers in Ragay town. have filed counter-affidavits involvement.

The more alarming news is the arrest of BAYAN-Camarines Sur Chairperson Nelsy Rodriguez on 6 September 2020, in which she was charged with the alleged murder. The then-59-year-old Rodriguez was woken by one “health worker” claiming to test certain people for COVID-19 inside BAYAN’s apartment compound, and upon going outside, she was arrested by at least

20 state forces in civilian outfits. The following day, while on his way home, Condor-Piston spokesperson Ramon Rescovilla was also arrested on baseless charges. He was physically harmed while detained in Daraga Municipal Jail. Despite the dubious circumstances of the arrests and the protests demanding proper justice, both Rodriguez and Rescovilla were abruptly transported to Camarines Norte

These were the cases in Camarines Sur alone. There were many more dubious or illegal arrest incidents even before the Terror Law was signed. Human rights defenders, student activists, and progressive journalists are being subjected to harassment, red-tagging, threats, and human rights violations to further vilify their image, making it harder for them to disseminate their advocacies, advance the welfare of the country’s citizens, and hold the government accountable for its selfserving interests and trespasses against

It is apparent that the Terror Law is a fascist tactic to criminalize the people’s just dissent against government negligence, to punish the common person for asking for the bare minimum, to silence the ones who see through the cracks of the current administration, and to achieve a totalitarian level of power regardless of the bodies and bloody footprints it leaves in its

A law that enhances protection against terrorism is a good idea—in the right hands, that is, and one does not need political degree to realize that the hands of the government preoccupied with holding population at gunpoint with one hand, and holding up a middle finger with the other. It is questionable to call them the “right hands.” A law with vague definitions and boundaries with the potential to be weaponized against the people, further emphasizes how we are not held by the tender, loving hands of our loving Inang Bayan, but rather roughly handled by an abusive, power-bent tatay—undoubtedly the

And that is why we must be afraid.

Unfamiliarity

Out of the pandemic came the full implementation of distance learning. Particularly online classes, where lessons are attended through video conferencing programs, and all outputs are created and submitted through the Internet. Unfortunately, nobody was able to foresee its effects.

“Home is the place where I rest and get away from the stress caused by the work environment. But due to this pandemic, it has been mixed up,” a 3rd year BS Accountancy student said, admitting they constantly worry about their productivity. They also mentioned that physical interaction was crucial to their learning.

“I am learning a lot less; aside from that, there are teachers that don’t teach and just give some tasks. But what can we do? We should move forward because if not, we are going to be stuck in that,” they added.

Amid the abrupt changes that happened, students are not the only ones facing uncertainty. Having an entire workforce of instructors trained to teach in a new medium is an arduous task.

A faculty member of AdNU openly shared his experiences of teaching in the new normal. He said, “We were all up to the challenge, but a lot of us didn’t consider the implications.”

Sadly, the optimism didn’t last long. When the first semester started, it dawned on them that they were ill-equipped for online classes. With so much to worry about, teachers experienced burnout. He also revealed that they struggled to achieve a work-life balance that semester.

Reminiscence

Two years have passed, and classrooms are open again for a new learning mode. In the blended online learning setup, students and teachers have to deal with a variety of class types, such as full online classes, full face-toface, and hybrid classes.

A 2nd year BS Psychology student found online learning easier because they would not need to worry about leaving their work to attend class. They explained, “Nowadays, I spend six to eight hours at work and four to five hours at school. That only leaves me 13 hours to relax, be with the people I love, study, and sleep.” enrollees got out of control because of the pandemic because we were offering online education, so there were more enrollees than expected,” the same teacher revealed.

However, some professors recognize the constructive features of blended classes. One faculty member from the Literature department said that, “Full online is great, and you can have and deliver formations and have resources, but there are different classroom dynamics from face-to-face. Blended is actually better in terms of what happens in the classroom.” He regarded the classroom learning dynamic positively but also acknowledged the difficulty in scheduling and coordinating classes in a blended schedule.

The university is overflowing with an influx of both college and senior high school students. Some classrooms meant for college classes were designated for the latter because of their numbers. Because of student overpopulation, these rooms are now out of bounds until a certain time.

Thus, more classes are held at night.It is not unheard of for teachers to compete for space, either. The professor shares an experience a colleague went through. “She was assigned to an education department classroom near the gym, but in her first face-to-face class, someone else was using the classroom because it was an education class and they had first dibs,” they said.

This overpopulation has also taken a toll on the university’s internet infrastructure. A professor talked about their experience regarding the poor internet connectivity within the university. They recalled an instance when they once conducted an online class on campus and had to continue using a student’s mobile data because the connection was lost. “There are some problems that are so big we can’t worry about them, like hardware or the internet,” they said. Three years after the pandemic, our education has gone through massive changes. Students, who have only known school as a physical place where they can truly learn, were then dragged into the unfamiliar scapes of the digital world. The effects of the pandemic still haunt us, and their danger to our lives keep persisting. What more can the government and academic institutions do to alleviate students’ concerns?

With our shift to a hybrid learning setup, it is the right time to call out the people in power and all the stakeholders to join hands, see the bigger picture, and slowly amend the problems that the pandemic has brought to us. Only through a joint effort can the quality and method of blended learning be enhanced and the collective goal of our education system can still be met.

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