Comments on: May 12 Transport Strike

By: la_ciudadista

la_ciudadista — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:59:02 +0000

Oil “re-regulation” is stupid. I guess you and the members of the student council were too young (or were not born yet) to remember that prior to oil deregulation the national government subsidized oil prices. This caused massive deficits and have favored mostly the rich who owned cars since their fuel gets subsidized also.

If the plan is to just control oil prices it will obviously cause supplies of petroleum products to dwindle. China has done this and has caused major shortages. {http://www.wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1387683}

If we really want to lower costs, we as a people including the youth should focus more on ways to develop alternative and/or indigenous energy. More efficient use of energy should be promoted.

By: grassroots

grassroots — Sat, 24 May 2008 07:47:18 +0000

the government has enough funds to provide the welfare of the state, including energy. that is the rationale behind advocating for subsidy. as to the methodology required to achieve such feat, it’s not going to be mere words or will as the government is simply deaf and unfeeling to these matters.

if so, greater action to reform the government is needed.

By: bojit herrera

bojit herrera — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:28:25 +0000

nonetheless, the statement does not answer my question re: the OPSF. where will the subsidy come from? the trend of the oil market is continuous skyrocketing, and there is no drop in prices to buffer the OPSF.

i concur that the cartel of the oil companies must be curtailed (haha. weak pun.), however is re-regulation necessarily the way to go? isn’t strong political will and comprehensive antitrust laws (or whatever laws deal with oligopolies) an alternative?

By: Bikoy

Bikoy — Thu, 22 May 2008 03:10:29 +0000

hi brod, i believe your second question has been sufficiently answered in the statement. i believe oil regulation primarily seeks to moderate the oligopolistic control of the cartel of the big oil companies, which as we all know, earn billions of dollars despite the crisis.

also, the campaign for alternative sources of energy is not being discounted. however, it does not answer the immediate concerns and the urgent needs of the people. and as you’ve said, the government, which in my opinion is in cahoots with the oil companies, will not actively pursue such action.

By: bojit herrera

bojit herrera — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:19:59 +0000

brother, have you heard of the solar-powered jeepneys? they’re even cheaper to build than the regular, diesel-powered ones which pollute our urban breathable air. sadly, due to bureaucratic inefficiencies of our government, their approval is still on the rocks. why not include this in your oil/environmental advocacy?

re: deregulation, you do realize that once you want to re-regulate the oil industry, that entails government subsidy of consumer oil, something it can ill afford at the moment, since oil prices are increasing and show no signs of going down? the rationale of the OPSF was to provide a buffer for oil hikes, but it is premised on fluctuating oil prices, something absent in today’s market.