24/04/2026
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐ช๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐พ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐จ: ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐จ ๐ผ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ค ๐๐๐ซ๐๐จ
The struggle to make ends meet is becoming nearly intolerable as oil prices continue to rise. This is not something we hear about on the news and social media outlets anymore; itโs something we feel every single day. This is not merely an economic problem, but it is a daily burden carried by families across the country, affecting how we live, spend, and survive.
For the average Filipino, the everyday commute has transformed into a daily exercise in endurance. Nowhere is this more visible than in Baguio Cityโs public transport sector. In recent days, what used to be a 30-minute wait for a bus has stretched into hours of standing on sun-baked curbs, as operators that are crippled by fuel costs cut their trips in half. Barangays and jeepney operators and driversโ associations have begun implementing voluntary and temporary fare increases in response to rising fuel costs. What started in peripheral routes has now spread toward the central business district. However despite all this, there are still no officially approved fare increases for public utility jeepneys. These grassroots efforts highlight a deeper systemic failure, national agencies like the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) have yet to authorize official hikes, which leaves the drivers and commuters to navigate a disorganized and confusing "fragmented" system on their own. The economic fallout doesn't stop at the bus terminal as Baguio Cityโs tourism-dependent economy is bleeding millions. The Baguio Country Club has reported at least โฑ10 million in losses from cancellations, while hotels in the central business district have seen revenues drop by โฑ6 million. This isn't just a logistical hiccup; it is the visible symptom of an economy being choked by its own dependence when it comes to oil. As global oil prices climb, the much-touted "resilience" of the Filipino people is being pushed to a breaking point that no amount of diskarte can fix.
The root of our vulnerability is an open secret; we are an island nation tethered to a global market we cannot control. With over 95% of our oil supply imported, mostly from the Persian Gulf, the Philippines is essentially a passenger in a vehicle driven by foreign geopolitical conflicts. While the Department of Energy (DOE) assures us that our "buffer stocks" are stable for about 50 days, a temporary cushion does little to ease the anxiety of a long-term crisis. Despite assurances that oil shipments bound for the Philippines will continue to pass safely through critical routes like the Strait of Hormuz, fuel prices remain elevated. For Filipinos, this has translated into consistent, double-digit price hikes per liter, particularly in diesel, the very backbone of our transport and cargo industry. When supply chains tighten thousands of miles away, the shockwaves hit our dinner tables almost instantly, felt in the shrinking size of a pandesal and the thinning wallet of a worker.
Compounding this is the governmentโs limited power to intervene due to the Oil Deregulation Law, in which authorities cannot impose price controls, leaving fuel costs dictated by international markets. While Republic Act No. 12316 allows for the suspension of excise taxes, relief isn't expected until mid-April at the earliest. For now, fuel taxes remain in place, adding further strain to already burdened consumers. In all honesty, these are just a bandage on the actual wound. While temporary tax suspensions or diversifying our oil sources signal awareness, they do little to address our underlying lack of energy independence. Economic studies consistently show that oil price spikes hurt the economy far more than price drops help it. A sudden surge disrupts planning and scares away the investment needed to create jobs. Worse, once a price hike embeds itself into the cost of bread or transport, those prices rarely "reset" to their original lows, even when global crude stabilizes. In short, the Filipino worker pays a permanent "volatility tax."
We cannot continue to "adapt" our way out of a systemic failure. Adaptation, in this context, has become a polite word for Filipinos eating less or working longer hours for less pay. We often feel proud of resilience as a defining Filipino trait. Moments like this raises a conceivable question: how long are we expected to endure what should not be normal? If we begin to strip off romanticism in this context, resilience does not look like a strength and itโs more like survival mode under pressure. Being resilient does not fix anything or hold the leaders accountable. Our leaders need to stop relying on short-term fixes and start making real, long-term changes as a priority.
By doing this, we must demand transparency in how "windfall" revenues from high oil prices are used. These funds should be directly reallocated to subsidize public transport sectors, ensuring that drivers can keep their wheels turning without passing the entire burden to the commuter. Every megawatt generated domestically is a megawatt that doesn't require a foreign tanker, so the push for renewable energy, whether it be solar, wind, or geothermal, must shift from "environmental goal" to "national security mandate." We also need a modernized, state-supported transit system that prioritizes high-capacity electric vehicles over gas-dependent fleets. Our mobility should not be a hostage to a barrel of crude.
There are no easy exits, and every policy choice comes with a trade-off, including the risk of rising foreign debt. But the alternative, doing nothing and waiting for the next global conflict to bankrupt our households, should no longer be an option. Until we treat our oil dependence as the emergency it truly is, every global tremor will continue to break Filipino hearts and bank accounts. We can no longer afford to wait for the world to be stable; we must build a country that can stand on its own two feet when the world isn't.
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐บ: ๐๐ณ๐บ๐ป๐ญ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ถ
๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐บ: ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ช ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ
๐๐ข๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฃ๐บ: ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ
SOURCES:
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/981688/bus-firms-reduce-baguio-trips-by-up-to-50-police/story/
https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/27/baguio-businesses-feel-pinch-of-soaring-oil-prices-1935
https://think.ing.com/articles/oil-price-shock-raises-inflation-and-policy-risks-in-philippines/
https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/25/marcos-jr-cuts-oil-excise-tax-to-ease-double-digit-spikes-in-ph-fuel-prices-1901
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2202607/marcos-crude-oil-supply-good-till-end-of-june
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5206238_The_Impact_of_Oil_Price_Changes_on_Growth_and_Inflation
https://ideas.repec.org/p/phd/dpaper/dp_2000-32.html
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2207014/no-price-drop-soon-despite-hormuz-pass-for-ph-bound-oil
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/04/06/2519060/why-fuel-prices-philippines-stay-high-despite-hormuz-deal
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2207296/oil-price-watch-as-of-april-6-2026
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1272499
