Simmering social volcano waiting to explode

Next week, the impeachment trial teledrama will unfold before an economy-weary nation. This teledrama will hug most of this country's headlines, blanketing the skies and hiding the tired, old faces of working men and women now victimized by skyrocketing oil prices and food stuffs.


The World Bank has already warned countries like the Philippines-- food riots and anti-government sentiments will increase as food risks become extremely obvious. At present, 26 million Filipino families consider themselves unable to eat three square meals a day, a problem which this administration thinks is soluable thru the Pantawid Pamilyang Pinoy program--a program which has been proven to be ineffective in several areas considered as extremely poor.


Joblessness pervades, as both foreign and local investors show weariness and are wary of the present condition of the economy. It does not help that a former president writes about the economic condition, something which she knows very well because she created these crises anyway. 


Next week, expect to be amused as how a Chief Justice can very well spend 14 million cool cash to buy a 300 square meter condo, with just under 70,000 pesos monthly pay. Expect his enemies to dish out every single infraction, and showing him as an illegally appointed Chief Justice whose lifestyle exceeds his income. 


While the dominant elite groups battle it out with elites of the former dispensation, the plight of the Filipino remains unresolved. The financial woes experienced daily by the ordinary Juan dela Cruz will exacerbate to a point that living in Manila is not fun, but extremely dangerous to one's health. 


This inter-elite struggle will come to a boiling point--or some say, a tipping point--where extremes will battle it out with extremes, something like what the world expects of a Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr. fight. 


As elites oust those traditional elites, the dominant issues will remain unresolved. 


Big oil companies use the simmering Middle East conflict as reason enough to further up the ante, while government duets with them and even threatened to impose oil rationing just for the public to accept those skyrocketing prices. 


How then can it be fun in the Philippines when even Filipinos now cannot even travel due to high transportation and food costs?

Oil companies to hike gasoline and diesel prices next week--this is social injustice!

I just got a highly reliable information that the big oil players, including the small ones, will jack up their gasoline and diesel prices next week, starting on Monday, July 19. Reason? International oil prices have gone up, they say.

I checked the Singapore Crude Oil Index and found that there is nothing that justifies another oil price hike. Fact is, the Singapore index remains the same and even lower than what we, consumers here in the Philippines, pay for our petrol.

Why are these oil companies hiking their prices when the international price remains the same?

This is too much already. And curiously though, Energy secretary Almendras is doing nothing to prevent this from happening.

President Noynoy Aquino should scrap the oil deregulation law and revert to the previous practice of regulating this precious commodity. This is the height of social injustice. The president should start de-fanging this humongous profit-makers and giving us, the Filipino People, the right and correct prices for our petrol. These oil companies are profitting from the hard-earned monies of the people.

If Noynoy Aquino is really serious in giving us social justice, start by lowering prices of commodities. Start by dismantling this oil cartel that is giving us a hard time living our lives here in the Metro.

Aside from this oil cartel, maybe Noynoy could also extend us a helping hand in dismantling the rice cartels.

Seven Chinese traders control the local rice cartel. These are the names of these Chinese traders:

1. Andrew Go of Forbes park Makati City.
2. Peter Chen
3. Paul So (claims to be a contributor of Noy)
4. Charlie Co
5. Paul Co
6. Steven Liu
7. Tony Tan

Pilipinas Shell, Caltex & Petron should be punished!

Government should teach Pilipinas Shell, Caltex and Chevron a lesson. These giant oil companies showed arrogance in obeying a court ruling ordering the company to open its books. The company's counsels asked if the court has jurisdiction over them.

By the very fact that they are doing business here in the Philippines, they automatically subject themselves to the jurisdiction of our courts. If the courts say that this Dutch oil company open its books for public scrutiny, it should do so--without compunction.

If Pilipinas Shell would not oblige, then, they must leave this country and never come back. How dare they question our courts?! Same goes to Caltex and Petron. They should submit themselves to the jurisdiction of our courts.

Probably the problem lies in the lack of a law that would require them to submit their books to government scrutiny. In the US, all companies are required to follow the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which is a law obliging companies to open their accounts for reportage. They also have the US Government Accounting Office (GAO) which serves as the investigating arm of the government with regards to acts of private enterprises.

Are these 3 giant oil companies saying that they are above our government?

These acts are in direct contravention with the law and the very authority of this government. These oil companies not only committed a grave infraction---they also subverted the sovereign power of this government and the Filipino People.

What will Mrs. Arroyo do? Will she bow down to these giant oil companies or will she enforce the sovereignty of this government? This is a test case for Mrs. Arroyo.