Shrinking peso vis the price of oil

The price of crude oil has been mercilessly fluctuating. It is good that the Philippines is not a major oil producer. The danger of having natural calamities and / or man-made disasters like the raging destabilization of the country could have made us a more pitiable sight were we part of the OPEC.

Like Venezuela, we would have run short of our national production level. And OPEC will declare us quota deficient for what, perhaps hundreds of thousands of barrel per day. Nevertheless, U.S. predicts that crude oil price will reach U.S.$65.00 per barrel by 2006. In the United States, gasoline will be sold at the peso equivalent of Php128.8 per liter by that time. We are still fortunate that at a time when gasoline price in the U.S. went up to as high as our peso equivalent of Php100+++ per liter, our present gasoline pump price is still Php30+ per liter, one-fourths of prices in the U.S. and nearby countries. While Russian crude is in the stages of being further perfected in purity and moisture and other content, its role in the current global oil crisis has been significant. At least, it has been able to bring down the prices in its sphere of influence over certain selected periods in the past months of 2005. Before we even raise our pump prices to more than Php 50.00 per liter of gasoline, let us all pray and do our small share of individual or group lobbying and influencing --- or in whatever else minor or the least manner we can to help. And let us just all hope for positive developments to hit the world market between now and 2006. So that by stroke of divine or human intervention oil prices around the world would not necessarily strike the $65 mark and instead, fall into the $40 or below level if at all that were possible. While this is wishful thinking, there's no fee for dreaming...

I can only wonder what effect to our economy will be if the implementation of the directives to transfer to CNG will finally push through. This is one of the best positive developments that can happen to our country, outside of the international arena.

Katrina

I remember in 1992, we gathered a lot of people involved in disaster in this country. Only 19 agencies out of at least 24 came. We fed them lunch and gave them our view about the need for public warning systems. They appreciated the idea but they could not work on it then.

Six years thereafter, a community type of public warning "human network" was experimented in the vicinity of Mayon Volcano. They claimed that when an explosion occurred at Mayon Volcano, there were 0 percent casualties.

This kind of network might not work for another killer earthquake accompanied by a tsunami - the proportions of which would be in the likes of Indonesia et al. Or Hurricane Katrina in the U.S.

A public warning system is effective. It works in tandem with a precision system for disaster detection.

The Philippines is within the earthquake belt. It had already suffered several killer earthquakes in the past. Volcanic eruptions. Mini tsunamis - like the one in Quezon Province.

Definitely, we need a warning system.

Personally, I don't think it has less value than what our prized bright minds are propagandizing all the time, that they need to have people support so they can take over a little office by the River.

What's so special about that office by the River if when there is no warning system, the moment they sit on that office, the River overflows and kills them all without nary an advance sign or aviso? The heck with these idiots.

It is hoped that we can set our priorities right and do away with things stupid, reckless and utterly mediocre. Let's pray that we will not have a disaster in the magnitude of Indonesia-Sri Lanka's tsunami and U.S.' Katrina, for now.