new price: P38.35/ltr unleaded

[Alpha_One]

govt should never implement pro-poor policies if it wants to become progressive.
it doesnt mix. it will cancel each other. and that's how we are now.

oil has now become an expensive commodity and some highly-developed govts. around the world are ready for the challenge bec. they had been busy rooting out the inefficiencies and problem areas 4-5 decades ago.

Those are hardly pro-poor policies. They're anti people policies disguised as pro-poor.

If there's one thing I've learned from Solita Monsod's Economic class in UP, it's this: Whenever someone tells you "It's for the benefit of the Filipino", ask "*which* Filipino?"

If it's for the benefit of some should-have-been-dead-a-hundred-gazillion-years-ago industry with about twenty employees, with the rest of the people unaffected at best, don't bother. But if a thousand people are going to be negatively affected for the benefit of ten thousand, why not?

I mean if your doctor tells you an upcoming operation has a 10% risk of failure, there's always the 90% chance of success right?

[so_obVIOS]

Put it in perspective... we are a LOT better off than a lot more countries in the world.

Heck, try peeking out your car window in EDSA. Most of them only have a single passenger. Even in rich America, carpooling & commuting (in big cities) is the norm.

Dude, don't compare prices with one's neighbors. Only government buffoons do that, to save face. When you look at prices, compare that to the average income, then you have the "real income". When you have rising prices and stagnant income, well...do the math.

OT: In big US cities they commute for convenience. Here it's either you have no choice, or it's a self imposed sacrifice, and for some (depending on where you live, work, and your work hours), it's too much of a sacrifice and a danger even.

[mazdamazda]

Dude, don't compare prices with one's neighbors. Only government buffoons do that, to save face. When you look at prices, compare that to the average income, then you have the "real income". When you have rising prices and stagnant income, well...do the math.

Ok... I'll rattle of some more statistics...

Average National Income Per Capita
Philippines: $920.19
Thailand: $1,838.41
Vietnam: $329.19
China: $865.03
Indonesia: $599.24
Pakistan: $369.70

Average Gasoline Price per Liter
Philippines: $0.61
Thailand: $0.64
Vietnam: $0.62
China: $0.66
Indonesia: $0.28
Pakistan: $0.87

Corruption (10 being the highest)
Philippines: 7.5
Thailand: 6.7
Vietnam: 7.6
China: 6.6
Indonesia: 8.1

All in all... only Thailand is doing better than us. But for the others... do the math.

sir mazda mazda I meant L.A. + 3 counties. not the whole US hehehe

If that is the case... 20.5M divided by 50 states is 410K / day. the average fuel consumption for all countries is around 250K barrels / day. the weighed average is much higher... 2M barrels / day.

so

410K + (250K X 3) = 2.25M barrels / day for L.A. + 3 countries.

All in all, the USA consumes more than 25% of the world's oil while the Philippines' share is less than 0.5%.

i actually think that it makes sense to heavily tax gasoline and diesel, since it encourages, at the least, conservation and efficiency (the US had cheap gas for so long, no surprise that they're the biggest oil hog and polluter in the planet). it also ensures great revenue to the government, which is ideally used for the public good.

yun nga lang, the point i'm trying to drive at is that the reality is different where we are, and it's not something that can be so easily discounted.

Good point. Tax on gasoline / diesel will at least pressure people into using their vehicles more efficiently and changing their habits / lifestyle. But it is a long OVERDUE move by the government... the artificial "low" gasoline price before (due to subsidies / low tariffs) just contributed to our income deficit (and in turn forced us to borrow money).

[chris_d]

Consider also that most of the gasoline we would get is imported, obviously it cant be sold lower than what it was bought for. So even if we(the Philippines) were poor, if the gasoline came from somewhere else you would have no choice but to pay the premium.

Either way the gasoline prices here are still cheaper than most other countries. Be thankful for that.

[cardo]

In europe, I think petrol there is 3x the price we have. And the price of petrol and diesel in europe is the same I think last I heard - well, atleast thats what my brit-ish neighbor says

[oldblue]

Good point. Tax on gasoline / diesel will at least pressure people into using their vehicles more efficiently and changing their habits / lifestyle. But it is a long OVERDUE move by the government... the artificial "low" gasoline price before (due to subsidies / low tariffs) just contributed to our income deficit (and in turn forced us to borrow money).

sir *mazdamazda no matter how we want conserve gasoline here, talaga hindi maiiwasan coz of the monstrous traffic here. before tamad ako pumunta makati from ortigas kahit na may potential ka-deal ako coz of the traffic. ngaun pati going to greenhills coming from Ortigas iniiwasan ko na maghatid coz it'll take me almost an hour back & forth.

makikita naman sa mileage natin ng tsikot natin, ngaun nasa 60000km+ pa lang yun 5 year old car ko pero I have spent almost an average P2k-P4k per month on fuel expenses and grabe na ang depreciation ng tsikot ko.

now compare this Australia na a 3yr old car has an average of 100000km - 150000km mileage pero halos bago pa din coz very efficient ang road systems nila dun.

It's business. limited naman ang movement natin ngaun siguro average lang ng 20km-30km radius per day bawat pinoy car owner, pero from the looks of it, we have doubled our fuel expenses in just a year.