Statements made by Cebu Representative Eduardo Gullas that two oil companies have raked in P70 billion over the last 10 years reflect the utter ignorance or rather the brutal imbecility of politicians in this country when it comes to economic matters and the proper functioning of the price system in a free market.
Do politicians think that businesses will ever get into business without the promise of a fair return on capital. For one thing, oil companies operate on a free market basis. Unlike public utilities like Meralco, consumers have a choice in buying from any of the oil players large or small. Consumers can actually by-pass oil companies by forming cooperatives and importing petroleum products themselves.
But why don’t you think this is happening? The answer is pretty obvious — the risk on capital, Mr. Congressman. The oil business is a very risky business. Imagine if you stocked up on oil last week and the price dropped (as it did) by $10. Not to mention the risk of shipping oil from overseas in these huge tankers, storing them in depots and moving them to the gas stations.
Are you aware of how much pilfering happens in the distribution system? Please realize that if we did not have free enterprise to facilitate that process, we would not have oil products available to us at reasonable prices; yes, even at P60, petroleum prices are reasonable.
Have you ever heard of scarce resources, Mr. Congressman? Of course, there is no scarcity of politicians running for office. If you ask me, I would rather live with petroleum prices at this level because I have a choice of using my cars or taking public transport or even walking (which, by the way, I have been doing to save money).
However, when I look at the prices the citizens of this country has to pay for maintaining congressmen and senators and all politician for that matter, I can see the real place where the Filipino people is really being ripped off. And it is not at the gas pump.
Gus Cosio, Quezon City (via e-mail)
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July 31st, 2008 at 8:20 am
The more important issue I think that lawmakers should address is how to make the country self sufficient in food. We have so much land in the provinces that can be utilized for agriculture. Can they make a study on what things to do such as what crops to plant, what assistance to give, what months to plant, etc. It’s a matter of realizing what are the priorities and putting there heads together to solve the problem. Maybe it’s about time to bar lawyers from running for office and instead encourage other professionals (agriculturists, economists, business degree holders, etc.) or even non-professionals to do so. Maybe then we can have less superfluous speeches, grandstanding, witch hunting and the like and instead get this country and its citizens the decent kind of life every human being should have.
July 27th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Very well said Gus.
These clowns in Congress, as well as the Senate, will never try to comprehend the intricacies of the free market and its risks, as well as its adverse effects on the lives of poor Filipinos. They have their millions in pork barrel anyway. Why would they care ?
Whenever any of these clowns rant about anything related to alleviating the people’s economic burdens, let it pass….it’s just plain rhetoric. After all, they need to do something to justify their existence……much like what the head clown is going to do in her SONA.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:10 am
Anselmo, there is no hope for this country to wean itself from using foreign oil. We will be eternally dependent on it like the rest of the world even if we develop the ample reserves we may have, even if we develop other alternative biofuel, simply because this country does not have enough of them. True, the oil rich Mid-East countries are wallowing in petro dollars today but sooner than later those reserves will eventually run dry. Then they too will have a problem. The US and other first world countries may have to rethink their environmental concerns too for need of fossil fuel and dig up their vast deposits offshore and in the Alaskan reserves as well as in the Arctic zone. If you want to be totally independent from foreign oil sourcing nuclear energy is the way to go.
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
These runts should concentrate on weaning us off foreign oil by seriously developing alternative fuels and energy and also by tapping on our own oil reserves rather than engaging in a witchhunt against business who just happen to be there at the right moment. It’s not a local phenomenon as all the nations engaged in hydrocarbons are now awash with cash from high oil prices.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:54 am
Soaring oil prices lifted Chevron Corp.’s annual profit to $18.7 billion in 2007, the fourth consecutive year that the San Ramon company made record amounts of money.
Exxon Mobil, the country’s largest oil company, reported on Friday that its 2007 profit hit $40.6 billion, a 3 percent increase from 2006, while sales passed $404 billion. No American business has ever scored a higher profit.
BP posted a 63 percent surge in first-quarter net profit to $7.6 billion (4.9 billion euros), while Shell reported a 25 percent rise, to a record $9.08 billion (5.81 billion euros).
Philippine oil companies have no monopolies in profits. It is global profits.