Crises in the Philippines: How Filipinos Cope

There is so much going on in the land of my birth. It is just so overwhelming that a majority of Filipinos do whatever they can, within their means to cope. Let me discuss the current crises we are facing today.

The Oil Crisis

The war in the Middle East has greatly impacted our economy. Of course, living in a third world country, what else can we expect?  We have only one oil field, the Malampaya Gas Field, which is the only local source of natural gas. It provides about 40% of the energy needs for Luzon. But Luzon is only 1/3 of the entire country! 

The Philippines purchases refined petroleum products that we import from other countries. - diesel, gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, kerosone, etc. rather than crude oil because... the Philippines has ONLY ONE oil refinery. 

Makes me think, don't we have any fossil fuel deposits? Do we have to depend on other countries for oil for life? According to the website Asep Cells, the Philippines has fossil fuel deposits, and I quote, 

In the Philippines, fossil fuel potential is found in 16 sedimentary basins covering an area of more than 700,000 square kilometers (km2) with a combined potential of 4,777 million barrels of fuel oil equivalent of oil and gas resources (Philippine Energy Plan). These basins are located in the Ilocos Shelf, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Bicol Shelf, Southeast Luzon, Mindoro-Cuyo, West Masbate-Iloilo, Visayan, Agusan-Davao, Cotabato, Sulu Sea, East Palawan, Southwest Palawan, Reed Bank, Northwest Palawan, and the West Luzon Trough

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I hope our government would start drilling! But the issue of course, is funding. I believe our country does not have the means to finance full scale exploration and drilling. Oh well. 

The effect of the oil crisis - higher transportation costs, higher prices of basic commodities. Commuters, transport operators, logistics service providers feel the crunch. Transport strikes, commuters stranded, jampacked trains. What a mess!

The Electricity Crisis

Summer in the Philippines starts in late March and may last until June. In tropical countries like the Philippines, the summer season can be brutally hot. We've been getting warnings to stay indoors to avoid dehydration and heat stroke. The weather bureau sends out bulletins of current heat indices or "real-feel" temperatures that can reach up to 42-45 degrees Celsius (107-113 degrees Fahrenheit). Well of course, we'd rather stay indoors than collapse in the streets. 

However, staying indoors would mean we would need to turn on the electric fans or AC units to help us cope with the heat. That would then equate to an increase in electric consumption. This is another crisis we have to deal with. Why? Because the cost of electricity has skyrocketed! And on top of that, the power supply is dwindling due to high demands. To save on electricity, the electric companies have implemented rotational brownouts - in this heat!

Okay, so now you'd wonder how does the Philippines generate electricity? 

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There are several sources of energy in the Philippines. Electricity is generated primarily from fossil fuels. Thermal plants use coal, amounting to 60% of the entire energy mix in the county.  Out of this 60%, only 25-30% of coal is mined locally, and the rest are imported from Indonesia and other countries. This makes electricity rates vulnerable to in relation to global coal prices. 

Next in the list is natural gas from the Malampaya gas field (14%-18%), followed by oil/diesel (2%-7%). Other sources are the renewables, such as hydropower, geothermal, solar and wind. Although they don't contribute much to the energy mix, it is still a good source of energy that we do not need to import.

Since January, the electricity rates have increased three times. Such a huge impact to consumers. Any rate increase in utilities mean less money to purchase food and other daily necessities. I have read somewhere that the Philippines has the most expensive power rates in Southeast Asia.

The Political Crisis

Another crisis that brings anxiety to a majority of Filipinos. It already is a struggle to make ends meet, to ensure three decent meals a day, to pay bills - and then leaders in the government are fighting each other. How lame is it that some lawmakers refuse to follow the law? For ordinary citizens, sometimes a minor violation can land you in jail. But for those high and mighty? It seems that they are above the law. 

For an ordinary employee, habitual absenteeism is a ground for termination, according to our Labor Code. But it does not apply to elected officials! You can only imagine our frustration when a lawmaker has been absent for 6 months (and counting) and is still receiving a monthly salary. A public servant (including his staff) that willfully neglect their duties still get their fat paychecks while the rest of the nation languishes in poverty.

Well, right now, we are all over the news - internationally. The world has its eyes on us, for all the wrong reasons. Corruption, partisan politics, impeachment proceedings, lawmakers who break the law, gunfire inside the Senate. I guess this is what we get if clowns get elected. 

So, how do we cope?

The best answer to that question is, we just continue fight everyday to survive, be budget-conscious, cut down on things we used to enjoy before all these happened. We watch the news, stay abreast of what is really going on, and be law abiding citizens - to set an example for corrupt officials! 

Most foreigners say that we are a country of friendly people, very hospitable, and always ready to give a smile. True. But hidden behind that smile is frustration, anger, desperation. 

They say we are resilient. 

We are. 

Because we are tired, and we are losing faith in our government. We don't mope around waiting for dole-outs. We act. On our own. In every way we can.

This is how we cope.