They say sleep is a refuge of the weary mind and the battered body. People say sleep is a source of comfort, but this seems to be no longer true. These days, you tend to say this as you hit the sack: “Darn, I forgot to gas up!” Everybody is now familiar that gas prices are usually higher when you wake up the next day (not that it matters anyway, because prices will still increase even if you don’t go to sleep). When I went to the gas station last Sunday, the price was P2 higher than the Friday before that, or just a matter of two days.
As sure as the sun rises, the prices of gasoline, diesel and other fuel products will also rise. Same thing with the rest of the basic necessities, never mind the luxury items. In my opinion, there are generally four ways of coping with it: sell the car (which I would not do), drive in a gas-economical way (which I could probably do), save on other expenses (which I’ve done) or increase your earnings/take-home pay (if you have a brilliant idea on how to do this, let us know).
They also say that we should think positive (if we write down all the negative things about gas price increase, the space here won’t be enough), but the positive things that could probably result from the constant increase in gas prices are these: (1) the MMDA intensifying its efforts to improve traffic flow in Metro Manila, which would, in turn, save on gas consumption and other billion-peso traffic-related expenses; or (2) traffic would get better with car owners reducing car usage or using public transportation. Item 1 seem to be way off the realm of reality. Item 2, on the other hand, seems to be probable, although the heavy traffic in the past days slowly dims that probability.
Traffic is still bad and many vehicles are still on the road. Maybe the higher gas prices could not deter motorists from clogging the roads. Maybe motorists are indeed saving on other expenses to maintain their travel habits. Maybe they are shifting to cheaper and smaller cars with lesser gas consumption, like the Cherry, Suzuki Alto, Kia Picanto or Hyundai Getz. I’m not sure.
I’m sure, however, that traffic is still bad and gas prices will go even higher.
Comment by Yolie
Wala na tayong magagawa sa pag-akyat ng presyo ng gasolina, ngunit may magagawa ang gobyerno na ayusin ang lagay ng trapiko. Dapat walang escorts at wang-wang yang mga government officials, para malaman nila gaano kahirap yang lintek na traffic na yan. palibhasa hindi sila nape-pwerhisyo, wala silang pakialam, lalo na’t ang gas na kanilang ginagamit ay bayad ng bayan.