Better than none

This could be said of the announcement yesterday regarding the oil price rollback big oil companies were to implement, for if there is one thing worthwhile that they could do, it is to rollback their prices of fuel, not even to maintain status quo after having those series of price hikes in the past weeks and months.

That’s indeed a good decision on their part. It may not be advantageous to their own profits, but it is to the motorists, commuters, factory owners, and the general public who, in one way or another, are always affected by oil price hikes, knowing that when this happens, prices of other items likewise increase. Anyway, oil companies are not going to lose in their rollback since the price of oil in the world market has also subsided.

Oil companies therefore are not doing something heroic with this rollback. In fact, they are obliged to implement that. It is something that the people deserve to get from them, not a favor that they extend to the populace. Per experience, they never let go of a single centavo in profit even when people ought to be helped in the midst of crisis. Their operations are always to their primary advantage.

When there is an increase of crude oil in the world market, oil companies are quick to likewise increase their prices, even if the oil they are selling is old stock bought at a lower price. But when the price in the international market goes down, they act very slowly, as if they do not know what is going on. This is what angers many motorists and the general oil consuming public. They cannot help but feel kind of cheated in such an arrangement.

How the people wish that oil prices will not anymore go up as always. Most of all, how they wish prices of oil will instead go down knowing that it will have domino effect in the market. If it goes down, prices of commodities will also subside; the fares in passenger vehicles will decrease, and basic necessities would become more affordable. Amidst the problem of unemployment and low wages, that scenario would be of great help.

Sad to say, this will just remain a dream. Anytime from now, we will again be hearing of oil price hikes imposed by oil companies. When this happens, the price rollbacks, which are hardly felt for being too little, become almost futile. However, in very tight budgeting, this minimal rollback is better than none.

By: Lemuel Pagliawan

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