With diesel costing as much as ₱145 (for premium brands), you wonder where we’re to going end up in a few weeks or so. The roads are fast clearing of the dense traffic we’ve gotten accustomed to, and it feels less stressful to drive to your destination. That is, if you still have enough cash to spare for what is now black gold.

Let’s face it. Government can only do so much with subsidies and (hopefully) suspending excise taxes and VAT on fuel and essential commodities. The latter should make more of a difference to long-suffering consumers, now being burdened by much higher prices of fuel, and soon enough, higher food costs and electricity bills.

Other countries’ citizens coped with national crises by coming together and helping out the government. When Koreans faced a deep financial crisis in 1998, the citizens voluntarily gave their gold and jewelry to help their governments get over the difficult times, which in turn, helped their economy recover and they managed the crises together. Today, Korea is an economic powerhouse. Similar events happened in China, Vietnam and Mexico.

Now, we Filipinos as a whole are not likely to donate our valuables and savings, since the large majority live a hand-to-mouth existence and have nothing to give, while our greedy politician overlords drain the national treasury of the taxes we pay on hard-earned income and daily necessities. Would it be too much to ask these vultures to cough up even a little bit of what they pillaged from the national coffers to help us through this particular crisis? They will, of course, appear to be magnanimous and caring if they would just do that. But I’m not holding my breath for that to happen. Maybe when crows turn white, or in other words, never. But we can certainly dream, can’t we?

What then, are ordinary citizens to do? I’m glad that the community pantry movement has been revived, thanks to the original proponent, Ana Patricia Non. Hopefully, others will follow and put up their own community pantries in different areas in the country again.

What has not happened is the coming together of families to carpool and split the high costs of commuting. This was done during the 1970s when oil prices spiked. This is an effective tactic to reduce fuel consumption and help lower demand before our oil supplies dwindle to nothing.

What’s even better is for many to shift to electric vehicles if they can, and use these EVs for carpooling. If even just 20% of car owners go electric, that will cut down on demand and just maybe, allow a few days or weeks of fuel inventory to last longer.

Fortunately, I invested in solar energy many years ago, and recently beefed up my system with batteries. I can now charge my EV with the sun, practically for free. I no longer have to worry about lining up at gas stations for my commute, though we still have diesel and gas-powered vehicles which will have to be grounded once the fuel inventory dries up.

I certainly recommend that those capable of putting up solar systems to do so now. Not only will it reduce your electric bill, it will also help reduce demand on our power grid, thus saving on fuel as well. Thus, it helps you, and it helps the country get some relief. Patriotism has never been this rewarding for the patriot.

Our farmers will be hard-pressed to bring their produce to markets due to high fuel costs, and they will end up either selling their produce to middlemen for a pittance. Some will just dump their produce by the roadside in despair. Without income, they will no longer be able to buy seeds and other necessities for planting, and we will start to have food shortages. Fertilizers will also be in short supply, since it is derived from petroleum. Double whammy for farmers.

We will have to be import more food than what we’re doing now, but at a higher rate. It will be more expensive, since air/sea transport costs are now much higher, and forecast to increase further. The idea of home and community vegetable gardens is becoming more attractive now. We will be reviving our vegetable garden in our village park. If enough of us pursue this idea, we will be helping ourselves and with some extra produce, donate them to our less fortunate countrymen.

During the Covid pandemic, those who were more fortunate helped the less able to cope by tipping more for services. We would add a generous tip for the riders who deliver our goods. We still do, all the more during these trying times.

Let’s help each other, and in doing so, help our country. Let’s do it, together!