“Our next biggest problem is how the Middle East crisis affects food for the country”
YES, the Middle East conflict with Iran against the United States and Israel is affecting the Philippines so far as, Santa Banana, our oil, diesel, gas and kerosene are concerned.
The worst part of it is that while the country is affected by the Middle East conflict, it is the marginalized who are most affected.
They are affected because the marginalized depend largely on oil, diesel, gas and kerosene because these are essential to have the things which are vital and essential for them, like for their transport and to carry and ferry all their essentials needed for their existence.
No matter what the government is doing, like having special power given to the President to enable him to cut down on excise taxes for oil, diesel, gas and kerosene.
And still, the problem is we are largely dependent on the Middle East for the essential things we need to live.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may have gone to the US to plead for help among other nations for the Philippines. As a country we are largely dependent on imported oil, diesel, gas and kerosene.
I do not know how the President’s trip to the United Nations in New York will ease our burden, but the fact is we have to depend on foreign help. This is regarding the need for gasoline, oil, diesel and kerosene.
But the problem that comes next is the effect of the Middle East crisis on food supplies.
And this is worrisome because the sector that is most affected are the marginalized. It is bad enough that we need more jobs and the wages that the marginalized are earning must be adjusted to conform with the need.
Our next biggest problem is how the Middle East crisis affects food for the country.
We are hard pressed enough for more jobs and how to address the need for increase in wages.
Here we are, just reeling as we are, after all our problems going through the massive corruption mess that we had gone through and are still going through because those corrupt public officials who were responsible for corruption still have to be punished and jailed.
We have yet to see all of them jailed. Yes, some of them have been jailed, but the money of the Filipino people which has been stolen by corrupt public officials still has to be accounted for and those responsible have to be jailed.
I am not predicting anything, but my worry is that at the rate Iran is being counterattacking allies of the US like Israel and counterattacking other members of the Gulf States like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar. UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
These affect again the marginalized population of the Philippines. That is the problem of the Philippines because we need to import all our requirements to make our businesses run and for the power sector to run we need oil from the Middle East.
With all that is happening in the Middle East, when will our troubles end?
My gulay, I cannot blame our leaders, especially the President, for trying to do whatever he can.
But the problem remains we have to import everything we need to make our factories run and to make our cars, buses, public transport, everything run.
That is the main problem of the country. And the thing is most of our problems are created through no fault of ours.
I suggest we should rally, not only because of what has been happening to us with the corruption of our National Budget.
All I can do at the moment is to hope and pray that the Middle East conflict will not escalate because the people who are suffering are not enemies of Iran, but countries like the Philippines, dependent on imported oil, gasoline, diesel and kerosene.
Let us hope and pray that the Philippines will not suffer as much as expected.
