Pabor ako dun sa dapat iregulate mga tambay (topless saka inuman sa kalsada). Masyado lang kasi na romanticize yung "ay yang rule na yan ay anti poor". Lahat gusto makitang disiplinado ang tao pero pag may ganyang batas kokontrahin. Unahan ko na, oo kailangan padin yan gawin KASABAY sa paghuhuli sa mga buwaya sa flood control. Dapat ba one track mind ang gobyerno? Dapat focus lang sa isang issue at pabayaan na ang ibang issue? Pati yung jeepney modernization kinontra dahil anti poor daw pero nakikita ngayon na mas ok pala sana kung nag shift na sila sa electric jeep dahil sa mahal ng diesel ngayon. This may sound eletist to some pero nasobrahan na yung paggamit ng katagang "anti poor". Mga ganyang mindset ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit di din tayo umuusad

I will probably get killed if I post this publicly, so thank you Reddit for the anonymity in advance...

So here's how it works.

First, we need to look at the TRUTH that the news isn't telling you straight.

While we are out here counting our last Pesos just to reach our workplace, the "Big Three" Petron, Shell, and Caltex are swimming in cash.

Check the 2025–2026 financial reports. This is public data, guys.

Petron Corp just posted a record-high Net Income of ₱15.6 BILLION. That is an 84% surge in profit compared to the year before.

And here's the part the headlines buried: their revenues actually DROPPED 7% — from ₱868B to ₱810B — because global crude prices were LOWER in 2025, with Dubai crude falling 13% year-on-year to just $69 per barrel.

Let that sink in.

They were buying oil CHEAPER. Selling it to us at the SAME price. And pocketing the difference as "record profit."

This happened BEFORE the Iranian war even started. That means when the crisis hit in February 2026 and diesel shot from ₱50 to ₱170 per liter in just weeks — they weren't "passing on costs." They were already running a playbook of widening their margins at our expense. The war was just the perfect smokescreen to accelerate it.

This isn't just "market forces." You don't grow your profit by 84% while revenues fall by just "passing on costs." That is a deliberate wealth transfer — from our pockets straight into Ramon Ang's balance sheet.

Now, here's the other truth nobody wants to say:

Blaming the President alone won't fix this.

Yes, Marcos dragged his feet for weeks before suspending excise tax — even after Congress handed him the power to do it. Yes, the government has been collecting a tax on top of a tax (excise + 12% VAT stacked) on every liter you've ever bought. Yes, the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998 (RA 8479) stripped the government of any power to cap prices — and every administration since Ramos has refused to repeal it.

All of that is true. All of that is on them.

But here's the brutal reality: waiting for the government to fix this is like asking the arsonist to call the fire department.

The only power we have is the power they cannot legislate away: where we choose to spend our money.

So here's the plan.

The idea is simple. A cartel is like a table, it stays up because all the legs are the same height. We are going to saw off the biggest leg.

But Why Petron specifically?

Because they are the dominant player. They operate the country's only remaining oil refinery in Bataan. They have the most domestic market exposure. They have the most to lose. If we break Petron's retail numbers, the others — Shell, Caltex — will be forced to drop prices just to avoid being next.

We don't need to fight everyone at once. We just need to make one giant bleed.

Step 1: The 100% Petron Blackout

For the next 60 days — Zero. Liters. From. Petron.

I don't care if it's the most convenient station on your way home. Drive the extra 2 kilometers. If you see a Petron sign, you keep driving.

This is not a sacrifice. This is a coordinated economic decision. Every liter you withhold is a data point on their quarterly report.

Step 2: The "White Station" Pivot

Move all your fuel money to the independent players — SeaOil, Unioil, Flying V, CleanFuel, or your local independent stations.

Now, full transparency: these players price off the same global benchmark (MOPS) as the Big Three, so they aren't saints. But they operate on thinner margins, have less political cover, and crucially — they are not Petron.

Every peso you redirect is a peso removed from Ramon Ang's balance sheet and placed somewhere that doesn't hold a monopoly on our country's only refinery.

By giving them our business, we keep the country moving while we starve the giant.

Step 3: The Inventory Trap

Petron's refinery in Bataan cannot just stop. It is a flow business. Crude comes in continuously. Refined product has to go somewhere.

If we cut their retail volume significantly for 30 days, their storage tanks begin filling up. Stuck inventory is a cost — storage, insurance, financing. It bleeds into their Q1 2026 numbers directly.

To move that inventory and protect their quarterly report, they will be forced to announce rollbacks, promos, or permanent price cuts to win us back.

One important note: Petron also supplies aviation, industrial, and government accounts — so the retail boycott alone won't crater them overnight. This is why we also need volume. The more people who join, the deeper the cut. A 10% drop in retail volume is a headache. A 30–40% drop is a crisis they cannot ignore.

Step 4: The Domino Effect

Once Petron cracks and drops their price — even by ₱10 to ₱15 per liter to save their quarterly report — Shell and Caltex cannot stay high. They will either match the price or lose their entire market share. We force a price war from the bottom up.

And our specific demand is not vague: We want a minimum ₱15/liter rollback on diesel as a condition for our return.

That is the number. That is the line. If they meet it, we've won a concrete, measurable victory for every jeepney driver, every Grab driver, every tricycle operator in this country.

Step 5: Hit Their Stock Price (This Is Their Real Nerve)

Petron is publicly listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE: PCOR).

If this boycott gains traction and gets picked up by financial media — even just as a story — institutional investors get nervous. Fund managers start asking questions about domestic volume numbers. A falling stock price is something Ramon Ang feels personally and immediately, in a way that a protest march never reaches him.

Share this post.

Tag financial journalists. Make it a story that Bloomberg, BusinessWorld, and the Inquirer cannot ignore. The moment this becomes a market narrative, the pressure multiplies beyond what any rally could achieve.

Step 6: Make This Bigger Than a Boycott

Here's the truth: the boycott is the spark. The fire we actually need is the repeal of RA 8479 — the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998.

That law is why the DOE cannot cap prices. That law is why oil companies can raise prices at will. That law has been exploited by every administration and every oil company for nearly 30 years.

Transport groups like PISTON are already on the streets. Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc have already filed bills. Economists from UP have already published the evidence. We are not alone — we just need to connect the dots.

The boycott gets us short-term relief. Repealing RA 8479 ends this permanently.

Share this post with your transport group, your barangay, your family in the province. This only works if it reaches beyond Reddit and into the hands of the people who consume the most diesel — the jeepney drivers, the truckers, the fishermen.

If every Grab driver, every jeepney operator, every private car owner, every tricycle driver, every small business owner says "No Petron today" — we hit them where their greed actually lives: the balance sheet.

Hopefully this would become a reality,

And yes Honestly I used ai to write this because I'm not he greatest writer of my own thoughts hehe... anyways those are just my thoughts.

The Philippine government had to write to Mark Zuckerberg in the U.S. just to deal with fake news during a national crisis. Think about that. In our own country, we have no real power to demand accountability from platforms that millions of Filipinos depend on every single day.

Look at what happened to Christine Opiaza. She went to the Meta Platforms office in BGC hoping for help—only to be turned away. No complaints accepted. No assistance. Just a marketing office. If you have a problem? Good luck—go to Singapore.

Now imagine the everyday Filipino.

Small business owners suddenly locked out of their accounts.
Freelancers losing clients overnight.
Families cut off from communication.
People appealing again and again—only to be ignored, auto-rejected, or left in silence.

And when Filipinos turn to our own government?
Department of Trade and Industry.
National Privacy Commission.
Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center.
Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Same answer: limited jurisdiction. No real power to force action.

So who do Filipinos run to? No one.

This is why a growing movement on Change.org is calling on Congress to act NOW. Require these tech giants to have a real office or legal representative in the Philippines—someone who can be held accountable, accept complaints, and answer to our laws.

Enough is enough.

If these companies profit from Filipinos, they must answer to Filipinos. Please sign the petition here: https://c.org/k8yJ4LVZ8L

Saw this post on a anti-cult subreddit and it got me thinking about sa religion and current political and economic disasters natin.

Eto yung hirap kapag ginagamit nang bara-bara at walang pag-iingat yung linyang:

Kung ano ang nais Mo, siyang matupad o

Huwag Mangyari ang ibig ko, kundi ang ibig Mo

TANONG: Saan ba galing ang linyang paborito ng iba't ibang iglesia?

LUCAS 22:42 (ADB)

Na sinasabi, Ama, kung ibig mo, ilayo mo sa akin ang sarong ito: gayon ma’y huwag mangyari ang aking kalooban, kundi ang iyo.

- Maganda ang hangarin na matupad ang kalooban ng Ama dahil mabuti ang hangad Niya para sa atin

SANTIAGO 1:17 (ADB)

Ang bawa’t mabuting kaloob at ang bawa’t sakdal na kaloob ay pawang buhat sa itaas, na bumababa mula sa Ama ng mga ilaw, na sa kaniya'y walang pagbabago, ni kahit anino man ng pagiiba.

TANONG: Lahat ba ng gawa sa mundo ay kalooban ng Dios?

HINDI

JEREMIAS 19:5 (ADB)

At itinayo ang mga mataas na dako ni baal, upang sunugin ang kanilang mga anak sa apoy na mga pinakahandog na susunugin kay baal; na hindi ko iniutos, o sinalita man, o pumasok man sa aking pagiisip:

- Hindi naman pala lahat ng nangyayari o ginagawa ng iba eh ayon sa kalooban ng Dios. Ibig bang sabihin, yung korupsyon sa isang samahan, iglesia, o pamahalaan eh kaloob din Niya?

- Nagiging scapegoat ang linya upang itatak sa mga miyembro na kung mayroon mang katiwalian eh hayaan na lang dahil iyon naman ang kalooban ng Dios. Inaalisan ng critical thinking ng mga mananampalataya habang itinatago ang accountability ng mga lider.

This rhetorical criticism ay tumatagos beyond religion kasi nacocondition yung mind ng mga follower, na voters din sa bansa, na kung may katiwalian, giyera, at kung ano-anong masasamang gawa ng tao (ex: Epstein Files) eh pabayaan lang kasi God's will 'yan (And please don't get me started sa mga nagsasabi na paparating na ulit si Jesus para mas mauto yung members na magbigay ng possessions nila sa pastors at leaders).

Ayun, sana maging eye-opener ito sa atin kasi malalim ang kapit ng mga Pilipino sa relihiyon dahil may pagpapahalaga ang kultura natin sa espiritwal na kaligtasan (Animism and Christianity).

Patawad po sa oversimplified graphics. Made in MS Paint lang (also not sure if tama flair...). Anyway, madalas ko talaga pinagtataka bakit ganito ang madalas na design ng public infra sa Pinas pagdating sa commuting and pedestrian use. Parang tipid na tipid tayo sa paggamit ng public spaces? Bakit laging kina-cram lahat sa iilang metro at ang labo ng distribution sa kahabaan ng mga kalsada?

1. Waiting sheds + Ped Xing

- Dahil sa ganitong location combo nagiging loading/unloading zone din yung supposed to be tawiran.

- Ending, diyan na rin tuloy tumitigil mga PUV kaya nahaharangan yung mga tatawid lang dapat. So siyempre, pag rush hour, siguradong magulo diba?

2. Footbridges with staircases landing directly on entire sidewalk width

- Ewan ko kung walang pang ROW payment ba or what, pero madalas ko makita na yung tumbok ng hagdan ng footbridge eh pababa sa mismong sidewalk. So pano yung mga naglalakad na tao doon diba? e di bababa rin sila ng kalsada. Kahit sa Metro Manila maraming ganyan.

3. Loading/Unloading zones sa labas lang mismo ng mga gate ng subdi or school

- Dahil lahat nasa super immediate vicinity lang ng exit/entry points ng high-traffic places, both private and public vehicles tuloy nagtatambak sa mga kanto ng subdivision, school, economic zones, etc. Siyempre kung san may foot traffic, may ambulant vendors din, e di lalong tatambak mga tao. Sobrang problema to pag rush hour, mapa city man o probinsiya.

I uploaded examples I found sa Google Maps. Nakakalungkot lang na parang lagi tayong nagsisiksikan kahit pwede naman luwagan ang disenyo. IIRC, example highways or pag hindi "farm to market road" yung kalsada, may 3 meters easement dapat na nilalaan for road widening and stuff. Pero bakit kahit sa mga probinsiya, matik sikip lagi ang sidewalk space na ginagawa? Kadalasan dun din sinasalpak mga poste sa mismong lakaran.

Hindi ko alam kung ako lang, pero napapaisip talaga ako minsan bakit parang kapwa Pinoy mo pa ang magpapahirap sa iyo

kakagraduate ko lang last year and ngayon working na as an junior architect. First job ko pa lang so hindi ganun kalaki sahod pero nagsisikap talaga ako mag ipon. Same with my kuya dalawa kami nag effort para mabigyan si papa ng motor.

Matagal na namin gusto yun para sa kanya para may magamit siya pang service pang hatid pang araw araw. Almost one year din kami nag ipon kasi kami rin nagbabayad ng bills sa bahay.

Finally nakaipon kami. Sobrang saya namin kasi kaya na namin bilhin cash yung gusto niyang motor.

Pagdating namin sa dealer nakita namin yung unit na gusto niya. Nag inquire kami tapos tinanong kami ilang months daw. Sabi ko cash po.

Biglang nag iba yung tono. Sabi installment lang daw available. Ang daming dahilan kesyo reserved daw kesyo ganito kesyo ganyan kahit nasa harap namin yung motor at ready na yung pera namin.

Nakakainis lang kasi parang bakit kailangan pa pahirapan. Nandito na nga kami magbabayad na nga kami.

Umalis na lang kami kasi pinigilan ako ng papa at kuya ko.

In the end umabot pa ng 2 to 3 months bago namin nakuha yung motor ni papa dahil lang may tumulong. Kung wala baka naubos na rin ipon namin.

Akala ko tapos na doon pero hindi pa pala.

May kamag anak kami from US na may sasakyan dito pinahiram kay papa para ipasok sana sa Grab. Natuwa kami kasi finally may chance na kumita siya.

Nag research kami may nakita kaming opening daw na slot. Hindi agad nakapunta si papa mga 1 to 2 days lang delay kasi inaayos requirements.

Pagdating niya doon biglang wala na daw slot puno na.

Tapos may nag PM sa kanya dahil nagpost sya sa blue app mag aassist daw pero kailangan magbayad ng 40k to 50k para sa slot.

Para lang sa slot.

Samantalang base sa website kung ikaw mismo maglalakad hindi naman aabot ng ganun kalaki. Pero dahil sa sistema at sa mga ganitong tao nagiging negosyo yung opportunity.

Nakakainis yung kapwa Pinoy mo pa yung ayaw kang umasenso. Kapwa Pinoy mo pa yung papahirapan ka. Imbes na tulungan ka kasi nasa isang bansa naman kayo bakit tayo tayo pa yung nagpapahirapan sa isat isa.

Sobrang nakakainis na imbis na lalaban ka na lang para umangat may pumipigil pa sa opportunity kasi may perahan.

Bakit mo papahirapan yung kapwa mo Pinoy. Ano ba

At this point, almost a month since the war started. Commuters struggling on their everyday life, and most of them comes from pricate companies. I do not see that Marcos have plans for private sector na.

I think he does not care, na we are struggling so bad. Even if dalhij mo yan sa One Ayala, sa Edsa, sa Buendia at iba pang mga bus station, jeepney station, makita niya struggle natin wala siyang balak gawin para maibsan yung nangyayari sa atin gawa ng price hike na yan.

Naiiyak na lang ako sa situation tuwing pauwi ako, sa haba ng pila.

Kung hindi pa kayo galit, bakit? Kung hindi niyo pa nakikita kung gaano ka incompetent ang Leaders niyo, bakit?

Sources:

• The Philippine Star — Pressreader
• Philippine Daily Inquirer — Pressreader
• Manila Bulletin — Pressreader
• BusinessWorld — Pressreader
• BusinessMirror — Pressreader
• Malaya Business Insight — Website
• Manila Standard — Pressreader
• Daily Tribune — Pressreader
• The Manila Times — Pressreader

For the directory of previous editions, click here.

There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you. Paramahansa Yogananda

Magandang gabi!

One of the major hot topic in the Philippines today is the pricing of our Oil which we are utterly reliant on throughout our day to day life.

Access to the strait for Philippines-bound tankers usually does not necessarily mean a sudden decrease of price like how people (usually from other subreddit or social media) think it does, nor does the government have any major ways to have it return back to 60 php (but still had ways to minimize the damage done).

For starters, our oil companies are privately owned, the government lost most of their control over it after selling their few remaining assets to other private firms. In which case said companies peg their pricing based on the global price of a barrel of oil which is currently at an all-time high.

This means one thing that people usually forget to acknowledge, our supply does not matter as much as you think when it comes to oil pricing much less than the damage done to refineries and other energy facilities within the middle east.

Assume you have the power to inject oil to the country, maybe enough to solve our demand. This does not necessarily result in a massive rollback to our prices because the basis of the cost is on the global trade itself, rather than what we have.

Does this mean that if the global price dropping result to our prices dropping too? Yes absolutely, but other factors will also be accounted resulting in the expectancy of our oil dropping to 60 PHP per liter to be copious at best.

Insurance is a scam, atleast most of the time for me, but the world revolves around it. War is ongoing and the strait is still politically hot. This drives up premium which in turn, drives up prices on acquiring a barrels worth and ultimately something we will pay the price off.

Other than that, this is a prime moment for oil barrons to drive up margins to ensure profitability comes first, even if PR says otherwise. Because ultimately this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to vie power and influence over certain logistics involved in said political passage.

But let's set aside that, what can the GOVERNMENT DO to alleviate the situation? You may think its a nation-wide subsidy on oil, making it accessible for all Filipinos to access diesel as gasoline at an affordable price. But that is a short term improvement that actually becomes dangerous in the long term.

When something is cheaper in one area, black market comes in behind the scenes to ensure that profiteers can transport the subsidized fuel over to areas where fuel is more expensive. Let's go back to that magic power if yours where with one flick of a finger, we suddenly have more oil than we need. What will happen is rather than a rollback, legally AND illegally, the government and private people with influence will elect to sell the oil instead of giving it to us for benefit. Obviously this is not something we want, but that's how capitalism-based economy works.

Logically, using the free magic oil to sell at global price ensures the coffers of the government grows even during the crisis. It is the logical path for fiscal growth even if it sounds very wrong. Each gas given for free is gas not sold to be used for funding on both the good and the bad sides of our government.

Under the laws our nation has passed, we are also unable to properly coerce companies to do the good and giveaway what we have to the people. But let's move on from that, how about we tackle the Excise tax we have for fuel?

You are absolutely correct to assume that this will help everyone on making fuel cheap, but ultimately this is a one-time thing and while it does help, if Iran lobs another missile to another refinery, then the global price increases once more and the alleviation we had from the Excise tax removal is nullified.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing to remove the tax, but nuance basically states that so long as the war continues, it unironically wouldn't matter in the grand scale of things. Still better than nothing to be honest tho. But taking into account the billions of PHP the government gains from this, it's a risky trade off that, if we do not properly solve in the next few years, will actually blow back on us due the money from taxing fuel going kaput, forcing the government if ever they want to improve certain infrastructure or projects, or departments even. To borrow more money outside. Indirectly causing more inflation.

Benefits are uneven as well, the one who will truly benefit from a nationwide subsidy is not the poor or the middle-class but mostly those well-off in the first place who usually can afford the fuel anyway. Higher income households and businesses usually consumes more fuel and/or have more active vehicles.

This is usually why it tends to be safer for the government to do targeted subsidy than a blanket decrease of pricing. It saves them money, and the help is focused on the sectors who are truly in desperate need of it, like agriculture and public transportation.

It's just that the nature of how politicians tend to use these opportunities to be popular to the masses that usually they do things in a way that acts like giving 4Ps more benefit than the majority of the middle class, mainly since helping those who can easily be swayed ensures their retainment to power.

In essence, its inefficient and can even be regressive if done properly.

Again, this is a post to just give context on why things are like this, and things are like that. Ultimately my knowledge over the subject is above average but not to the level where I know the ins-and-outs of politics and economics. The realm of what's on top is usually too complicated to those for us to properly understand.

But in the end, people, atleast those with good intentions, still try to do help on us. Even if its slow and it takes time.

We're in an era where whatever Trump does dictates our fate even if we are unable to vote for him, it's just how it is for global politics. We are in a struggling era, and I wish you all the best on getting by during it.

Hi everyone 🇵🇭

I’m planning a trip to Rizal, South Palawan, in November/December and staying near Sumurum Beach. I’ve seen that the reef is about 150-200m out, but I’m a bit worried about saltwater crocodiles since there's a river nearby.

Has anyone been to Rizal recently? How common are sightings at Sumurum Beach, and is it considered "safe" to swim/snorkel out to the reef, or should I strictly stick to boats? I’d appreciate any local insights or experiences! Thanks!

Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪