By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Inevitably, and by all indications, fuel prices will rise again. If it has not already, since today is Tuesday.
Let’s take liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), for example, which is more of a fuel of necessity for most Filipino households. As of this writing (Easter Sunday) and depending on where you are and what brand of cooking gas you order for your kitchen, the real pain is already here.
Where I am from in Quezon City, the 11-kilogram LPG tank I regularly get is now brushing the P1,800 range, from the P1,160 price just a little over a month ago. And this is for a commodity government insists is not in short supply.
If that claim is true, the price is punishing for a fuel not short in supply. When LPG climbs, the stomach surely grumbles: ulam at the karinderya is either more expensive or spread out on the plate like half an order; rice servings are shaved; and the pandesal shrinks quietly without much complaint from customers.
We Pinoys are headed for dieting, abstinence, or fasting well beyond the Lenten Season. A less-fed Juan and Juana, though, may be music to the ears of the congresswoman who announced several weeks ago that our nation should be alarmed, as over 40+ percent of our adult population is obese or overweight. Well, perhaps here’s an opportunity to force a national diet.
Sadly, we can’t kid ourselves. This is certainly not a solution for better health, but about inflation tightening its grip.
Diesel is projected to spike by as much as ₱20 per liter. Gasoline and kerosene follow. Public transport, logistics, food chains — all will adjust, and never seem downward as the real pressures of wars in the Middle East and even between Russia and Ukraine bear down on the throats of nations like ours that are dependent on oil imports.
Which is precisely why the fake “energy lockdown” advisory that spread like wildfire over Holy Week is not just irresponsible — it is dangerous.
Malacañang, through Usec. Claire Castro has repeatedly shut it down: there is no energy lockdown on April 20. President Marcos Jr. himself has assured supply stability through June 30. And yet, rumor merchants persist — complete with forged logos and doomsday checklists urging people to hoard.
This is not harmless chatter. It is economic sabotage.
False claims distort behavior. They trigger panic-buying, strain supply chains, and artificially drive up prices. They erode trust in institutions at the very moment clarity is needed. In a fragile energy environment, misinformation doesn’t just mislead — it manipulates markets.
Firing Line is full-on behind Acting Communications Secretary Dave Gomez when he said there must be zero tolerance for purveyors of fake news on energy issues. The law is clear and should be applied to them — because those who deliberately spread lies in a time of economic strain are enemies from within.
They are market saboteurs, preying on public anxiety, distorting prices, and pushing ordinary Filipinos closer to panic, scarcity, and unnecessary hardship.
At this time, Filipinos must learn to consume information the way they should consume fuel in a crisis — carefully, deliberately, and from reliable sources. Not every forwarded message deserves belief. Not every viral post deserves a share.
We are already dealing with enough real problems. We do not need invented ones.
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