Mooched

Cong Corrales

“If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame.” –Sun Tzu, The Art of War

WE are being mooched and done for. This I found out after buying supplies for the last stretch of February over the weekend.

I remember a friend’s joke that goes: If you are poor, yet, somehow survived Duterte’s Oplan Tokhang, you’ll definitely be run over his “Train” (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion).

Here in our talipapa, the price of fish per kilo is hovering at P150 while the price of rice per kilo ranges from P45 to P50. Meanwhile, pork can be had for P200 per kilo. But the government still insist the Train Law isn’t affecting the economy.

About a fortnight ago, the Philippine Stocks Exchange suffered its biggest loses in over a year. On Monday, last week, the PSE index dropped by 194 points lower than that of Feb. 2. It simply means that foreign funds (read: investments) left the country’s market to the tune of P5.058 billion. But the government still insists the extended martial law isn’t affecting the investment climate.

According to Department of Energy’s Mindanao Field Office, in their monitoring as of Jan. 16, pump prices for diesel in Cagayan de Oro have shot up from P39.05 to P41.45. But the government will insist this change will not affect the prices of basic commodities, will it?

I know I sort of promised in my last column to contain my rantings to domestic complaints. However, happenings in the national level always trickle down and affect us. To point it out: prices of basic commodities in Mindanao will increase the most compared to other island groupings simply because it is located farthest from central government.

No amount of spinning can negate the fact that our wallets are being fleeced right in front of our very noses. Meanwhile, the new set of oligarchs prance about like there is no impending financial meltdown, the likes of which, methinks, is only comparable to what happened in Venezuela lately. Pfft.