"That will not happen because it is clear in my proposal that the term of the incumbent president will not be extended. Even my term as senator will be terminated in 2010," he said.

In fact, he points out that Article 19 of his proposed federal Constitution provides: "Unless the incumbent president is removed from office, dies or resigns, the incumbent shall serve until 2010, the year her Constitutional term of office ends. She is however not qualified to run again under the Constitution."

This was apparently written precisely for Gloria since it uses the feminine pronoun. What if Noli de Castro become president before 2010?

Besides, with all of his good intentions, a constituent assembly will not have to follow the wishes of any senator since there will be more congressmen in attendance. Since Gloria controls the Lower House, she will certainly have her way with the constituent assembly.

And then there is the problem of the federal system being a more expensive form of government. Where will the country find the money for another layer of officials and governance? More taxes is where.

***

We have letters: "If it’s a consolation, the Philippines is not alone in its misery insofar as soaring gas prices are concerned. I’ve learned that the price of premium gasoline there has already breached the P50/liter mark, and there is no relief in sight. If it is a ‘consuelo de bobo’ for us Filipinos, price of premium gas in most parts of the USA has already breached the $4/gallon mark. And with the spiraling cost of crude oil in the world market, the specter of much higher fuel price looms large.

"If you think that theft of gasoline from parked or unguarded vehicles can only happen in the Philippines, it is not so anymore. There have been reports of fuel stolen or siphoned from parked vehicles here. One particularly eye-opening incident happened in a Maryland car dealership. The owner discovered the following morning that the lock in the gas pump in his car outlet was dismantled and more than 200 liters of gasoline were pilfered by still unidentified perpetrators. It can only be surmised that Americans are also feeling the pinch now. There has also been a very significant rise in the number of commuters using the mass transit system to save on gas.

"Score one for the administration." – Cris Maralit

***

Since 1 US gallon = 3.78541178 liter, that would put the US premium gasoline price at $1.056688210549 or P45.58 which would be our price without VAT and the additional taxes and other charges that our government imposes.

A report on US television says that people in California are cutting down on their car usage to the point where sales in malls and downtown stores are affected.

Since a lot of us in the Philippines are poor, why do we still have traffic jams all over Metro Manila? One son in the United States called to ask if there still was traffic on Edsa. Of course, there is and eight cylinder SUVs are still being sold and bought. Obviously, the rich do not feel any pinch although the daily wage earner is hard-hit by the oil and rice crises.

As for stealing gasoline from parked cars, this is a particularly middle class crime. After all, what would you do with gasoline if you did not own a car? Thus, don’t expect that to happen here unless one has a diesel machine in his car.

***

"At the risk of sounding like I am defending Meralco (which I am not), 72 million kWh is really not that much. If you divide 72 million by 3600 (your annual electricity consumption), it comes to 20,000. Which means 20,000 households, with each household consuming 3,600 kWh per year, will consume a total of 72 million kWh. That’s probably the population of a small city.

"I’m sure that Meralco has not been the ‘model corporate citizen it can be’, but instead of shooting the messenger, perhaps your investigative resources can be better utilized by looking at the policies that govern the pricing of generating and transmitting electricity to the consumers. Meralco has been operating for the past several decades, so it must be presumed that they were and are abiding by the rules and regulations set by the government." – Tony Serquina

***

The policies that the regulators – in this case the Energy regulatory Commission (ERC) – write do not so much regulate the energy business; in fact, it sometimes seems that the utilities (especially when they are as large as Meralco) regulate the ERC and other agencies that are tasked with reigning in the greed of the capitalist.

In a poor country like the Philippines, the power of money is unbridled. Most regulators are easily dissuaded from being overly strict with those they are regulating.

Thanks for your computation. I am a writer, not a math person.

***

On Monday, the Rotary Club of Pasig will hold its President’s Cup Golf Tournament at Sun Valley in Antipolo. This is a new course that is built like a private club with great grass and design that treats itself like a public course. Anyone can play on the course by paying the green fee.

It is very near Forest Hills.

Our present RC Pasig president Conrad Cuesta ends his term in June. Our incoming president is Dr. Sonny Samson.

It should be a fun tournament as Rotary golf often is.

***

The five-day golf tournament of Paco Park Oasis Hotel (which is right beside Paco Park) is called the Oasis Park Hotel Golf Classic. Also, the schedule is Monday, May 19, 2008 at Canlubang. Tuesday it goes to Malarayat; Wednesday is Forest Hills; Thursday is at Sherwood and Friday at Canlubang, again.