Non-essentials will be the first to feel the brunt of rising fuel prices.
The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns already taught us the difference between essentials and non-essentials. Essential workers were allowed to report for duty, while many in non-essential sectors either worked from home or were unable to work at all.
Post-pandemic, however, “essential” seems to be in the eye of the beholder.
If you’re a Cagayanon who can’t survive a day without taking a selfie at some tourist spot outside Cagayan de Oro, then that becomes your “essential,” despite rising fuel prices. And since every selfie demands a different OOTD—outfit of the day—bahala na si Batman when it comes to the budget for other basic necessities: food and shelter.
Batman isn’t coming soon to theaters near you, though. It’s Spidey who will be arriving in July 2026 in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Pinas seems to be having a brand new day each time fuel prices increase. These increases are driven by many factors, including global supply and demand and tensions in the Middle East. When will they ease? Hmm. That’s anyone’s guess.
Trump’s critics were shocked when he was reelected. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect him to become president again. But he is back at the helm—and, according to his critics, not doing a very good job.
I love Donald Duck. I don’t know if he and the other Donald—Trump—share the same temperament, but the duck version can be short-tempered, with his anger going from zero to infinity and beyond in just a second. That’s why I love the duck version—he doesn’t do pa-cute and says it as it is. That’s in the world of Disney.
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In the real world, on the other hand, pa-cute is the norm. Try saying it as it is, and see how long you last in your job, position, organization, club, or any group where politeness is next to godliness. That’s probably why there was so much animosity toward then-President Rodrigo Duterte, who often used curse words in his speeches—along with the controversies surrounding his anti-drug campaign, including Tokhang, which later drew scrutiny from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
If his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, wins the 2028 presidential election, some might argue that the ICC’s Tokhang-related allegations had little to no impact on her victory. Is that similar to BBM becoming PBBM despite then-President Ferdinand Marcos’s martial law and the alleged graft and corruption that drove the Marcos family out of Malacañang during the 1986 People Power Revolution?
It’s not exactly the same story. There was no martial law during Duterte’s term. Marcos did not use curse words in his speeches. Duterte served for six years, as mandated by law. Marcos was president from December 30, 1965 to February 25, 1986—more than 20 years. Whew. If not for People Power, his wife or children might have succeeded him had he chosen to hand over power to any of them.
At least it took the Marcoses 36 years to get Malacañang back—not in 1992.
In 1991, then-President Cory Aquino let them return to the Philippines to face their legal cases.
In 1992, former First Lady Imelda Marcos had the nerve—er, courage—to run for president but lost. Whew. Deep sigh of relief from the yellows.
By 1987, the People Power honeymoon was long over, and Filipinos had realized that, despite the fanfare, the government was still very much “same old, same old,” which could have paved the way for a successful Marcos presidential attempt in 1992. But it wasn’t meant to be.
