I notice a lot of folks search here at PhilFAQS for information about prices.  Both in the Philippines and in the US the price of gas is a hot topic right now.  My wife and I had a laugh a few days ago when one of her sisters sent a message from Rhode Island and said, "I just filled my car up for $4.07 a gallon … can you believe that prices have gone that high"?

Well it turns out that I had just come back from filling up our Mitsubishi Adventure here in Marilao.  Know what I paid?  $4.03 based on that day’s exchange rate.  Pretty small world, eh?  Can you believe that prices have gone that high?

Yesterday I used up more than half a tank on a trip to Pangasinan (a province north of here in Central Luzon).  I’m on my way out to the store for a few items and I think I’ll fill the tank back up while I am out, because the headlines in the morning paper say more hikes are coming any day now … the government and the petroleum companies are "Unable to say" what they think it will be, but figures of as much as 15 pesos per liter are flying about. Sheesh.

Yesterday I took note of the prices at a lot of stations over a 100 plus mile radius.  The price differences were tiny.  diesel, which I use, and I highly recommend you plan on using, averaged just over 48 pesos per liter.  At yesterday’s exchange rate … call it 44 pesos to the dollar, that would be 48 times 3.785 (the number of liters in a US gallon) divided by 44.07 (pesos per dollar) or a lovely, economical $4.12 USD per USG.

Unleaded regular gas seemed to average PhP 55.6 per liter, or $4.78 USD per USG.  I’ve lived a number of years in Europe and lately in Japan, so I’m used to these sorts of prices .. for the rest of you, welcome to the real world.  There’s an old Chinese curse that goes, "May you live in interesting times". and I believe it’s coming true … I hear GM dealers are offering some great cash back incentives on Hummers this month ….

The reason I said I recommend diesel has to do with two things.  Physics and politics.

Physics:  Here in the Philippines you can plan on spending a lot more time sitting in traffic.  A diesel engine of comparable size has one tenth the hurly consumption of a gasoline engine at idle … you will really notice the difference in Philippine conditions.

Politics:  For each barrel of crude oil a refinery can make slightly less diesel fuel than regular gasoline.  Therefore, in simple commercial terms, diesel should always cost slightly more than gasoline … and in the US this has been holding true … just ask an over the road trucker who is paying $100,000 plus per year for fuel.  Here in the Philippines there are two major transportation-related lobby groups the government pays attention to … long haul bus companies and Jeepney diver’s unions.  Any guesses as to what all big busses and most Jeepney’s use for fuel?

Don’t know how long this situation will hold true, but in the meantime I am enjoying my artificial government-0mandated discount on fuel along with many other things which I still enjoy about living here.  Going to the gas station, though, is rapidly falling of my enjoyment list.

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