Greed

Expect another increase of around 43 centavos per liter in fuel prices soon, a consumer group warned recently. President Estrada said he intended to make another appeal to the major oil companies to freeze pump prices. But the appeal is likely to go unheeded if world crude prices continue to rise. Last January crude prices hit a nine-year high of over $28 per barrel. The price has since zoomed past $30 as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries curb their output to achieve their target price of $35.

The Philippines, which sources about 99 percent of its crude oil requirements from abroad, is not the only one hurting from OPEC greed. Every country that does not produce its own oil is feeling the crunch. The problem is threatening to derail Asia's recovery from a two-year-old economic crisis. Last Saturday, US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson warned that soaring crude prices could stunt economic growth worldwide.

How does that sit with OPEC? As the Asian crisis has shown, an economic flu in one region could contaminate others across the globe. Will the oil producers care? In March last year, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela engineered an agreement among the world's oil exporters, including non-OPEC members, to control their output and thus push up prices. Since then world crude prices have shot up by around 150 percent, prompting US President Bill Clinton to warn last week that the United States may release its oil reserves to bring down prices.

Some oil producers appear to be softening up ahead of the OPEC summit in Vienna on March 27. Venezuela and Saudi Arabia have expressed willingness to ease restrictions on oil output, while Mexico -- under pressure from the United States -- has announced it will increase its output starting April 1. Reports said Saudi Arabia is eyeing a crude price of $20 to $25 per barrel. Good news, but it barely erases the bad taste left in the mouth by the oil producers' latest muscle flexing.

One positive result of such price manipulation is that it spurs research on alternative energy sources. Even hybrid cars that run on a combination of electric power and conventional fuel may soon be produced in commercial quantities. The world can't be held hostage forever to the oil producers' whims.