The art of simplying a complicated issue

I caught a portion of the television interview of Petron chairman/CEO Jose A. Syjuco a few days ago, and I was surprised by the clarity and apparent logic of his presentation, on various issues affecting the oil industry. His position, for instance, on the proposed National Oil Exchange Corporation provides serious food for thought as the lawmakers deliberate on the wisdom of the legislative measure.

When I met him for dinner a few days ago, I asked Joey Syjuco to elaborate on the points he raised in opposition to House Bill 810. I found really disturbing Joey's statement that the NOEC is going to become a government monopoly, the sole seller of oil in the domestic market. As many know, the government is probably the worst entity in the field of management. And making it a monopoly in the oil distribution side can create horrendous problems, and perhaps even pave the way to graft and corruption.

Joey Syjuco also showed me charts and graphs, visual aids that he had shown to the congressmen in a recent public hearing. And the materials give rise to serious doubts on the viability and necessity of a proposed body like the NOEC. Can NOEC actually lower prices? Will NOEC be beneficial to the economy? The answer from the Petron chairman is a big NO -- and logic and facts seem to be on his side.

The disadvantage of Joey, as he tries his best to lay bare what he perceives as the real facts behind the oil issue, is the fact that the debate has become too emotional. The anti-oil groups, for instance, have resorted to tactics that incite the masses to think with their hearts, and no longer with their minds. Matters like oil pricing, oil distribution, price movements, oil refining, spot markets and the like are so complicated that it will take more than brains, which Joey Syjuco has plenty of, to open the eyes of the general public to the real score about the oil industry.

I hope Joey will succeed, as he pursues the task of enlightening the Filipino people on the oil issues. For if he fails in opening the minds and hearts of the populace to the truth, then the problem could flare up and tear Philippine society into pieces. The resulting catastrophe could be damning to all.

I continue to receive everyday many letters from readers not only here but abroad. Let me, as my way of reciprocating the time and effort they exerted to express their thoughts, acknowledge some of the letters, excerpts of which are as follows:

DOMINGO L. MAPA, Village Manager, Dasmariñas Village Association, Makati City: "Greetings and warmest congratulations for your inspiring and enhancing book. Hope and pray that I could follow in your footsteps and walk with you in the Pathway to Life. You're indeed a man of God and man for others."

ATENEO ISTRAN CLASS, Ateneo de Manila University Graduate School of Business Makati: "We would like to share with your many social action projects. This is just a small token, coming from our hearts, of our big admiration for you. Hence, our proactive and synergestic response to your challenge as an Atenean."

FE JAMBALOS: "Your column about the 'odd couple' from Mogpoc created a stir with the Marinduqueños in the United States. E-mail lines are burning with opinions. A lot of our kababayans want to help. I, too, want to help, and want to find out the status of the couple."

FRANCISCO O. MARCELO, Sampaloc, Manila: "I wish to suggest to Mayor Lito Atienza to make the newly-renovated Lacson Underpass disabled-friendly, by providing its stairs with ramps where wheelchair-users and handicapped people can use. I congratulate the Mayor and the City Council for the beautiful project."

BERNARDO A. CORTES, 41 M.H. del Pilar St., San Nicolas, Pasig City: "Six years ago, one can get the renewed credit-card type of driver's license in one month. Three years later, one had to wait for 60 days. Now, one has to wait for 90 days. Please wake up Sec. Jun Rivera of the DOTC and Benjamin Calima of the LTO and tell them to do something about the delayed issuance of drivers' licenses."

RONALDO R. MANAHAN, Transportas Consulting, 32 Esteban Abada St., Loyola Heights, Quezon City: "I surmise that your suggestion to sell Camps Aguinaldo and Crame is to decrease traffic congestion in the area and to raise revenues for the government. Assuming that the sale is legally feasible, the government agency assigned to bid them out should draft strict guideliness for the areas' development. The guidelines should be drafted in consultation with the public. The development guidelines will ensure that the greedy developers will not try to squeeze every last ounce of return on their money. Otherwise, the development will result in greater urban density and more congestion."

HONEY LIBAO: "I have read your book, Walking Through the Pathways of Life. I didn't expect to enjoy reading the book as much as I did. It is like reading the story of our country and recalling the important events in our life as a people -- Space Lab, balikbayans, snap elections, etc. My expat co-teachers enjoyed reading the book, too."

RODOLFO ARIZALA, former ambassador: "You raised a relevant and interesting question: 'Where is Camelot?' It is difficult to answer such a simple but complicated question. However, if I may hazard a guess, may I say, 'A Camelot will appear when we have a King Arthur, Prince Valiant, and the Knights of the Round Table?"

R.B. of West Fairview, Quezon City: "As a concerned citizen, I would like to report drug-related activities in our nearby subdivision, West Fairview. Drug-related activities abound along the whole stretch of Rosas Street and at the adjacent portion of Lilac Street. These drug-pushers, mostly tricycle drivers, live in the apartment houses along these streets. It is said that these people are being coddled and protected by a former policeman."

ARTURO A. AQUITANIA, 5708 Baltimore Drive, La Mesa, San Diego County, California, USA: "I was fascinated by your column where you suggested moving the military camps away from the metropolitan area to ease the traffic problem. I would like to add that the big universities should also leave the metro area. A university city, such as Antipolo or Tagaytay or Los Banos, should be designated by the government, and tax incentives should be given to the universities to move out of the metro area. Things have been concentrated in the metro area for so long now and we are paying for it dearly in terms of bigger gas consumption, pollution, and frayed nerves and tempers."

Art A. Borjal's e-mail address:<[email protected]>