Politics of Oil

Gloria Arroyo’s propaganda (swallowed unquestioningly by reporters covering her Saudi Arabia state visit) that the Saudi oil minister has assured her oil supply in case of shortage as if it’s a special favor to her, is a source of amusement in coffee shops.

Nowadays, oil supply is there for those who have the money to buy. No assurance even from the Saudi king himself will guarantee oil supply if you don’t have the money to pay for it. One does not have to go on a state visit to get it.

The politics of oil is discussed in the book of Geronimo “Ronnie” Velasco , “Trailblazing – The Quest for Energy Self-Reliance.” Velasco was the energy czar during the Marcos administration.

There’s a portion of Velasco’s book that gives a good background on the exploitative government policy of manpower export in relation to oil import: “As I became more familiar with the Middle East governments, I realized that we had to be prepared to offer something in return for whatever crude supply they would give us. The approach differed depending on the country. For example with Saudi Arabia, we thought of offering our skilled Filipino laborers as contract workers.

“At the time, thanks to the huge inflow of petrodollars, the kingdom was beginning its construction binge for infrastructure and commercial facilities. But because Saudi Arabia lacked for labor, we thought that our Filipino workers could help fill the gap. The Saudi government welcomed the offer, and soon we were sending skilled workers over.

“In February 1974, when I made my first trip to Riyadh, there were only seventeen Filipinos in the kingdom, most of them being former hydraulic engineers from the Department of Agriculture. By 1978, the number of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia had ballooned to 300,000.

“In relation, I recall that then-Labor Secretary Blas Ople and I had a lot of discussion about what kind of Filipino workers we should deploy to jobs overseas. At the time, in the mid- Seventies, the Department of Labor was already contemplating such a policy.

“I argued with Blas that we should only send our skilled workers, not domestic helpers. Why? Because I had a sense that sending domestic helpers – majority of whom were women – to foreign countries might just create more problems for us.

“I don’t know, but somehow I felt that if many Filipinos could abuse heir own domestic helpers, what more if foreigners – who are culturally different from us – employed them?

“President Marcos used to listen to us discussing the fine points of overseas employment. Ultimately, Blas prevailed. As he told me half-jokingly, “Look Ronnie, you’ve had a comfortable life. You have no idea how desperate our jobless Filipinos are. If we don’t provide them a safety valve like overseas employment, we might have a bigger problem in our hands.”

There are now some one million Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, many of them female domestic helpers. Labor officials say 8 out of 10 domestic helpers in the Middle East are victims of abuse.

Arroyo shamelessly pushes labor export – encouraging graduates of state universities to go abroad as caregivers – not only because OFWS remittances keep financially afloat her administration but also because, as Ople said, sending them out serves as a “safety valve” to the unrelenting poverty in the country.

Velasco’s book relates the country’s botched quest for a self-reliant total energy program. It also gives an insight on the fickleness of political fortunes.

He relates his difficult transition from one of the most prominent personalities in the country to being the most maligned with the fall of Ferdinand Marcos: “For someone who had been used to staying at the top and being in command, my hasty departure from office under ignominious conditions would have broken my spirit, as it would anyone used to wielding power and enjoying the trappings of power.

“When I returned to Manila in October 1986, I could sense that many people whom I used to socialize or play golf with had changed. The warmth was no longer there. In social gatherings, people would stare whenever I walked into the room, as if I had a contagious disease. It was during that time when I came to know who my real friends were.”

Being out of power gave Velasco a new perspective on life and opportunity to rekindle old passions and create new one. In 1983, he returned to cello playing “after 27 years of not being able to play a single note.” These days, he even does the concert scene. He has performed with Oscar Yatco and Nena Villanueva in several public concerts including in the annual Las Piñas Bamboo Organ Festival.

Life has come full circle for Ronnie Velasco.