BBM’s genius day off

The oil crisis is a serious problem, and the big national response from Bongbong? A four-day workweek for some government offices, effective today. You hear that and think: Wow, the whole country is changing. Huge reform.

But the policy assumes the engines burning the country’s fuel are sitting inside government offices. Very efficient. A permit gets delayed, a clearance does not come through and suddenly the delivery gets pushed to tomorrow. Now the truck makes two trips instead of one. Double the diesel utilization.

The engine moves faster than the stamp, and somehow the brilliant solution is to slow the stamp even more. Who knew bureaucracy could be such a fuel-burning machine?

Because the people burning the fuel are the ones moving the economy — the ones who cannot take a day off: truck drivers, fishermen, farmers and delivery riders. So what exactly did the four-day workweek save?

Jeepneys still run on Friday. Trucks still deliver rice on Friday. Fishermen still burn diesel on Friday. But the government office is closed. So the part of the economy we successfully shut down is the discussion of the economy.

They say the President is very committed — to constituency services and regional development, very close to the pains of the people — according to Malacañang.

Maybe.

But this policy sounds like it came from someone who spends all day around government workers. Because if you actually spend time with real workers, you learn something very quickly: Friday is not optional.

If the President really looked at how this economy runs, the first thing he would see is the supply chain. Instead, when you travel with escorts, the road clears.

We understand the limits. The Philippines does not control OPEC. You cannot call the Persian Gulf and say, “Hey guys, lower the price, we’re trying to run a country here.”

Exactly. That is why the policies have to touch real fuel consumption.

Fuel excise taxes affect diesel pricing directly. The President himself mentioned subsidies and fiscal tools. Yet the most immediate thing we actually see is “office closed.” An interesting choice. It says a lot about how the presidency handles tough decisions.

If we are serious about saving fuel, start with the obvious: private cars. Even plates one day, odd plates the next. Better yet, make gasoline a lottery. Ten thousand lucky drivers win the right to buy fuel today.

Maybe cars should get the four-day workweek. No private vehicles on Friday. Cars get a day off. They deserve it. Cars also develop a healthier work-life balance. They have been working very hard. The economy continues via buses and trains.

Leadership should feel the emergency, too. Start with those beautiful convoys of black Land Cruisers. Engines running. Sirens singing. Very impressive. Very presidential. Also a little ironic when the nation is told to conserve.

Twice a week, the President rides public transport. The Cabinet rides the train. Secretaries take the bus. Escalators suddenly work. Air-conditioning improves. The MRT suddenly becomes bug-free. When powerful people share the commute, things get fixed very quickly.

Because leadership in a crisis is simple: you show the country you are stuck in the same traffic jam. But somehow, the solution always seems to help the government first. A very interesting coincidence.

Ever deal with a government office? They look at you as if you should be grateful they showed up. They stamp a paper as though they just saved the republic. And now the big national energy policy is that they are going to do that one day less a week.

The country is in an oil crisis. And the first engine we shut down is the government.