The public is bound to face another round of major oil price hikes this week, and transport groups are set to go on mass protests.

Some might say that the outcry is just a regular ritual among transportation groups. But Ped Xing thinks the anger reflects a collective feeling of helplessness due to the  country’s overdependence on imported fuels which run both our vehicles and our power generators.

We expect to hear assurances that the government “will look” into the matter. Or that the price hikes in fuel and electricity due to perpetually rising costs of imported energy are justified. Then, we realize the government is also helpless in dealing with spikes in imported fuel costs.

At this point, we may all have to admit that our economy is really at the mercy of countries that sell us the fuel. Some would call this an “economic stranglehold”. For the ordinary six-pack Joe, this is punishment, plain and simple.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel for consumers of electricity. Based on recent pronouncements by government officials, the country has a clear plan to break free from the tight grip of imported fossil fuel used in power generation, thanks to the renewable energy law that we already have in place.

Recently  appearing on an evening television-talk show, Energy Secretary Rene Almendras made it clear that renewable energy is the way to go. RE simply means using local and readily available resources such as wind, sun, water, and agricultural waste products to run our power generators.

Almendras pointed out that the discovery of new fossil-fuel sources (through underground or undersea digging  for oil) can no longer move as fast as the growing demand for the black gold. True, it would still be available for some time, he said, but it would become increasingly difficult – and, therefore, more expensive – to extract.

This and the oppressive price of imported fuel, and of that definitely low-down dirty, toxic pollutant called “coal” make the need for us to look for other ways of generating electricity more compelling.

Ped Xing was glad to hear Almendras say that the government was implementing the RE law which was passed as early as 2008. The law which, according to one of the panelists in the talk show, was more than 15 years in the making, has actually put the Philippines ahead of its Asian neighbors in the worldwide search for replacements to expensive and toxic fossil fuel and coal.

The most encouraging assurance from Almendras, however, was that President Aquino “is not afraid to make tough decisions”.  He stressed that  P-Noy has enough political will to make sure that we rely more on RE soonest.

As far as ordinary Pinoys are concerned, the DoE chief’s assurances are most welcome.

This because they are also concerned about the preservation of whatever is left of our environment. And no one can debate with the ordinary Filipino’s worsening worry that toxic fossil fuel and coal-fired power generators are irreversibly damaging the air we breathe.

Maybe, it would take time before we feel the impact of the growing shift to RE. Maybe, we would have to deal some more with the ever-increasing cost of imported energy sources. And maybe, we won’t immediately break free from the hold that imported fossil fuel and coal has in our lives.

This is because the country is a Johnny-come-lately in the clean energy bandwagon, having only started to build its RE resources recently.

But we can heave a sigh of relief knowing that the Palace and Energy officials are determined to implement the RE Act.

Climate change triggered by toxic emissions is not only a global reality; it is also a matter of national security, and RE is the green solution.

Thus, Ped Xing wishes the President and Secretary Almendras all the best in this endeavor.