Husband with a diesel pickup and wife with a gasoline hatchback divided by a four-peso gap and one man’s inability to stop mentioning it
PASIG CITY – A married couple in Barangay Kapitolyo has entered a second consecutive week of domestic tension after oil industry sources indicated that diesel prices would fall while gasoline prices would rise, again, at the same time.
According to The Manila Times, diesel is expected to drop by P1.80 to P2 a liter next week while gasoline climbs by P2 to P2.20, movements linked to a planned release of reserves by major economies and a fuel export suspension in China. In the Salonga household, the movements have been linked to something else: a man who cannot let a good week go.
The Parties
Ferdinand Salonga, 41, a sales manager, drives a diesel pickup truck he bought in 2021 over the objections of his wife, who said it was too big for their garage. Katrina Salonga, 39, an accountant, drives a small gasoline hatchback she describes as “the sensible car.”
“For five years she told me the pickup was a mistake,” Mr. Salonga said, leaning on its hood. “It does not fit. It is thirsty. It is a truck and we live in a condominium. Fine. But two weeks in a row, who is saving two pesos a liter? I am just presenting the data.”
Mrs. Salonga confirmed that he has presented the data. “At breakfast,” she said. “In the elevator. On the family group chat, where my mother can see. On Thursday he forwarded me the news article with no message. Just the link. Then a thumbs-up, to his own link.”
A Week in the Household
- Friday: Price forecast is announced. Mr. Salonga reads it aloud.
- Saturday: He offers to “explain how diesel works.”
- Sunday: He calculates his savings on a napkin at a family lunch. Total: P112.
- Monday night: Mrs. Salonga queues for 40 minutes to fill up before the increase. He waves from the passenger seat of her car, which he came along to observe.
- Tuesday morning: He fills up at the new, lower price and sends a photo of the pump.
- Wednesday: Parking the pickup, he scrapes the garage pillar. No data is presented.
The Station
The weekly ritual plays out at a gas station on Shaw Boulevard, where pump attendant Dennis Maglaya has worked for nine years. He sees both halves of the city pass through in a single shift.
“Monday, nine in the evening, it is all sedans and motorcycles, everybody rushing to beat the gasoline increase,” Mr. Maglaya said. “Tuesday, six in the morning, it is trucks, vans and jeepneys, everybody waiting for the diesel rollback. Same customers, different faces. One is angry, one is smug. I am like a marriage counselor with a squeegee.”
He said he knows the Salongas by sight. “She comes Monday and does not speak. He comes Tuesday and asks me if I saw her Monday. I say, sir, I only pump.”
The Arithmetic
Dr. Evelyn Macasaet, a household finance researcher at a Mandaluyong college, was asked to audit the dispute. She found that the couple’s combined weekly fuel bill had changed by P9.
“He saves about a hundred and twelve pesos. She pays about a hundred and three more. Net, the household is ahead by nine pesos,” Dr. Macasaet said. “Against that, we must set the forty minutes she idled in a queue burning fuel, the meal he bought to celebrate, and roughly four hours of discussion. In economic terms, they are losing badly, together.”
She said the phenomenon is national. “Every Friday the country is told what fuel will cost on Tuesday. For three days, millions of people plan around a difference of two pesos. No other price gets this treatment. Rice does not have a forecast. Onions gave no warning at all.”
The intensity, she added, reflects real strain. Government employees’ groups are currently asking for a monthly relief allowance of P5,000, up from P2,000, arguing that a smaller proposed increase would not keep pace with prices. “When budgets are that tight, two pesos is not small,” Dr. Macasaet said. “It is just not worth losing a marriage over.”
The Jeepney View
At a terminal nearby, driver Antonio Abrenica, 63, took the diesel news calmly. He has driven the same route for 34 years and has seen every kind of price adjustment.
“Down two pesos,” Mang Tonyo said. “Last month it was up more than that. They call this a rollback. I call it an apology. I accept the apology. I do not forget what happened.”
He was told about the Salonga dispute. He thought about it. “Tell the husband: this week you are the winner. Next week it will reverse. It always reverses. And she will remember everything you said. A truck you can sell. A wife who keeps records is forever.”
Commentary From Abroad
The standoff has found sympathetic readers elsewhere. Bohiney Magazine reported that American couples have the same argument, except that both vehicles are trucks and the dispute is about which truck. The London Prat said British motorists gave up on comparison years ago and now simply stand at the pump in silence, watching the numbers, as one watches weather.
Outlook
Next Friday’s forecast is not yet known. Mrs. Salonga said she is prepared for any outcome and has started a spreadsheet.
It has two columns. One tracks the weekly price movements. The other, she said, tracks “statements made.” It goes back to 2021. She has not shown it to him. She is waiting, she said, for the right Tuesday.
SOURCE: bohiney.com