CONSUMERS can expect a bigger increase in prices of commodities if the successive oil price hikes in the country are not resolved soon, a business leader warned, as various quarters proposed solutions to the rising fuel prices.Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) president Steven Yu said small increases in prices have already been imposed across all products not just in Mandaue City but in the entire Cebu island.“If the heightened commodity prices do not go down soon, once the inventory of the manufacturers gets depleted, we can expect bigger increases,” Yu told SunStar Cebu Wednesday, March 9, 2022, a day after oil firms raised the prices of their products for the 10th time this year.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last Feb. 24 has caused world oil prices to soar on supply disruption fears exacerbated by sanctions imposed on Russia for its aggression. Russia is the world’s second largest producer of gas and third largest exporter of oil.Yu said the successive oil price hikes are an added burden to the business community, which has not yet recovered from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic and the damage brought by Typhoon Odette (Rai).He said this will badly affect them despite the recent easing of restrictions such as the lifting of the curfew, operation of full seating capacity in public transport, and non-requirement of vaccination cards in establishments, which have played a big role in the recovery of the business community.“With the easing of restrictions, we are seeing the gradual resurgence of consumers coming out and spending, but the increasing prices of oil and commodities put a damper to that purchasing power,” Yu said.The MCCI president expressed hope that the government can undertake timely interventions to reduce the impact of the potential increases in prices of basic commodities.He said they were elated that the government is taking steps to look at various measures to soften the impact of the war, such as reviewing the Biofuels Act of 2006 and the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, and possibly lowering or scrapping tariffs on corn, wheat, oil, pork, chicken and other commodities.Yu said it is a valid move for the government to increase the supply of commodities in the country through importation.Cut dependenceCebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Charles Kenneth Co, however, said dependence on imported oil and food products should be reduced by the country amid the continuing rise in prices of gasoline products and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.The government should focus on long term self-sufficiency that will give the country better economics and food security, Co told SunStar Cebu on Tuesday.He added that it is not only gas prices that are increasing but also the prices of the commodities that Russia and Ukraine produce.These countries produce wheat, corn, sugar, and even alternative starch-based products such as rice, said Co.Russia and Ukraine together account for about 25 percent of global wheat exports.As a short-term solution, Co suggested that the public conserve fuel by carpooling, using public transport, or riding bicycles.“We hope that peace talks and a ceasefire will immediately put an end to the hostilities in Ukraine. War is not the solution. We pray for the safety of those affected by that war,” said Co.Co also encouraged the public to ask the legislators for a temporary reprieve by reducing the value-added tax on oil products in the country.Despite the consecutive increases in oil prices this year, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Central Visayas assured the commuting public Monday that the fare for public transport will not go up.Meanwhile, lawyer Salvador Diputado, Department of Agriculture assistant secretary for the Visayas, said the successive oil price hikes are very unfortunate as they trigger a chain reaction, resulting in the increases in prices of other commodities, particularly food and other basic necessities.Diputado said now is the best time for the public to raise their own food so they can overcome difficulties ahead.Since January of this year, the total increase in gasoline prices has been about P13.25 per liter while it has been P17.50 and P14.50 for diesel and kerosene, according to the Department of Energy Visayas field office.