IT WAS an eerie Wednesday night past ten. The national highway in Taloto, in the city of Tagbilaran, where our house has been situated since the seventies, turned quiet. It was strange not to hear vehicles passing by. Even the speeding ambulances with their ubiquitous sirens, which regularly hit the road at any hour of the night, were silent. When I woke up the next morning, around six, it was still oddly quiet. It was only at around 6:30 a.m. that the national highway became alive again. What does that mean?
You can guess why this is happening. The acute fuel price hikes this month of March are hurting our pockets, so that everyone with a motor vehicle, whether for private or commercial use, feels it is wiser to stay put and drive out only for essentials. Everyone is reviewing their travel plans, and entrepreneurs and businesspeople are consolidating their deliveries for optimal use of resources. It is indeed true that when faced with a crisis, we become creative. There is no other way to survive.
I expected a crisis to be declared soon. Part of my crisis communication training is to be observant. Recognizing when we are in a crisis allows us to act quickly. Moreover, having worked in the power industry in region twelve for over a decade — facing challenging situations like tower bombings, major electrocution cases, and system collapses — I learned to think fast and respond on the spot, especially as the organization’s spokesperson. It was excellent real-world training, along with the crisis-communication courses I completed while serving in the power industry.
During a crisis, families, entrepreneurs, government organizations, and business conglomerates need to review their Crisis Communication Plan and Contingency Measures (I hope that you have crafted these guidelines in anticipation of an extreme situation) and begin implementing them. If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late to start now.
Declaring a crisis communicates the urgency of the situation and compels everyone to plan, prepare, and execute their own emergency steps at home and at work. It will also make them realize that what’s happening is no joke. In my training, the longer we delay declaring it, the later people will respond. And we don’t want them to panic as a result.
At home, we already had prior discussions the past two weeks because I sensed, as part of my training, that this would get worse before it would get better. Preparation is the key. Didn’t we already experience this during the COVID-19 era?
Globally, a crisis often hounds us. We had just recovered from COVID-19, and now the brunt of the war being fought by the US and Israel against Iran is limiting our oil supply. As of March 20, 2026, the following are the data: Overall Supply: 45 days; Gasoline: 53.14 days; Diesel: 45.82 days; Jet Fuel: 38.62 days; and LPG: 23.51-25 days. That is not a good picture. Having served the power industry for twenty years, I can imagine the scenario of a prolonged power interruption and power rationing. It’s best to prepare.
The COVID-19 pandemic and this global oil crisis are categorized as non-traditional security threats, which are defined as security issues such as resource scarcity (in this present case, oil), causing societal and political instability, and hence becoming a security risk. A danger that targets people and upends their daily existence, their survival.
Briefly, in my crisis communication training, we were taught the following: (1) First, acknowledge that the organization is confronted by a crisis and declare it. Denial will not do anyone any good, most especially from a leadership lens. The longer you deny, the more challenging it will be to contain. (2) Second, treat the crisis with a sense of urgency. Do not delay. (3) Plan your next course of action. Make an inventory of your available resources. Decide on what is essential and ensure that you have them. And in an oil crisis, this includes conservation measures. (4) Use crisis communication. Say it exactly as it is. Don’t sugarcoat the situation. (5) Create a crisis management team. Choose your team leader. Brainstorm on your contingency measures. In organizations, appoint a crisis spokesperson. (6) Operationalize your action plan right away. And (7) Monitor government updates and act accordingly.
And yes, a crisis makes everyone anxious and edgy. It’s a natural reaction. After a moment of paralysis, which is expected given the magnitude of its effects on our resources and lives, we can now tackle the dire situation head-on, with grit and determination.
And don’t forget, we have comfort from a sovereign God, who is in control.
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The writer hosts Woman Talk with Belinda Sales every Saturday, 10 a.m., at 91.1 Balita FM Tagbilaran City. Email at belindabelsales@gmail.com. Follow us on X @ShilohRuthie./PN
