The Other Side of 20 USD: How A Cup of Coffee and A Croissant Costs More Than The Financial Aid Given in Bulakan, Philippines
I asked most of my friends on social media what they would buy if somebody handed them 20 USD. Most of them said they would probably buy a nice cup of coffee, some said they would buy a few cans of beer, and some said they would rather watch a movie in their local cinema.
Now, these are all great things. These are all things that I can see myself doing if I were handed 20 USD. Although, my perspective on how many things one can buy using 20 USD has shifted during the last eight hours.
Today, my grandmother (who I live with) woke me up at around 08:00 because she said that our names had been included in those who would be given some financial assistance. This was something that was ‘initiated’ by the government to ‘help’ its local citizens. Normally I wake up at around 09:00 or 10:00, so imagine how grumpy I was to be awoken an hour earlier.
First off, the local government posted this long list on Facebook with all the families who were to be given this cash assistance. Then alongside those names, you could see the amount that you were to get. Some families had 4,000 PHP (80 USD), some had 3,000 PHP (60 USD), while some had 2,000 PHP (40 USD).
Initially, I saw that my grandmother and I were to get 2,000 PHP because there were only two of us at home. So that was 1,000 PHP each — which was basically like getting 20 USD.
Grumpily, I told her that I was not in the mood to get 1,000 PHP from my local elementary school because the money that I would earn by staying at home and doing my work was more than our government’s cash assistance. However, if I did not get mine, she would not get hers because I was the only one authorized to get her share. So I went with my aunt because there was no way I would go alone.
Upon arriving at the school where my barangay was scheduled to get our financial assistance, we were told that the people who were to distribute the money were still not there because “they had a long night.”
Now, I do not care if someone had a long night — it was their job to be there at 09:00 because there would be people waiting. Some of these people had to skip their jobs, skip their classes and skip whatever they had to do for the day to fall in line and get no more than 100 USD in financial aid. Then again, the people in power had ‘better things to do,’ so who are we to complain?
Around noon, I was jittery because I had two articles due for the day, and I had not started any of my work. So I told my aunt that I would rather go home, and so she said, sure.
I thought to myself that if my grandmother would tell me to come back for her 1,000 PHP, I could simply run to the bank and get money from my own bank account instead of going back there and falling in line under the tedious Philippine heat. That was something that I was prepared to do — I would rather not come back there because it was hot, it was sticky, and there was no social distancing.
So I went home, and I carried on with my tasks for the day, and I forgot all about it.
However, when my aunt visited that afternoon, she told me that since my grandmother was a senior citizen, that could expedite my claim to financial assistance, and I would not need to wait for hours. I was done with my work for the day, so I said, why not.
Upon arriving at the elementary school for the second time that day, there was a rush of people sitting together with facemasks and face shields, but they were sitting so close together. There was no social distancing, there was no proper organization, and people were just handing out money. Like, bare money, not cheques, and not even cash in envelopes to keep these amounts discreet. They were waving bills as if people’s lives depended on these small amounts. After handing you the money, they ask you to pose with the bills as they took photos, which they will probably post in our mayor’s social media accounts to say that they were doing their jobs.
There were organizers shouting at the masses, asking them to shut up because we “would all get our fair share,” according to them. Others, primarily senior citizens, were clueless about their numbers because everything was posted on Facebook. Most of these people could not even afford a decent WiFi connection, let alone a smartphone. Then there were organizers who make these elders feel so stupid because they could not remember which numbers belonged to them or their households.
Then I realized that this amount, this 20 USD that I will probably use to buy a few cans of beer, is the amount that most of these people will try to live by for the rest of the week — or until they find a new source of income.
The national government’s debt had reached 10.33T PHP as of January 2021, yet the only amount that they could spare its citizens was 1,000 PHP or 20 USD each.
I realized that 20 USD might not be worth falling in line because I could quickly get that, but there are people out there who have nothing, and this amount will keep them going for the next few days or so.
In a country that stands up for its Christian values, I have realized that the Philippines is, indeed, anti-poor. If you live below the poverty line, it is over for you because there is no way that the government will stand up for you, nor will it give you the proper help that you require. It has been more than a year since the pandemic spread across the country, yet we are still in square one.
Why are these government officials still in power if they cannot do the jobs we have ‘hired’ them to do? If they cannot do their jobs properly, why do they still hold their place in public office?
Today, news of community pantries has been emerging across the Philippines. It shows that the Filipinos are resilient and that we do look after each other and never let our brothers and sisters suffer. Unlike our government who has practically turned a blind eye towards its citizens’ needs, the Filipino masses work together to combat hunger and help their fellow Filipino.
If our leaders are not up for the job they have been voted to do, why are they still in power? I call on the corrupt and useless leaders of the Philippines to resign if you know in yourselves that you are not helping your countrymen in any way. I call on you to resign if you are simply an added weight and a burden to the taxpayers. There are other people out there eager to lead and eager to make a difference, so do not stand in the way. If you really love the Philippines, you would do what is best for it.
