The Productive Change
By John Karlo E. Sagenes
Have you ever noticed that every time a president makes his or her State of the Nation Address, people always whine about their financial status? Its’ either they’re still poor or they become poorer.
In his last SONA, President Aquino trumpets our country’s economic gains for the past year. He cites the Philippines' 7.8% GDP growth in the first quarter of 2013, the fastest in East and Southeast Asia. He also cites the Philippines' first-ever investment grade rating.
This is what the people are crying about. How did it happen? I mean, our country is growing and getting rich while the common or the minimum wage earners didn’t experience any change at all? The wage is still stuck at 400. The necessities are still expensive for the commoner. And how come the government cannot transmit the productive change in the working force of the Philippines?
Who can blame those Filipinos? We’ve been through a decade of famine and drought and, simply, corruption. I guess they are tired of the maltreatment of the past administration’s schemes that made the economy of Philippines plummet to the very bottom of the leader board. Oh hell yeah! We felt that fall and it hurts our pockets and wallets. Prices began to rise and the cost of living bloated! While everything grows and increases, the salary of a commoner is stuck at 400 to 450 and if you’re working in rural areas its way lower than 400 and don’t forget the tax deduction and insurance payment, and they end up with only half of their salary. Imagine how the Filipino families consisting of 5 or more members survive with only 200 pesos to spend for a day. That’s almost my allowance for a day!
It’s been four years since P-Noy sat and started to resurrect the dying Philippine economy. Yes, our economy is in a respirator and our country is plagued with all sorts of controversy with, of course, corruption as a cancer. The president’s goal is to lessen the corruption and put our country in the right path of growth and productivity.
For four years I have seen a few improvements in our society, believe me there is. We’re not that slummed like before. We’re slowly progressing and we’ll eventually experience the effect. It’s just some of us are not patient enough to wait for the progress to take effect in their lives and decide to organize a picket rally to get attention. Do you guys think that shouting and barricading the streets with banners and flags will solve those problems that we shout at the government? I don’t think so. You’re only making it worse.
There are ways to help the government change the way we live. Instead of crying out loud, we should work together to fix this dysfunctional country and change the way we live on it. Just like you guys, I’m tired of living in a country full of problems but unlike you, I’m trying to change the way we live, the way we think.
