Fetalvero: Hyacinths for the soul

HOW much does a Filipino have to earn daily in order to be able to survive? How about the “hyacinths for the soul”? One has to earn P1,000 daily in Cebu City. A jeepney ride is P8; a trisikad will cost you P5; a small bottle of water is P15; the cost of fuel per liter is P54; and an average meal is P100. On top of that is your house rental, electric and water bills (which come monthly but are computed on a day to day consumption).

How many Filipinos earn a thousand pesos a day? My Internet research revealed that aside from software engineers, one has to hold a managerial position in order to earn more than a thousand pesos daily. Human resource managers, senior software engineer programmers, and operations managers are under this salary scale.

Security guards, hotel cleaners, receptionists and newly hired people in fast food restaurants earn P200 a day, according to my research. Middle-income earners such as call center agents, office administrators, and teachers earn P10,000 to P18,000 a month. According to Dave from The Longest Way Home some of these middle-income earners get a free sack of rice monthly, a health care plan and transportation allowances. A certified public accountant earns roughly P600 a day.

A registered nurse (RN), with no experience yet, earns a monthly salary of P4,000 a month—lower than what a school teacher earns. No wonder our RNs would prefer to work abroad. Upper income earners, like doctors, earn a monthly income of P18,000 to
35,000, while pilots earn P80,000 to P100,000.

A government employee of salary grade 21 in the Philippines under R.A. 6758 and EO 611 earns P7,478 a month.

What about our minimum wage earners? In Region VII Central Visayas, the minimum daily wage is supposed to be P305 but how many strictly comply with this labor law?

Several politicians filed their certificate of candidacy this week. Most of them are professionals and would earn more in private practi ce. But why have they chosen to join politics? That is a million dollar question. Senators and congressmen are mostly lawyers who are quite successful in their law practice but would rather choose to get a monthly salary of P40,000 to 48,000 a month.