WHILE nations are still searching for answers on how to survive the pandemic, most of the government programs are catered for the poorest of the poor and that’s good. But as the lockdown in the entire Luzon has been extended, more denizens have no choice but to depend on the aid from the authorities or private institutions.
And while people are forced to stay at home for a longer period of uncertainty, the working class start to worry about their own survival. And so a valid question arose, will the middle class remain as middle class after the community quarantine?
That question creates another. How does one determine if he or she belongs to the middle class? Is it when you use fabric conditioner instead of just a bar detergent for your laundry? Is it when you use a breading mix for your fried chicken instead of the usual flour? Is it when you decided to eat spaghetti even if it’s not your birthday? Is it when your breakfast is not your last night’s dinner? Is it when new parents ask you to become a godparent of their child? Or is it when a friend texts you, “Pare, kamusta?”
An analysis in 2015 reported by Rappler as defined by Asian Development Bank back in 2012 suggests that middle class are those with incomes between 4 to 10 times the poverty line, roughly from P31,000 to P79,000 range of monthly family income for a size of five members. But there is also what they call lower middle-income class (from P15,780 to P31,560), and an upper middle class (P78,900 to P118,350) depending on how much their income ranges between the poverty line. The 2015 report also presented the low income (but not poor) whose monthly income ranges from P7,890 to P15,780.
Let’s now describe them without the numbers. The middle class are the citizens who decided they could do more than just being an “istambay.”
They are the ones who maximize their time being productive instead of playing cards at home. The middle class does not only pay taxes to the government but also fuel the economy. Part of their monthly expenses aside from electric and water bills include internet, telecommunication, cable, landline, car fuel or transportation, garbage collection, purified water, etc.
The middle class are usually puzzled on how informal settlers continue to have more children when it’s tough to raise just one. Most of them are responsible citizens. They are dreamers with eyes wide open.
If we combine the sizes of class per households of the middle class, the lower middle and the low-income class, that would sum up to approximately 16.5 million households. Add another 470 thousand households to include the upper middle class.
And while some people might think that the middle class are doing just fine during the enhanced community quarantine, some don’t realize that they too are very much affected by the circumstances. And the sentiments coming from the middle class have started to come out. Woefully, the working class began blaming those who are stubborn enough not to stay at home and not even follow physical distancing. They started to question why they are being bypassed from the government subsidy and relief goods.
Residents from gated subdivisions have cried out for help saying that the authorities should not be blinded by the concrete walls of their homes. Our OFWs and those in SMEs are now grappling to keep their source of livelihood. Taxpayers being deprived of government aid during this crisis is not an ideal scene but it is happening. Middle class people have loans and debts and bills to pay and this quarantine period is not helping them make ends meet. But despite of these, they still are dependable in complying with the government advisory. Deep inside, they are hurting big time.
IATF Spokesman and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles earlier said that the Bayanihan To Heal As One Law is enough to cover and extend help to the middle class during the lockdown period. That we have yet to see. The national government obviously has its hands full during this health crisis but our leaders should nurture the middle class because they are the stimulus to achieve our sustainable economic goals.
After the lockdown, the anticipation of the middle class is that they will continue to struggle in order to pay for their duties and obligations to the government and private institutions whilst putting food on their table. But the greatest fear right now is the question that remains when all of this is over...would they still consider themselves part of the middle class?
Just recently, the Department of Labor and Employment reported that the workers affected due to Covid-19 has now breached the 1 million mark nationwide, and that majority of the workers are in Metro Manila and Central Luzon.
The administration, economic leaders, LGUs and compassionate officials must find a way for the middle class to rebound from this debilitating crisis.
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Kuya J Pelayo IV is a Kapampangan broadcast journalist. For comments and suggestions, e-mail at 4th.pelayo@gmail.com