AFTER the Japanese invasion in the country, the life of Marina and Francisco was never the same. He was drafted in the military while she went into hiding in the caves and forests along with other Filipinos. They both survived the war and decided to create a family. They bore six children. And life became even harder for them.
Marina only finished elementary because of poverty and Francisco suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Their relationship became dysfunctional. He left her with six children to feed. To survive, Marina would roam around selling kakanin amidst the intense heat of the sun, just to provide for the children. The income was never enough to cover their daily expenses, let alone send them to school. Her children would then help their poor mother by taking on any jobs just to make ends meet. But it would still be harder for them. They had to try their luck in the nearby city and had to fend for themselves. But luck has only sided to the two out of six. The others forged their own path by marrying affluent men. But it wasn’t a fairytale for Juana.
Juana met a cook in the Chinese restaurant where she was also waiting tables. They fell in love and started their own family. They would then bear seven children. Life would be harder for them without stable jobs. They did every possible way they could to survive and to give their children better future. They sent all of them to school despite the hardships. But luck was still very elusive. Her husband died of heart attack and Juana was left with seven children. These children would help their poor mother by juggling work and studies. They were separated and went on with their different lives, but only three of them got lucky. Juana would then die of cervical cancer because of late diagnosis brought by the inaccessibility of basic health services.
Jane, one of her children, did not finish school. She had to work to help provide for the family and to send her younger siblings to school. She then met a security guard and decided to have a family of her own. She would then bear five children. Life becomes harder for them too because of inflation and the husband only earns a minimum wage. Jane, wanting to break the cycle of poverty decided to finish her degree to be able help her husband and to send their kids to college.
Although, education is more accessible and cheaper during this time, they still need to provide for their children’s allowances and for school projects. She is now juggling studies and parenting, which she also shares with her husband. Both works so hard to provide for their family, but they are burdened by the continuing inflation, the expensive water and electricity bills. They will be out of budget whenever one of the kids get sick. They need to pay for hospitalization and medication.
This is not a fairytale nor a melodrama wherein someone just wins a lottery or will meet a rich guy that will alleviate them from poverty. This is real life. One cannot say that they are just lazy or have not exhausted all means. In fact, they already are exhausted. It’s not entirely their fault. It is the system that’s preventing them from breaking the vicious cycle of poverty.
In the middle of pandemic, Jane received a notice of billing from the electric company. She was shocked when she saw the figures have doubled. The previous month’s bill was just 1,500 and now it’s 3,000. She is outraged because their electricity consumption has never changed. They don’t have any additional appliances. She called the electric company to complain but was subjected to bureaucratic process and was told to wait for further notice. Her complaint will be red taped by the company and the government will not care because, guess what, you need thousands of Janes to file complaints before an action will be done. This will cause Jane additional stress. By the time she will follow up on the complaint, she will receive a notice of disconnection. And because Jane will not let her family suffer, she will borrow money from relatives or friends. This will once again throw them out of budget.
House Bill No. 78, in reality, will not help the likes of Jane. In fact, this will make their life even harder in the future. They will pay for higher for electric, water, and phone bills. We’ve witnessed how privatization of public services affected our lives. Yes, we might have enjoyed better and efficient services but at a higher cost. So much higher that minimum wage earners could barely afford. Imagine how much Jane could have saved from paying lower bill charges. This savings could augment their budget so their children could finish higher education.
We must remember that these public services and utilities are the government’s responsibilities. They ought to provide the citizens, the taxpayers, with the accessible and affordable basic services. This is where our taxes should go and not into their pockets. Allowing 100 percentage foreign ownership to basic services is not only a big threat to national security but will burden the people even more.
In all of these, one can really question where the lawmakers are leading us and how far they are willing to sell us down the river.
If you cannot relate to the problems and struggles of the Janes, that’s because you are privileged. You are very lucky not to lift a finger. But the Janes must work their ass out just to make ends meet. More so if Jane is a single parent. Yes, be thankful if you are in a better position. But please have some heart for the struggling. We cannot do this alone. Collective voices are needed to junk this anti-poor bill. What this pandemic has taught us, if for any consolation, is that we can only survive as a community.
Bauya is a faculty member at the Department of Communication and Media Studies of the Mindanao State University-Marawi campus. He is currently taking up his master’s degree in Media Studies (Film) at UP-Diliman.