Some bad effects of the Middle East conflict. Philippine Peso weakens. Government lowers growth forecast. There will more banks’ bad loans. Jobless rate will rise exponentially. There were more of these gloomy forecasts and we can expect some more in the coming days as President Bongbong Marcos Jr. and his economic team are still setting the tone of their game plan. Economists have their own language. And possibly you and me, most of the time can’t understand their reportage to the public. Like saying that ‘the base effect from last year’s inflation environment is wearing off and the prices of basic commodities will likely settle at certain percentages. (Gets mo?).
My buddies who are mostly trike drivers, barangay tanods and construction workers and whom I meet regularly every Tuesday night for some drinks ‘sa ilalim ng manga’ along Apo Road will never know what it means. Same thing for my breakfast groups in Nepo Mart area. All what they know earnings can hardly meet the daily expenses of their families. Diyos ko, paano na? The general public-upper, middle and lower class- are complaining of higher prices, specially petroleum? Those who are not complaining are people who are holding high positions in government. (Hindi nila feel). (I am the ‘economist’ of Lalam Manga).
Retro: Do you still remember some years ago ( late sixties and early seventies) that a plateful of jambalaya at Iniang’s Place was fifty centavos? Cost of a glass of coffee was five centavos. Taking a jeepney was ten centavos. ‘Upong diyes lang po’ was a common sign among jeepneys. A liter of gasoline was 18 centavos.The back and forth (edebuerta) fare from Angeles to Manila was 85 centavos, either you take La Mallorca Pambusco or Philippine Rabbit Bus Line. People in my age bracket still remember all these. Today an earning of P750 per day can't send the two kids to school. The water and electric bills are monthly concerns. Medicines and transport fares, plus,plus... Nowadays your 700 or 800 pesos will not last a day. The Middle East conflict is another cause for concern.
Malacanang will always say soon there was a dramatic increase in the Gross Domestic Product(GDP), and off-shore rating agencies are indicating that we can rebound. Undersecretary Claire Castro, the mouthpiece of the palace, will likely to say that the Philippine economy is likely to outperform its regional and global percentages. But that’s not the kind of language a wage earner understand. It is not his mouth that can reply. It is his stomach.
The reality on the ground is that many families can hardly cope up. Maybe to some people living on gated subdivisions, and the corrupt people in government find life easy in this country with them even sending their kids to exclusive schools, vacationing abroad and splurging for signature brands in Italy and elsewhere. The poor have nothing for supper. Suffer, yes.
