The Good, Bad, Ugly & Humorous of Poverty

The effects of poverty in the Philippines can be seen everywhere. Some of these effects pull at our hearts. For me, it does and whenever downtown I generally seek out the blind mother of 2 to put enough money in her cup to feed herself and the kids. Homelessness is relatively minimal where I live but as in all small cities and towns we have our share of destitute people. When I see an injustice perpetrated by the rich that takes advantage of the poor, I get angry. Some things are more laughable or at least make me shake my head in bemused disbelief.

I’m getting accustomed to seeing grass cut with a manual scissor-like hedge trimmer or sometimes an actual pair of scissors! This is of course when a goat or cow isn’t available or would be impractical. Although, how practical is cutting an entire lawn with scissors?  I have yet to see a lawnmower, gas powered or otherwise. The $2 or so for the worker is obviously better then the upfront cost of a lawnmower. In the case of a power mower there's the ongoing cost of gasoline. Gas is one of the few commodities that has a price comparable to the West.

The pride of the city, the “Boulevard” along the sea is swept by hand with a broom resembling its household American cousin but shorter overall with longer and softer bristles. It is surprisingly efficient.

Labor is very cheap and people are desperate for employment. Many things that we from the West expect to see done with a machine are done by the hard work of many people. Road construction is a good example. A mile of road can take months to complete. Hand troweling of the poured concrete (and most of the rest of the work) is a long and arduous process. Unfortunately, the planning can be sorely lacking. Recently, the 2 main North/South roads were under construction at the same time. The ubiquitous small motorcycles, called “single motors” (I have no idea why) will generally use the sidewalks or the trench for passage. Trucks and cars and some of the single motors used the only remaining North/South road which is very small. The surface couldn’t withstand all the additional traffic and potholes large and small resulted. As soon as one of the roads was completed, work began on the small one to repair the damage. I suspect that the smaller road would have lasted several more years had the road projects been better managed.

The call centers are touted as providing desirable jobs. Their ads tell of pleasant working conditions and a friendly environment. I have a very different take. They are prime examples of how people desperate for work get taken advantage of by the rich. The jobs are 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. Starting pay is 8000 pesos (around $168). Not for a week but for an entire month! After 3 months the pay is increased to a fabulous $250 per month. Often the workers don’t last the 3 month “training/probationary” period.

My wife was offered just such a job but in her case it required relocating to Manila. That particular company was aggressively recruiting in the Provinces. They most likely saw the advantage of hiring people far from Manila for wages that would barely support them in that city. Once there, they would have no money (or time) to do anything else. Many would be unlikely to have the cost of transportation to get back home. They’d be stuck in a strange city with no choice but to work. What a missed opportunity greed has cost the call centers thus far. The lack of loyalty and high training costs that high turnover causes could easily be much improved for a little more pay or at least a bit more humane work schedule. Can anyone say: Unionize.

It’s stunning how many text messages the average Filipino sends during the course of a day. It is a primary means of communication here and supposedly the text messaging capital of the world. People text while walking down the street. A message costs 1 peso (about 2 cents US). While sitting in line at the bank where cell phone use is prohibited, I noticed a young gal surreptitiously sending a text message. She wasn’t even looking at the keypad. I asked her if she had learned that skill in school. She nodded shyly. That’s not to say that it's part of the curriculum, only that she refined her text messaging skills in order to keep in touch with her friends while in class. However, maybe it should be taught. It would probably make the streets a bit safer. It’s not uncommon to see someone braving the semi-chaotic traffic (a future post on this amazing topic) driving their motorcycle one handed while typing a text message. My short, fat fingers make texting hard enough two handed! I read in the paper that a pedicab driver in another town had a minor accident (with passengers aboard) while sending a text. His punishment: the mayor slapped him and he was sent back to work.

Purchasing “loads” is how the vast majority of people buy their airtime. This allows them to buy as often as they can afford it. But here’s the rub, the loads expire. A 10 peso economy load expires in just 24 hours. 20 pesos expire in 48. “No load” can be aggravating, especially when you need to reply to a text in the early morning or late evening. Who wants to get dressed and find an open “loader.” For this reason and before I realized that the loads expired, I regularly bought Php115 (which I now know expires in 15 days). 

In my case, I rarely text more than a few times in a day, some days none and at most 6 or 7. The end result was to regularly make an outright gift of a dollar or more to some big corporation. For me, I suppose it's the principal that offends me. But for my poorer neighbors, that dollar could likely feed a couple of people for an entire day. No wonder the Filipinos text and text, they want to get their money’s worth of messages before they expire. I resent this policy but am adapting, sort of. I buy smaller loads and send more messages just to be sure to have a zero balance before needing to reload. Just another part of my cultural education, lol. So far, my acculturation doesn't include texting while driving. I always pull to the side of the road to read or reply but then I’m still a novice when it comes to text messaging.

The only reason that this policy is in place is to boost profits. The only way it can continue is for the politicians to allow it. How despicable is that? Corporations gouging poor people while the government turns a blind eye. I wonder if their cut (no direct knowledge but not sure how else to explain it) affords them a peaceful night's sleep? What a deal.

Yes, the Philippines is a tropical paradise but sort of the economy model. Over 7100 islands with countless beaches on a par with any on the planet and many world class snorkeling and dive sites. For vacationers, there are lovely 3, 4 and 5 star resorts for a fraction of what you'd expect to pay. In most of the country, $1500usd a month will support a royal lifestyle complete  with a live-in cook/housekeeper, a gardener and a driver. 

But it’s only paradise if you have the money or possess a great attitude about your own poverty. Most people fall into this second group. It’s amazing how happy people are here. I would have to say that in general, happier and more carefree than people in the States. I think this goes a long way to proving the old adage that money isn’t the key to happiness (it can sure come in handy though, lol). People are forever singing (really) and Karaoke is extremely popular. Store clerks, laborers, bank tellers and taxi drivers can be heard singing without inhibition. Any excuse is a good one for having a party and a few bottles of Red Horse (a decent, strong and cheap beer) is enough to bring a group of friends together for talking, laughing and singing.