For middle class families in the Philippines today, the dizzying pace by which food prices soar is not just something to read about in newspapers with the disinterest of the unaffected. It isn’t just the marginal families who are reeling; everyone is.
While broadcast and print media have been keen on monitoring how the unprecedented rise in the price of basic commodities has led to various degrees of hunger and malnutrition among the poor, it appears that the hardships being suffered by other segments of the population are not controversial — and, ergo, not profitable — enough to earn much media mileage. Apart from the occasional random interviews of people on the street, there is little interest in the plight of the middle classes except how many have given up the daily use of their private vehicles in favor of public transportation in response to the jaw-dropping prices of gasoline and diesel. But it goes more deeply than that.
Eighteen years ago, during the administration of Cory Aquino when the country was being rocked by one attempted coup d’etat after another, five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) could fill up a small room with supermarket stuff. I know, I remember distinctly, because in 1990 when a friend arranged a blind date between me and the man whom I would marry a year later, I had to beg off because my mother insisted that I accompany her to the supermarket. With the frequency of coup d’etats, she thought it smart to shop for canned food and other supplies that could last us for at least six months. And so we did. The bill was a little over P5,000.00 and what we brought home filled the car — backseat included — and, after unloading, filled the entire space under the stairs — a space equivalent to a small room or a large pantry. What does P5,000.00 buy these days? Six to seven grocery bags of food stuff and household supplies.
In 2003 when I decided to quit lawyering and Speedy became the sole breadwinner of the family, a kilo of pork shoulder cost ninety pesos. Vegetables were cheap and we lived with a weekly food budget of five hundred pesos. Even before the rice crisis hit early this year, a kilo of pork rump already cost more than twice as much and vegetables were hardly cheap. Today, it isn’t just the price of agricultural products that seem to go up non-stop. Everything has — from canned milk to laundry detergent to bath soap to toilet paper. Five hundred pesos won’t last two days in a household of six.
Five hundred pesos. That’s about eleven dollars (US$11) based on the current exchange rate. For those living in the First World, a daily food budget of US$11 might sound more than reasonable but in a country where middle management professionals earn an average of a thousand dollars (US$1,000.00) — before taxes — per month, it isn’t easy. The Philippines has the second highest electric power rates in Southeast Asia. The cost of education is jaw-dropping. Sam will start college next school year and one of the schools she is considering is the College of St. Benilde. The tuition? Forty-five thousand pesos (P45,000.00) or a thousand dollars per trimester — trimester! And that excludes books, daily transportation and food, and, if necessary, cost of board and lodging somewhere near the school. You know how much my parents paid for my law school during the 1980s? Around seven hundred pesos (P700.00) per semester.
Where all this leads to, I do not know. I’m wondering if there will be a re-classification of socio-economic brackets as the middle class grows smaller and smaller while the poor continue to swell everyday. Those who belong in the middle class today might, in a decade, find themselves re-classified as marginal families. Meanwhile, the percentage of wealthy people remains the same — ten percent of the population. And that figure has hardly changed in the last four hundred years.
Well, since the world abandoned the Gold Standard (that is, no longer tying currency to gold), money as we know it today really has no real intrinsic value. Further, the perception of the government being able to back up the promise of the currency, factoring in the amount of money circulated, greatly affects the value of paper money making everyone who holds that form of currency poorer.
Lost me already?
Bottom line: money is one of the worst (although convenient) methods of transporting wealth. People who store most of their wealth in a bank account get poorer everyday as the rate of return is often well below that of inflaction. That number in your bankbook means nothing when the numbers all around you are rising faster.
Understand wealth. Learn to invest. Financial education, unfortunately, is something not really taught in school. I graduated from UP with an Economics degree and only later (10 years later) did I realize that I had no clue (and so did my professors) when it came to accumulating wealth.
Prices always go up and never go down.
The rich do ok, the middle class tightens their belt and the poor get poorer.
adding to the burden the water bills,telephone,cellphone load,cable,internet connection,tax,garbage fee,subv.security and maintainance,clothes,gasoline and an occasional eating out,I would say only supermoms that budgets the households can survive these.
Hi Connie,
Very informative article. I often hear about the rising cost of living in the Philippines (from relatives calling long-distance) but I don’t know exactly how bad it has gotten. I live in Canada and our weekly grocery budget is approximately $100. Four years ago, I attended university and the cost per course was $1000 (not including books etc.) Very expensive- and they even raised the tuitions now. I guess my point is, living in the Philippines is still cheaper IF we’re earning the same amount of money there as we are earning here. So I understand the struggles… Also, I don’t know why professionals there don’t get paid as much?? Sorry this is so long.
We feel the tightening of the belt and its squeezing! We can hardly breathe. I don’t know what we’d do if we weren’t pooling resources with my parents. (We’re living with them right now while I go to school)
I just bought $50 worth of groceries today and it looked a pittance to me. I am grateful for one thing. We have one car doing the driving and everything I need to drive to is within a 5 mile radius so at least I don’t have to worry about gas for two cars. Woody’s car gets pretty good mileage.
I had dreams of setting up an education fund for mina as soon as she was born, of sending her to private school. It will have to wait, and maybe the private school will never happen. How the heck do I get to the top 10%?!
:/
Mimi, re “don’t know why professionals there don’t get paid as much”
A friend, a manager in a multinational pharma company makes a little less than $1000 per month but the overall annual income places the monthly rate at twice as much. Still not the same as what her counterpart in a First World country earns. Has to do with that all-encompassing concept of standard of living. Prices, rent, transpo are cheaper compared to First World countries and wage rates follow. Or maybe it’s the other way around.
The sad thing is when prices go up, wages don’t.
Pinayhekmi, once upon a time, we had educational plans for the girls. Got them before the girls were a year old. Sam had “traditional” plans for HS and college (plan pays tuition no matter how high it gets). Dunno if you’ve heard about the Pacific Plans debacle a couple of years back but the traditional plans were eventually discontinued and dishonored. We sold back the plans to the company at a hundred per cent profit but that’s still a pittance compared to what we would be able to save if Sam’s HS and college tuition were paid for per the original terms of the plans. We still have one remaining, not as good as what we had for Sam, and Alex will use it in college.
the 45k tuition in benilde is probably for the terms where all the student is taking are general education subjects. tuition fees for lab subjects are much, much more expensive. what course is sam considering there? multimedia arts is currently up to 62K/term; hotel and restaurant management was up to 90k/term but that was 3 years ago right before i graduated.
I understand this more than you know. Everytime I go home, I am gobsmacked by how much a tricycle or bus fee is.
Then I look around the squatter area I grew up in and wonder how these people can afford to eat. Most of them sell bits and pieces in the local market, items probably costing from 1Php to 20Php, like threads and pins… If I were them I would just walk from my home to the marketplace otherwise, the fare would have cost me more than a day’s wage.
At first I blamed the Cabanatuan City Mayor. I told anyone who would listen that he should control the price hike & help out the jeepney drivers & passengers alike, who have all but been cut out. The Mayor only wanted the cabbie drivers’ vote.
The on my last trip home, I withdrew around 5KPhp. I went grocery shopping and lo & behold, my cart was just nearly full but I only managed the month’s grocery. I mean even the Jollibee meals are 100Php minimum!
I told hubby that his cousin, freshie in Uni relying on scholarship & doesn’t have much money, should refrain from eating in fast foods… Ang sama ko ‘no? But at the state we’re all in, McDo is a luxury.
Ouch! 45k for a sem now?? My dad used to have conniption fits over my 26k tuition at CSB. Why does she want to go there, for multimedia?
Ten years ago, my wife and I used to go out for dinner 3 to 4 times a week. Now we are down to 1 or 2 times a week cause we are paying more on taxes, insurance, electric, water, telephone, cable TV, DSL, and of course gasoline. The only good thing coming from this screwy economy is that we are eating more healthy home cooked food, and doing a lot more of exercise and walking.
If I knew then what I know, I could have save and invest on lands or properties instead of keeping up with the Joneses. …well, you only live once.
UP Grad, parang may pagka- anomalous yung mag accumulate ka ng wealth, instead, dapat yata na mag create ka ng wealth.
Chris, 45K per trimester. So, 45K three times a year. CSB has an AB Photography course. Only one in the country as far as we know.
Mims, the docs that accompanied the application form say it’s 45K per trim. Not sure if the rate applies to all the trims for all three years.
A kilo of pork in Kuala Lumpur costs about 200 pesos now.
It’s getting very expensive to stay alive!
Judging from what I read here, this is a worldwide crises. We don’t feel this before, but since the kingdom became a member of WTO, everything just sky-rocketed. Sometimes I entertain the idea if its still worth working abroad.
It sure is. Palibhasa, nagpapauto tayo sa mga political at business leaders natin. People of the world, AWAKE! Just had to do it. I currently had been reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
Working abroad and sending money back home is always beneficial to your family and the Philippine community. Besides, Pinoys are always in demand in other countries. Now, if only they take their vacation in the Philippines more often and patronize more Pinoy products and services, that will be even better.
I sent my 12year old son to study in Baguio and Im spending $1,000 monthly for his education and living costs which double or triple that if he will study here,an hour of private tutoring here cost me $40 an hour but in Baguio it just cost me a mere P200.00 where here a piece of a pineapple already cost that much, sure compare here philippines is still cheap “that is if you are making a living here and spending it there.”
And housing is scandalously expensive. The whole expat lifestyle is not as glamourous or luxurious as people think.
Connie,
Yes it really is 45K per year, although the rate might go up or down depending on the laboratory subjects that Sam will get in one trimester.
My sister is a graduate of CSB’s MMA program and I usually accompany her on her weekend photog projects when she had that subject. That time though we were using film SLRs. Great excuse to go out on gimmicks (the excuse was they were out to get night shots in bars and clubs)
We were fortunate that my mother (as an employee of DLSU) was able to avail of a partial scholarship for my sister so we ended up paying only PHP10K per trimester on CSB.