na lang kami?’: Naguenians on surviving the squeeze

of livelihood stocks, thus resulting in a shortage of stocks in the city. And as I glanced at the nearby stalls, I myself observed the scarcity of meat stocks.

Both Elaine and Sheila have one thing in common: they are left with no choice, but to keep afloat despite their difficulties keeping up with the economic recession.

Furthermore, Melchor, a jeepney driver on the route from Centro to Concepcion-Del Rosario, expressed his dismay on the busy streets of Naga City about how the system has tightened its grip on them. Not only did he have program of the LTFRB Region V, hoping they would receive this certain amount of money that was promised, only for their hopes to get dashed. to suffer from the oil price hike brought on by inflation and recession, but he was also one of those jeepney drivers who were unfortunate to get scammed by their very own cooperative.

The jeepney modernization plans also haunt the transport sector. For Tatay Melchor, the major adjustment would add to their daily struggle of sending his two children to college. If implemented, he would have to take more loans just to pay for the monthly fee of the modernized jeepney, which costs around P45,000. Not to mention, he would need to come up with another P150,000 for the down payment. Melchor hardly tries to make ends meet, and the last thing he wants is to fall victim to a corrupt system into which they have unknowingly been submerged for a long time.

“Grabe ang pagtios mi, may duwa akong aki na nagkaklase, kang time na ‘to na tabang na kuta kang gobyerno samuya, arog kato ang nangyari samo. Grabe si kapagalan mi. Ata maluluya na ngani kami, mayo kaming inadalan, tapos maloloko pa kami,” he said.

Tatay Melchor recounted his harrowing experience with the cooperative when they took part in the Libreng Sakay

Asking “Nasaan ang Pangulo?” to also inquire whether he is aware of the Filipino masses’ struggle is futile. Instead, a more relevant question to ask is whether government officials are even concerned about the dire straits of ordinary Filipinos, especially those who earn half of what their needs cost. The plight of Filipinos is nothing but a recurring scenario and struggle faced by previous generations. Every six years, new faces emerge during elections, yet they share the same intent and history when it comes to assuming offices and handling their constituents. Even here in Naga City, the people’s struggle is real and challenging.

Albeit COVID-19 and other foreign conflicts, such as the Ukraineversus-Russia war may have contributed to the Philippine economy’s downfall, the government cannot simply idly by. They must take measures to tame and curb the economic recession and, at least, make our lives relatively bearable. What’s worse is their sheer audacity to remain optimistic about the economy’s potential growth. Shouldn’t they be more concerned about the lives of ordinary Filipinos who are struggling to keep up with a system that ultimately favors the ruling class and disregards the poor?

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Manuel, P. (2022). Duterte administration leaves ₱12.79T outstanding debt in end-June. Cnn. http://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2022/8/5/PH-debt-end-June-2022.html

Masigan, A. (2021). Why Dutertenomics weakened the economy. BusinessWorld Online. https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2021/07/18/383210/why-dutertenomics-weakened-the-economy/