Fats, Vitamins and Minerals

On the way to the grocery, my partner and I bumped into one of the ladies who collect money for the housing’s security personnel and other services. She was so happy to see us. We asked how she was doing. She took my arm and said she hardly have any money left from her salary when she gets it on the 15th - everything goes to debt payment. She said she has 14 people living at home, relatives she has to support, which grew in number since her daughter died and left her with the kids. It was so sad, but she said “It’s God’s will” and she looked so happy. It is not mere religiosity; for many people here, life is just too hard to have the luxury and time to complain.

Several months ago when my partner and I took the jeepney to the immigration office in Manila, a young thin mother boarded with one small child and another smaller child in her arms. The child in her arms clearly had developmental problems, mental and physical, and this young mother will have to raise this child and her other child on her own, with no support from the state. She paid the jeepney fare for herself and her other child - some 15 pesos - and I couldn’t imagine how much, if I was her, I’d rather keep that 15 pesos for my children’s next meal or medical bills.

Surely, in the developed countries of the world, one does not have to deal with something like supporting 14 people, mostly children, at home, nor working yourself to death to raise children who are sick or born with disabilities and congenital diseases. My partner talked about how people in parts of Europe could get state support if they get unemployed, if they get pregnant, if they get sick, if they get widowed, if they get stressed, if they have young children, if they can’t afford to send themselves to school. Welfare is changing, dimminishing, I know. But state welfare is still a world that is unimaginable where I live.

The state has a measely US$2 for each Filipino in terms of healthcare per year. Why? Well, some 40% of national government budget goes to foreign debt servicing. So in a way, the young mother with the sick child in the jeepney in Manila pays for the welfare of a pregnant woman who has to go on leave from work in Amsterdam.

I suppose our housing’s lady collector also knows this too well when she receives her pay on the 15th, some 50 pesos left after debt payments have been deducted.

Related info:
From Bulatlat Public Health System: On the deathbed

Data obtained by Bulatlat showed that from 1986 to 2004, government spending for health has dropped significantly. In 1997, health appropriation was 2.9% of the national budget. It was reduced to a mere 1.5% in 2004. This year, national budget for health dropped further to 1.3%.

The bigger chunk of the national budget goes to paying off foreign debts (up to 40 percent of the budget in the past, and more than 60% this year) and funding military spending (15-20 percent).

From Walden Bello’s “Debt and Denial”:

Our policymakers, however, are still talking about maintaining the model debtor strategy that has brought us so much grief. Again Finance Secretary Purisima: “[W]e need to be responsible players in the international financial community, and honoring our obligations is one that we need to take pride in.”

EMail This Post This entry was posted by Fats on Saturday, May 12th, 2007 at 11:16 pm and is filed under Wika at Hirap. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.