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My family and I went to Save More this morning to have our monthly groceries. From basic necessities like soap, vegies, and canned goods, to wants. I cannot deny that the prices of these have really increased due to inflation. Buying your basic necessities already costs a lot, and if we add our wants to the list, it would cost a lot more.
While walking in between the aisle, I reminisced about that one time when I was riding a jeepney bound to Shopping La Salle Libertad. That was a long day for me because it was a 5:30 dismissal and I have to go home quickly since I also have some homework to finish and lessons to study in preparation for tomorrow's quiz. I sat in the front seat beside the driver because it was the most comfortable seat in every jeepney–it is where I am comfortable to sit. I paid the driver a penny and told him to drop me off at Save More. Suddenly, his remarks left me lost for words as he says “Save more ang pangalan ka store pero ka mahal man diyapon ka mga balaklon, inde ka man diyapon ka save” [Translation: The store’s name is Save More, but still, the prices of their products are still so expensive to the point that you can’t really save any money when buying there].
This simple sentence saddens me. I was lost for words, I don’t know how to react to his sentiment. This is the reality we have faced in almost all our life. Social issues like poverty have long been in our history, we cannot just rub it off and forget about it because it is there–it has always been there and will always be there.
Having to encounter this every day in streets, from beggars who is continuously extending their hands trying to beg for alms, to jeepney driver trying make ends meet by steering the wheel all day long, to vendors selling goods at the most affordable price they could offer, and still, after their hard work, what they earn is still so little compared to the prices of their basic necessities and are not enough to pay the bills. That’s why I don’t really believe in a saying that says “Hard Work is the way to success”, because there are people like farmers, drivers, vendors, fisherman, etc.,that are giving their very best at their occupation but at the end of the day, what’s in their pocket is far from what we consider as success.
Sometimes, what is normal for us is already a luxury to the marginalized. It was normal for me back then to buy groceries at grocery stores, not until that encounter happens. Privilege is a luxury; privilege is something that some of us cannot afford but is given freely to some. Maybe for some of us, buying our necessities and basic needs is normal, but it isn’t for everybody, some consider luxury as something going into a grocery store and buying your wants and needs without looking at the price tags, some consider it by simply entering a mall.
Realizing that poverty will always be there in my country’s identity, it makes me wonder, will we ever experience a life where everybody can afford the cost of living?