Are we Filipinos poor?

Filipinos always seem to have a unique way of coping with economic difficulties, so much so that it is often hard to tell if the economy is tanking, especially if you live in the bubble of centric Metro Manila.

According to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from April 11 to 15, a substantial 15.5 million Filipino families consider themselves poor. As such, according to the SWS survey, the percentage of Filipinos who rate themselves as poor is now at its highest at 55 percent.

I was slightly confused by other percentage numbers reported by the SWS survey, which indicated that 32 percent of families do not consider themselves poor, indicating an improvement from the record high of 36 percent that the SWS survey had seen for the first quarter of this year.

Only 12 percent of Filipino families surveyed felt that they were borderline poor, maintaining the same percentage recorded during the first quarter of the year.

The SWS survey further indicated that self-rated poverty rose in all areas of the country except balance Luzon, or Luzon outside Metro Manila, which had a slight decline. Self-rated poverty was recorded as highest in Mindanao at 70 percent, Visayas at 67 percent, Metro Manila at 45 percent and Luzon outside Metro Manila at 44 percent.

Like I said, it is often hard to feel in Metro Manila that the economy might not really be doing as well, especially when our government always wants to paint a rosy picture that they are handling all economic matters well even though the cost of living keeps on rising with the recent upward adjustments in electricity, water, food and toll costs.

With summers getting hotter, air conditioners are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. If one observes closely when passing through so-called slum or depressed areas, you will notice that even some shanties now have air conditioners.

A recent trip to Subic to patronize the best and most authentic Korean restaurant (in my opinion), called Soora, cost us a hefty toll of more than P2,200 roundtrip. The roundtrip stretch from NLEX to Subic was around P1,500, while the Skyway portion from NAIAX cost us around P700 roundtrip. Add the cost of gasoline and food stops, yikes!

The drive along NLEX also showed mixed signals about the economy. Just 20 years ago, passing along Bulacan and Pampanga would still show stretches of farmlands and productive rice fields. Nowadays, I am saddened to see fallow fields or those that are being converted into commercial areas or subdivisions.

The SCTEX stretch to Subic still shows pristine land, but also alarming is the fact that most of those lands now show ownership by big developers just biding their time to develop the property.

There are small pockets of rice fields along Zambales province that I fear will soon disappear as the government continues to neglect the agriculture sector and the aging and disappearing farmer-heroes who protect our food self-sufficiency.

Shopping malls and most restaurants are packed during the weekends. Restaurants, especially the well-established food chains, continue to enjoy brisk business and growth.

New cars continue to roll out, and if one were to rely only on the motoring section, there are several desirable vehicles out there that Filipinos can afford, and this is evidenced by the chaotic and heavy traffic that we continue to suffer. There are more and more motorcycles on the road now, increasing the mobility of people and allowing the growth of the lucrative gig delivery and ride-hailing services.

But if one takes a closer look, there is a slowdown that most of us choose to ignore. First and foremost is the number of new, but empty buildings. Likewise, our shopping malls are indeed now formidable one-stop shops for retail shopping, groceries, social events, hospitals and wellness centers, beauty salons, entertainment, sports events and central food hubs. But it is also quite noticeable that not all shops are rented out, especially on the upper floors.

Competition is so stiff in the popular malls that on weekdays, the restaurants compete to offer complete meals at very reasonable prices just to attract customers.

On the part of consumers, it is also confusing to believe that people have no money and are scrimping. I see brisk sales of an assortment of beverages from milk teas to elaborate coffee concoctions, and all sorts of imaginable fruit coolers. Likewise, the number of delivery orders for such beverages confounds me when the cost of such beverages can be as exorbitant as P200 or more, plus the delivery charge.

I also notice a lot of young couples shelling out good money for elaborate flowers, balloons and stuffed toy arrangements. I remember during my own courtship phase with my husband, we agreed to do away with costly flowers that would wilt in one to two days, meaning that we just wasted good money, and thus opted to spend it on food to show our affection.

My bad

A reader/friend (former IBM executive and member of the motorcycle group, The Hombres) Johnny Guevara, who read my column last Friday on sake, brought to my attention that contrary to my statement that we have never used rice to make an alcoholic drink, we actually have a rice wine called tapuy or tapuey that is made in Northern Luzon, particularly in Banaue and in the Mountain Province.

Originally made by the indigenous Igorot tribe, the local rice wine is made from glutinous rice and fermented with a starter culture called bubod. It is drunk on special occasions and ceremonies, but has never gained national popularity even though there have been attempts to try to popularize the tapuy. My apologies.