THE PROBLEM OF ‘UTANG’ IN FILIPINO CONTEXT: CRITICAL REVIEW ON URBAN SIGNAGES AND PROMPTS
Jerone
Avel S. Cansino
MAED Social Science Student
Introduction
I found
those two signages above on google the last one printed on marker is something
that I have downloaded from facebook. While the reason of it being uploaded on
the world wide web is purely for entertainment purposes, in my opinion it is
worth looking at with criticism. Philippines is a country which is composed of
a poor majority (lower middle class and the poor) . The problem of debt is like
a mouse-maze once trapped into, got into it, going out is somewhat difficult.
“69% of Filipinos have no bank accounts”
Savings
and debts are two closely related things. The difference of the two becomes
what is defined to be the net-worth of an individual. Though financial and
economic in nature, the problem of debt is a multi faceted problem.What causes
debt? What are the root causes of its exitence. According to (Paz, 2016) Filipinos are good
in short term savers but rank high in debt. According to the data provided by
the news article, “Around 41% of Filipino
investors carry debt – the second highest proportion in the region after
Malaysia” (Paz, 2016) . Also in the
same manner, The manila Times quote the same survey and commented also that the
problem lies in financial mangement of Filipino investors. (The Manila Times, 2016) .
What makes
us trapped in debt? In an Article written by Chinkee Tan “Why Filipinos Are
Fond of Borrowing Money” (Tan, 2015) he said that there
are three main factors about its occurrence. According to him, its TRADITION, LAZINESS AND PRIDE. For him
its more on our personal choice and our culture that makes us so much
susceptible to borrowing money.
Meanwhile,
according to tahoonews.com “Many of us
blame the government for the poor economy in the country. But while it could be
one of the factors, , there are other important reasons why many Filipinos will
never be rich. According to economists, financial experts, and sociologists,
these reasons are not related to the government (10 reasons Why Filipinos
will never be rich, n.d.) . According to the article, the top
10 reasons why Filipino are not going to be rich are the following. 1 as the
top reason and ten the bottom.
1. Many Filipinos hate or are scared of investment
2. Many Filipinos think that selling is not a good way to be
rich
3. Many Filipinos lack education in money management.
4. Many Filipinos think that being an OFW is a long term
solution.
5. Many Filipinos are obsessed with “get rich quick” schemes.
6. Many Filipinos spend excessive money on traditions.
7. Many Filipinos think that rich people are greedy
8. Many Filipinos spend more from their wants not their needs.
9. Many Filipinos think that Metro Manila always offers great
opportunity.
10. Many Filipinos depend on government ALONE.
I also believe that the
problem is not solely the government. The reason why many Filipinos are still
poor is that it’s a sort of socio cultural factors. In this paper I will
make a historical and anthropological digging
on the problem of debt.
Analysis
“Habang maiksi ang Kumot, Magtiis,
mamaluktot.”
The
above Filipino proverb is a reflection of one of our indigenous way of
thinking. It reflects on how we value contentment. It is a positive value
as far as survival is concerned. As an oriental culture, we never separated
ourselves from the environment. For the longest time, before colonizers
influence our way of thinking, we are practicing a sustainable way of life. We
plant for our own consumption. We never take from nature what is beyond our
need. For example, the ‘kaingin’ system it was originally an environmentally
friendly concept. Its cultivation of a piece of land and after a few cropping,
leaving it to regenerate on its own. The problem came when those who practice
this system of agriculture started converting it into commercial purposes. Larger
parcels of land is being cultivated and resulted to large scale deforestation.
When
western thought came we started shifting our practices and it resulted to our
fragmented identity as a nation. The indigenous people are our closest model to
the pre-Spanish Filipino. Many people say that Palawanos are indolent because
it is said that if they have enough, they would stop working. They are
contented of having enough of what they need. Savings is not a part of the
Philosophy. When the Spaniards referred us to be ‘indio’ they are referring to
us being indolent. Dr. Jose Rizal confronted it when he wrote his satire “The indolence of the Filipino people” He
defended the Filipino culture that the Filipinos are not indolent and that if
the Spaniards sees Filipinos to be indolent, it is mainly because they do not
understand the Filipino culture. Same as to the Palawans. Many people see them
nowadays to be lazy but the truth is it’s because they only want to get what
they need. The problem comes when an unexpected problem occurs.
We
now live in a modern society where money is what is meant to live. What occurs
to our society nowadays is a conflict of the western influence and our
indigenous valuing. The fiesta and colonial mentality that the Spanish left us
is one of the concrete examples. Many Filipinos become susceptible to going
with new trends with the little realizations that they are spending more than
they can have. I believe that our concept of financial management is a remnant
of our not very distant past different from what we have prior to colonization.
Di na hahaba ang kumot, Pumatol na lang sa 5-6.
I
have read a book that was written by Filipino-Chinese. And somewhere on the
first few pages the comparison of how Chinese manages their finances compared
to Filipinos. The author said that a Chinese will only buy a 5,000.00 PhP worth
of phone in an event that he/she has a total amount of 100,000.00 PhP in
his/her savings. While many Filipinos would buy something like that using a
money that he/she still hasn’t have. This
might be true to many Filipinos. In many cases and in my opinion the worse
cases of poor financial management, buying something that is not even a
necessity from a money that is borrowed. Common jokes circulate about teachers
being citizens of ‘london’ or in simpler and more comprehensible thing ‘loan
doon, loan dito’ (loan here, loan there). In a sense being in ‘london’ is no
necessarily confined to teachers. It might also apply true to many Filipinos.
This will be the start of an individual sinking deeper and deeper into the mire
of debt.
Conditional Cash Transfer- A Short Review
As
an elementary teacher, I would encounter one of my pupil or a pupil of my
co-teacher that doesn’t have a pencil, paper, etc… even though the CCT[1]
has just released. Then would I discover that the cash from the government
supposed to be spent for the children being sent to school is being made
collateral for things such as audio components, television, make-up and debts
on sari-sari store. It is true that there are also beneficiary to the program’s
goals there are still cases that is quite irritating to learn as a taxpayer. In
the light of these occurrences, the government made their move but it is them
(beneficiaries) who failed to do their part. It is one of the classic examples
on how deep some Filipinos could bury themselves. In this experiences, my
premises that the government might be a factor why many Filipinos are poor in
cash and deep in debt.
Why is it difficult for
us Filipinos to repel someone who borrows money?
The KAPWA of Sikolohiyang Pilipino.
According to the late Professor
Enriquez of the University of the Philippines, ‘Kapwa’ is the core concept of
Filipino personhood. He also said that ‘pakikisama’ is just a manifestation of
our concept of kapwa. And this kapwa mentality which is indigenous of us is I
think one of the reasons why it is difficult to reject those who borrow money
from us and also to demand for payment. Coexistence is our way of life. We
can’t do away with being alone. It is normal for us Filipinos to feel weird
eating alone in a restaurant. It is because our personhood is shared by us with
our kapwa and something we shared to our kapwa. We have a concept that if we
deny others of we also deny our self. In a sense therefore it is normal for
most Filipino to feel uneasy denying them their request.
Paano ba ang tamang Paniningil?
Another
thing that is hard as far as debt is concerned is how to demand/ask for payment. Again, there comes ‘hiya’.
According to Enriquez, our concept of hiya is somewhat different with shyness
of our western counterparts. ‘Hiya’
is an accommodative surface value of Dignity. The Filipino language is a
verbose one. One implication to it is that, because of our concept of ‘DIGNITY’ we are having difficulty of
expressing ourselves in directly in the fear that we might hurt someone’s
feeling. If we Filipinos are sensitive, it is because of our core value. We
would rather use flowery introductions termed locally as ‘pasakalye’ and ‘pabalat-bunga’.
It what makes us Filipino difficult to be understood by foriegners. In many
cases, what we say is different from what we mean. And an associate behavioral
pattern for that is what is termed as ‘Biro’. We are Filipinos are truly
complicated. Understanding a Filipino is difficult when it comes to relying on
words alone. We have a famous phrase “matuto kang makiramdam”. It is because
our pakiramdam (feeling) will always be associated with our concept of
Identity.
It
most cases a typical Filipino would tend to wait until the one who borrows
money would pay. And in times of necessity, if the money is really needed, the
question would not be a in a direct form. It is more probably ‘may pera ka na?’
(do you have money already?). And clearly it falls to the complicated Kapwa
identity of the Filipino. To answer the question how are we supposed to ask for
payment? As a Filipino we usually do not ask for payment. We tend to wait until
he/she pays by himself/herself. Or if the money was already needed, or in most
cases badly needed and in some desperately needed, we ask indirect questions
that is indirectly asking for payment.
Conclusion
I
have read an open letter from a South-Korean somewhere in the internet. It is
written for Filipinos and it tells about the story of their country. That once
after the Korean War the country is struggling to stand. But it is the heart of
their president and the patriotism of the people that lift South Korea. We know
for sure how far the South Koreans did brought themselves shooting past us for
a couple of decades in terms of economic growth and development. It is true
that it is the duty of the government to raise the quality of life of its
people. But it is the people who makes progress for themselves.
What is difficult in our
situation is that we are trapped in an identity crisis. Due to mercantilism
brought by our colonizers, we have developed a mentality and inherited
traditions that becomes strong considerations when it comes to financial
decisions. Our choice of doughnuts over suman, greatly affects our economic
growth.
We double the world average on those who seek loans on private and
informal lenders. This is an indication of how desperate are the situation
of many Filipinos when it comes to their financial status. Only desperate
people would resort to that. We double the world average means that in a sense,
our population is composed of more people in grave situations.
Lastly, we are a people whose
regards for coexistence and conformity is among the highest. We value dignity
of others as much as we value ourselves on the priori that ‘others’ is a
component part of our personhood.
The Problem now is what
tradition we would adapt. In a highly Market-driven society such as we have
today, financial management is a necessity. The market is now a strong force
affecting culture, politics and human behavior. It is therefore critical that
we Filipinos educate ourselves of proper handling of money. I have a Chinese
friend from the church. One time, while we are talking we stumbled upon one of
his employees in his business. He said he had a very promising employee but he
does not like its ways of managing his personal finances. Time and time this
employee would seek for cash advances because he had bought a new motorcycle,
new gadget etc… That employee is skilled in sales but it seems that he has not
gone yet into the level of learning a sound financial management.
Recommendations
I
believe that the amount that we have would never matter as long as it is not
utilized well. After all the best practices of financial management is savings and investment. The majority of Filipinos should learn economics on
the personal level. Every Filipino should learn that borrowing would never
offer a long-term solution. Not unless it was used in good investments.
Those pictures are good material
for economics student in high school and college level as an entry point of
instruction. The humor is good and as
well as its content. It is something that every Filipino students could relate
into.
This article on the other hand
can be also material in Filipino Psychology. Being in debt is something every
Filipino can relate about.
To the Filipino People, we must educate
ourselves. We must understand that as far as money is concerned, earning is one
thing but management is another. We know our priorities and we must makes sure
that we always prioritize what we really need and not become a victim of market
schemes. We should renew our emphasis on teaching and learning Economics in a
personal and meaningful level.
References
10 reasons Why Filipinos will never be rich. (n.d.). Retrieved from Tahoo News:
http://www.tahonews.com/top-10-reasons-why-many-filipinos-will-never-be-rich/
Facebook.
(n.d.). Retrieved from www.facebook.com
Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.google.com/search
Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.google.com
Paz, C. D. (2016, March 07). Filipinos good short-term
savers, but rank high in debt – poll. Rappler. Retrieved from Rappler:
http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/209-banking-and-financial-services/124948-filipinos-debt-asia-manulife-survey
Tan, C. (2015, September 4). Good News Pilipinas.
Retrieved from Good News Pilipinas:
http://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/why-filipinos-are-fond-of-borrowing-money/
Taruc, P. (2015, April 17). Frontpage/Business.
Retrieved from CNN Philippines: http://cnnphilippines.com/business/2015/04/17/majority-of-Filipinos-without-bank-accounts-study.html
The Manila Times. (2016, March 7). Retrieved from The Manila Times:
http://www.manilatimes.net/filipinos-personal-debt-on-the-rise/249022/
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