The rich, the middle class and the poor - STAR BYTES by Butch Francisco

(Second of two parts)

The other day, I started writing about last Monday’s edition of I-Witness – a thorough study in contrast of the people belonging to the different economic brackets in Philippine society: the rich, the poor and the middle class.

I have already discussed here that part of the program that showed the enviable lifestyle of the rich – as represented by the Violago family. (Their house in Corinthian Gardens cannot be missed from EDSA during the Yuletide season. It is the one that has more than enough Christmas lights to illuminate the whole of Las Vegas.

Then, there was the poor sector that was represented by Mang Narding, a scavenger who makes his home at the Payatas dumpsite. A couple of years ago, Channel 7 helped Mang Narding secure his new driver’s license so that he’d be able to find work as a driver. He did – as a school bus driver. But he quit after only a week. His reason for leaving? His employer always screamed at him.

I know I was a bit harsh in judging Mang Narding. I even called him indolent. But really, had he been more patient and stayed on with the job, everything would have turned out for the best. By now, he would have perfected his job as a school bus driver – and his employer, satisfied with his work, would most likely stop screaming at him.

And even if he still bungled his work, he probably wouldn’t hear anything anymore from his employer who – by now – would already have grown hoarse after all that screaming.

He already had that opportunity to make life better for him and his family – but, sadly, he blew it.

The case of Mang Narding made me ponder once more on the plight of the street children. Should we give them alms or not? Sometimes I do when I’m not the one driving and could easily reach into my pocket. But my position here is that we should not. As most of us already know by now, most of these children work for a syndicate (although the police – to this day – has yet to trace which syndicate group runs this operation).

A more important reason why we shouldn’t give them alms (it’s better to give them biscuits) is that these kids (those without parents) should be under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Under the DSWD, these children are put in a center where they are fed, clothed and even sent to school. They are provided these basic needs on one condition: That they abide by the center’s rules and regulations.

The rules and regulations aren’t really all that stiff: Wake up at a certain time, turn in early at night, participate in activities organized by the center, etc. Unfortunately, most of these children do not want their lives constricted by rules. They escape from the center and return to the streets where there are no rules to limit their movements.

But life is a series of rules. Even us mature people have to follow rules to avoid chaos in this society. What more these children who have to be taught values while they are still malleable.

Actually, I know of a lot of people who wish to help these street children – except that they do not know how. Giving them dole-outs is certainly not the solution. We do not want to breed a whole generation of mendicants, do we?

Of the three economic brackets featured in this I-Witness episode, the most interesting were those who represented the middle class. There was this employee of a multinational company who has difficulty raising his family of three kids. He and his wife (who is also working) are renting their place and have yet to buy a house of their own.

Then, there was Cresta Amor (doesn’t her name sound like a resort?) who is regularly seen in the fitness segment of Unang Hirit. Cresta isn’t only an on-camera talent. She also has to work as a video editor in the GMA news department to enable her to send her younger siblings to school.

Cresta is single and lives with her family in a rented apartment in Sta. Mesa, Manila. She has no car – and taking a cab to work is already a luxury.

Sometimes, she gets to sleep only a few hours a day because of her workload. To me, Cresta is the ideal daughter, sister and citizen of this country. She is industrious and hardworking. The typical middle class.

And I firmly believe that of the three main social classes we have here in the Philippines, the middle is the most important. To begin with, the middle class is the biggest contributor to the coffers of the government. Remember, most poor people engage in underground economy (those who sell banana cue, gulaman at sago, etc.). And the rich? Well, some of the biggest tax evaders in the country today come from this sector.

But the middle class is burdened with taxes anywhere he goes – whether at work (withholding tax) or at play (in movie theaters, restaurants, etc.)

With a great part of his income eaten up by taxes, the middle class will really have a tough time climbing up the social ladder. Last Monday’s I-Witness episode, in fact, claims that the gap between the rich and the middle class is indeed very wide.

The gap between the middle class and the poor, however, isn’t so. As Cresta Amor so put it, "Mawalan lang ako ng trabaho, mahirap na din ako."