0% interest - my foot!

I find it hard to resist a bargain!

So every time I need something for work or for the house I always keep an eye out for those “SALE” tags, discount signs and especially those 0% interest promos where you can spread out the payments.

I am no credit or finance expert, but don’t you just HATE IT when a store or a brand or a bank advertises 0% interest-12 months to pay, only to discover later that the price you pay for on the 0% interest is usually 15 to 25 percent higher than if you pay with cash!

Dumb if I’m dumb, but most people like me believe that the 0% idea was to reach out to customers who want your product, are willing to pay the price, but because of many other obligations can only do so on a staggered or deferred payment scheme.

On the other hand, it does no good for the store, the manufacturer or their product to sit on the shelves or boxes, unseen, unappreciated and NOT SOLD.

Given that most products sold on this platform are mass-produced and comes with a pricing layer that allows for profit even after several discounts, I can only imagine that “No Sale” is actually money lost!

Of course all of this is wasted saliva to many store owners who are too preoccupied with rent and salaries to pay so they focus instead on how to attract or trick people into coming into their stores. Of course they won’t believe that, they are simply creating false hopes, lost sales and a vicious cycle.

Perhaps Secretary Gregory Domingo and BSP Governor Tetangco can have coffee with their staff and start visiting stores that practice false or deceitful marketing. If they say 0% Interest, then there should be no hidden profits.

The DTI can also add a training module so storeowners and manufacturers can understand the philosophy of why and how to move inventory.

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“There comes a time when a man’s got to do, what a man’s got to do”.

In the case of Makati Mayor Jun-Jun Binay and his decision to clear and bar squatters from returning to the vast Laperal compound, he has shown political will and undoubtedly surprised many observers who had written him off as a second- generation trapo.

Rather than be another coddler of squatter voters, Jun-Jun Binay took a great political and public relations gamble in putting his foot down against the Laperal squatters, Secretary Jesse Robredo and the belated response of the PNP.

Conscious or accidental, Mayor Jun-Jun Binay’s action reflects the changing relationships between politicians and “voters”.

For the longest time, politicians have courted, supported or bought the cheapest and dependable votes. This was usually votes coming from squatter colonies, poor barangays or their leaders.

However economic reality, political betrayals and social pressures have redefined the formula and the way the game is played.

The once loyal squatters have tossed loyalty to the highest bidder. Their leaders simply try to cut their own little deals and double plays. So now politicians are realizing that, although squatters may have the numbers, it comes with a high cost and no guaranteed wins.

(In the case of Mayor Jun-Jun, the squatters actually vowed that Binay would never again win votes in their area. Ironically, they failed to realize how hollow their threats were since they are officially evicted.)

On the other hand, established residents, business owners and non-squatters bring more value to the political equation, because they too have numbers through household members, helpers and employees. In addition to that their businesses and long standing in the community makes them stable and predictable.

In terms of political equations, national politicians used to deal with mayors but in recent history have by-passed mayors and gone direct to squatter/barangay leaders. By booting out squatters in their area of concern, Mayors will once again play a key role in national politics.

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Like a plague, squatters generally disfigure and devalue any area or community they enter into. Unfortunately our guilt ridden religious background tends to draw misplaced compassion in certain cases.

Anyone who has had to spend time in the general area of the Laperal compound which is next door to the Loyola memorial Chapels in Guadalupe can tell you that it takes a lot of faith and a lot of trust in the goodness of man to park your car in the area or even to walk through at night.

The extremely over populated and economically depressed compound was nothing less of a disaster area. If Mayor Jun-Jun Binay had not shown his cards on the issue, this column would have been one condemning the City of Makati for reckless endangerment of its citizens in the compound.

I understand that the good guys like DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo simply wanted some measure of compassion for the squatters who had already lost their possessions in a fire and were now being evicted.

Unfortunately, there would be no need for band aid compassion if those in government simply put aside their “issues and egos” and sat down with Habitat for Humanity, Gawad Kalinga, the various Christian churches etc and try really hard to come up with a UNITED and nationwide “resettlement program”.

It’s time to ask the question: Why are Non-Government Organizations doing a much better job at transforming communities than the Government?

Should we redefine the goal or revamp the government agencies and institutions involved and tasked with housing, poverty alleviation and community development.

Has the government actually come out with a message, a cry for help or a simple invitation to everyday ordinary Filipinos to help them help the poor?

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of wisdom in someone who understands that there is strength in numbers under a common goal towards a common benefit.

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