Juan, born in Paco, Manila, used to live with his family that owns a house and lot in the country’s capital. He was not able to finish his college degree but still managed to get employed in a small company.
When he got married, he left the family house and lived in a small, rented unit good enough for the newlywed to raise a small bloodline.
For 10 years or so, his family was renting the same house, working hard with a meager salary but choosing to live with some measure of dignity. In a small way, he contributed to the city’s coffer as a tax-paying citizen.
He is still renting to date and plans to apply for a long-overdue, low-cost housing from a private real estate developer.
In another zone and time, Pedro arrived in Manila from the province through an invitation of a relative in a squatters’ colony in Tondo.
He joined a fairly big family cramped in a small space built on an unused government lot. Then he began to take odd jobs and sell goods on sidewalks.
Before long, he got married and also built a smaller space in a nearby vacant lot.
During the onslaught of COVID-19, he was one of the prioritized beneficiaries of the government’s financial “ayuda” as he was considered among the “poorest of the poor.”
Recently, he became a beneficiary of the city government’s housing program. He and his family can live in a decent condominium unit for a minimum monthly amortization and for as long as he wants.
Meanwhile, Juan, a natural-born Manileño, dutiful taxpayer, is still not able to own a house in Manila.
Pedro, who arrived from the province years later, chose to squat and get “rewarded” with financial benefits in government’s financial assistance and a house of his own.
What does this story tell us?
The government needs to provide an equitable program that will benefit both the law-abiding citizens and those branded by politicians as the “poorest of the poor” that live in a squatters area.
If the government wants to uplift the lives of the citizens, the small, the ordinary employees or informal workers must not be left out.
What a simple, law-abiding citizen like Juan asks is for the government to have equitable treatment for everyone.
They have house rental, water, and electric bills to pay. They work to feed their family and pay for their children’s education. And most of all, they follow the law of the land.
Juan and others like him need help, too.