Have you seen local economic distress examples?

[manofthecoldland]

Yesterday I read about what's happening in Bolivia during lock down, and today  in Colombo where 3 women were trampled to death while trying to get a cash handout. 

We are aware that many of the world's poor often have to live day-to-day, hand-to-mouth. When quarantined in their homes they are cut off from livelihoods and daily income, which means no money for their daily food in many cases.

I don't know to what degree different governments provide viable solutions for them, but many seem to be failing in this regard.

So people have to face virus infection avoidance at the cost of going hungry or possibly slowly starving. In advanced economic countries we have some limited counter- measures like food banks, relief payments, etc., and in other places they do limited assistance that aides food insecurity, but doesn't eliminate it.

I know what the programs have been here, and what I have contributed, but it still seems quite inadequate.

I have no idea how many here are surviving since there is little economic activity.  OFW's are coming home or trapped with no jobs in large numbers (see MNL newpapers) and in advanced countries, many are also experiencing economic hardship, preventing the normal level of remittances.

So what's the picture here ?

A few of the expats I know have extended their financial support to kin/relatives for rice but that is still quite limited.

Two weeks ago before the P6K payouts (Licensed trike drivers and elderly got assistance here in my barangay last week) a neighbor came to  borrow rice. Another neighbor brought us a bottle of isopropyl alcohol to swap for some pisos since she needed milk for her child. People are now asking the neighbors if my wife is going to do another rice/food handout, since we had done so before.

I really have little idea of how my  community is feeding itself since many trikes aren't running and few places are open for business again despite going to General quarantine.

My own government is tardy in its relief efforts for the working classes, and I see nothing happening here now.

Have you heard of  any local hardships or extreme needs cases, despite most of us older ex-pats still being confined to our homes? 

When I ask my wife, she says she doesn't know.  Maybe nobody really wants to know since its Hard TImes for so many and most are just trying to solve their own survival problems.  

[Huggybearman]

I know of three reported cases of suicide here in Cagayan de Oro due to hardship. Really sad! And at the same time eight cases of local barangay officials being arrested for pocketing the government handouts! 

[Snowy79]

Within a few weeks of the start of the quarantine I gave a little money to an older Filipino who was walking the streets of Boracay looking in the roadside for dropped coins and filling up my motorcyle last week I was approached by an older lady bagging for money. 

I already give away a good £500 per month to locals that I know and I understand I'll never see it again but I really don't know how they'd survive if I never. Some have been getting a little rice and some sardines, others have received nothing. My previous place it's almost as if the Mayor is deliberately putting the locals into hardship as he adds his own restrictions onto those issued by the Palace just so he can have a photo shoot handing out a little rice.

[hk blues]

I'm going to guess many of us here are living in communities with locals who are not part of the poor group. And gated communities where the poor are unlikely to be able to enter. So, I always say that I don't see any signs of hardship but I'm damn sure it exists.

I know I'm contradicting myself now, but I have noticed a few of my neighbours selling fruit and veg etc - this wasn't the case before. I suspect they are doing it to help out poorer family members but i don't know.

[RBM]

On 5/22/2020 at 5:19 PM, manofthecoldland said:

 

When I ask my wife, she says she doesn't know.  Maybe nobody really wants to know since its Hard TImes for so many and most are just trying to solve their own survival problems.  

I have experienced the same, nobody seems to know. have seen zero indications of tougher times, no more beggars than usual. Now we opening up here in Bacolod we are out and about and all appears to be the same.

Perhaps after reading the post of snowy the tourist areas could be more effected. Only difference here noted is malls are only operating at about half normal otherwise pretty much the usual except also restos are take out only.

[OnMyWay]

23 hours ago, hk blues said:

I know I'm contradicting myself now, but I have noticed a few of my neighbours selling fruit and veg etc - this wasn't the case before. I suspect they are doing it to help out poorer family members but i don't know.

Actually we have rich neighbors selling all kinds of things in our neighborhood.  1 or 2 have arranged to have fruits and veggies delivered to their house, and they resell them.  Others are baking like crazy and selling.  Another wealthy lady is smoking fish and pork, and the proceeds go to help feed the animals at Ocean Adventure.  A lot of it is just to kill some time, I think.  My neighbors across the street are baking and selling Ube pandesol once a week.  They are the daughters of the guy I have mentioned who has many exotic cars.

Why?  We are locked into the freeport and have very limited access to fresh foods.  A nice side effect of the quarantine is that neighbors have been more sociable, from a distance.

Sorry, not really on topic.

 

[OnMyWay]

On 5/22/2020 at 6:41 PM, Huggybearman said:

I know of three reported cases of suicide here in Cagayan de Oro due to hardship. Really sad! And at the same time eight cases of local barangay officials being arrested for pocketing the government handouts! 

We have a friend whose uncle committed suicide and the family said it was due to the lockdown and related stresses.  People who are on the edge before something happens can go over the edge when something like this happens.

[hk blues]

5 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Actually we have rich neighbors selling all kinds of things in our neighborhood.  1 or 2 have arranged to have fruits and veggies delivered to their house, and they resell them.  Others are baking like crazy and selling.  Another wealthy lady is smoking fish and pork, and the proceeds go to help feed the animals at Ocean Adventure.  A lot of it is just to kill some time, I think.  My neighbors across the street are baking and selling Ube pandesol once a week.  They are the daughters of the guy I have mentioned who has many exotic cars.

Why?  We are locked into the freeport and have very limited access to fresh foods.  A nice side effect of the quarantine is that neighbors have been more sociable, from a distance.

Sorry, not really on topic.

 

You're probably spot on that many are doing stuff they wouldn't normally do to pass time more than anthing.

My wife bakes and sells it around the neighbourhood and always has done. I've lost count the number of times she and I have tried to explain it's more for the pleasure than the money - the money she makes probably covers the material cost and gas/electricity but throw in the cost of equipment etc and it would be a great business to lose money on!

[Snowy79]

I've just been out for a ride on my motorcycle and was surprised how many people I'm seeing walking the streets with plastic containers of food to sell now. Even more little BBQ places are sprouting up and this morning about 6:40am when I'd just finished jogging the beach I was approached by two women trying to sell food. 

I think the locals are waking up to the fact that this rough period may last longer than they'd hoped. 

[manofthecoldland]

4 minutes ago, Snowy79 said:

I've just been out for a ride on my motorcycle and was surprised how many people I'm seeing walking the streets with plastic containers of food to sell now. Even more little BBQ places are sprouting up and this morning about 6:40am when I'd just finished jogging the beach I was approached by two women trying to sell food. 

I think the locals are waking up to the fact that this rough period may last longer than they'd hoped. 

   Yesterday our neighbor, who is one of the wife's co-madres and can't  vend her usual fish balls (and whose husband is an out of work trike driver, brought over several embutido meat rolls to sell that she baked up. My wife bought them all since she has made them herself on special order for cousin's special events. She says that they are a lengthy and time consuming preparation and not normally eaten. 

   Today another close friend brought over a huge living crab in a bucket.  I told  the wife to buy it since he needs to make some money to feed his family.

   I am now buying and eating a few things I seldom do, mainly to help hard working people trying to make ends meet since I am fortunate enough to have a reliable pension income source.  Well get through this eventually, but I hope people can recover some semblance of a sustainable livlihood.