People are getting appalled by the continuous resetting of the supposed lowering of rice prices to twenty pesos per kilo in accordance with the presidential election promise of the doubtful president. About two years since the deceitful promise duped millions of gullible voters, rice prices are increasing daily to unaffordable levels.
There is no indication that rice prices would decrease in the next years until the next presidential elections. People who were duped by the presidential promise could not demand for its fulfilment as they voted for a price or even for free because they believed it is the best promise for their future and their family that willingly believed as well. The situation gets worse as income levels are stagnated below the minimum wages level.
Workers suffer from the unjust social order where businesses are adamant to workers’ demand for wage hikes. The contention is always that business will suffer losses if workers’ wages are increased to meet their demand. But over the years, business capitalists are getting richer while workers are gradually buried in the quagmire of unsettled cycle of debts. This reality dispels the capitalists’ excuse that they will suffer losses if workers’ wages are increased.
This could serve as good basis for government agencies in charge of regulating workers’ wages to tilt the balance in for wage increase as capitalists are bent on raising the same baseless if not fallacious excuse of business losses. There are clear indicators that such alleged losses are not true. The disparity in the socio-economic condition between the poor hapless workers and the business capitalists are too glaring to be ignored.
Granting workers’ wages a just treatment would lift them from their impoverished condition. It will improve their purchasing power to be able to buy the basic needs of the family, chiefly rice that had reached prices beyond the present wage levels. So far, only the rich business capitalists are able to enjoy decent living despite the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.
Meanwhile, people who relied on the campaign promise of rice prices going down to twenty pesos per kilo within the first year of the Marcos administration may just continue keeping their fingers crossed as the deadline of its fulfilment may go beyond the term of office as it is clearly a moving target.
comments to alellema@yahoo.com
