Dayang Daya: The Case of Five-Six Lending Services Roaming to Collect Christmas/New Year Debts by January
I remember during the late 1990s when the song "Dayang Dayang" (Princess of the First Degree) was played on the radio. The origins are often debated whether or not it was from Muslim Mindanao or from the other neighboring countries. The Philippines has had settlers also from Malaysia and Indonesia. A parody cover by the late Yoyoy Villame was called Dayang Daya or Cheating Cheating. It was probably making fun of the Indian five-six lending business. Indians tend to be called Bombay because of the location known as Mumbai. I even made the mistake of referring to Indians as "Bombays" more than once. The song "Dayang Daya" does talk about the five-six lending services. It does target a lot of gullible people. I even became nearly distrustful of Indians in college for quite some time.
I wrote how a Merry Christmas may lead to an Unhappy New Year due to debt burden (read here). I tend to say to myself, "Somebody hasn't paid their debt!" every time I see an Indian (wearing a turban) riding a motorcycle. I tend to laugh thinking that January vindicates my painful December due to traffic. A lot of last-minute Christmas shopping happens because people splurge on their paychecks (read here). Instead of budgeting the money to pay for their needs--they spend it on their wants first. It becomes customary to spend the money from the paycheck on things you don't need. Even worse, gambling becomes more common than investing. I guess it's because of the mentality that says, "If it's bitter then just add sugar." They would choose to try and forget their problems by having good times instead of facing the problem head-on. It can even be as ridiculous as, "Your landlord is about to kick you out? Why not attend the fiesta and forget about it!"
Why did they end up borrowing money from the Indian five-six lenders, to begin with? It's because of spending more than one earns. If you're living paycheck to paycheck then splurging on that paycheck is very unwise. They do it from January to November. December arrives and they discover, "I don't have money! No problem? Just add sugar!" (read here) This "just add sugar" might mean that if they haven't paid Creditor A they will go to Creditor B, C, D, E, etc. They borrow money for the December feast. After the December feast, they find out, "What? No money? No problem! Just add sugar for the New Year Celebration!" They will borrow money again from somebody else if they haven't paid the debt from the other credit. In short, it's the foolishness of borrowing money in order to celebrate than earning money in order to celebrate.
I guess this is why five-six becomes profitable even if it's outlawed. People who spend more than they earn are prone to borrowing money from illicit sources. The bank denies the loan for a Christmas dinner. The five-six lender will grant a loan even if the person may have an existing loan somewhere. I may go ahead and scream all December about terrible traffic. However, I could laugh on January thinking that the five-six lending services may be preparing to collect debts from irresponsible debtors.