The "Kahit Konting Awa" Attitude Wouldn't Help Alleviate Anyone from Poverty
As the countdown to Christmas continues--it's easy to expect the toxic Filipino trait that I'll dub as "Kahit Konting Awa". The literal meaning is "Just a Little Pity". I named it after that song by Nora Aunor, the theme song of The Flor Contemplacion Story. I wasn't a bit surprised when the hit movie was uploaded on VIVA Films' YouTube page last 2013 (read here). Back on the topic, I noticed it's easy for people to desire to reconcile because it's the Christmas season. The Philippines has the longest Christmas season. However, people love to do last-minute Christmas shopping presumably due to their poor budgetary habits. Ever heard of the one-day paycheck pandemic in the Philippines?
It's a common abusive trait in the Philippines to have that "Kahit Konting Awa" attitude. There's the problem of "Utang (debt) is life." It's no surprise that financial literacy is that low in the Philippines. A not fun fact at all is that isn't more fun discussing business and economics in the Philippines (read here). It can be because of that "Kahit Konting Awa" attitude. I'm not even a bit surprised that the song is such a hit in the Philippines. I believe the song became popular because of the prevalent attitude among Filipinos. It was also that time when Hubert Jeffry P. Webb was wrongfully accused of a crime he didn't commit. A lot of Filipinos cried out for the blood of the wrongly accused while insisting Flor was innocent.
Who composes these people with the "Kahit Konting Awa" attitude in the Philippines? We have tenants with huge delinquencies and did big damage to the area for lease. We have people who keep borrowing money from others but never pay it back. We have people who are addicted to gambling instead of investing. We have students who'd rather cut classes than attend them. We have workers who don't show up on time or do their work badly. In short, it's the crowd that just wants to have fun without having to work. It's one thing to deal with unfair business practices. It's another thing to be that abusive person, regardless of one's position. A lessor can be fair and a tenant can be abusive. An employer can be fair and an employee can be abusive. That's why some workers' rights organizations are nothing more than shams.
The problem with the "Kahit Konting Awa" attitude is that people never learn. People will demand for mercy, even when the person isn't required to give it. They may even say, "Well, but you're rich! Why do you need the money?" That's really poor accounting sense. It may be confusing profits for revenues (read here). Entrepreneurs don't only have to collect revenues but they must also pay their expenses. For example, the lessor will need the money to pay for repairs. Money doesn't grow on trees or fall from the sky! Groceries need that money not just to replenish their inventory but to pay all their other expenses, salaries included. That's why workers don't get a share of the profit--because their wages are part of the expenses before the profit. Why should workers have profit shares unless they hold shares of stock in a corporation? If only they studied basic accounting--it's a give-and-take relationship!
Sure, it can be understood if people are allowed leeway. For example, medical expenses for a direct family member or one's own injury. However, a person is only given extra room to pay up the debt or rental. What's due isn't extinguished. There's also the contract of lease agreement where a person can be kicked out for two consecutive months of non-payment. Banks will still need the money back for their personal expenses. That's why banks have mortgage policies. Banks seize anything of value from the debtor to make up for the losses. Leeway is different from taking abuse. If business institutions kept taking abuse--we can expect a lot of working-class people, to lose their jobs. Eventually, there will be no employers for employees. If laid-off employees established a business and followed that kind of mindset--they too will have to close.
After all, an old Chinese proverbs says, "Give a man fish and he will only have a meal for a day. Teach a man how to fish--he will have a meal for a lifetime." If people keep relying on "Kahit Konting Awa"--they only have a meal for a day. Beggars beg because they need that money to buy food. Give the beggar alms and that's his or her only meal for a day. However, give a poor person work and teach them home to work and manage finances properly, they can have a meal for a lifetime.
