A Day in Quiapo and Makati

By Yuri Alfrin Aladdin

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A little girl beggar about seven years old wearing a black dress and holding her younger sister, came to me, tugging at my shirt. "Sir, please give me some money?" she asked.

I gave her P10 (10 pesos, one peso is equal to Rp200) and asked what her name was. "Mary," she said and left without saying thank you.

Mary was among the many beggars I saw hanging around in Quiapo, one of the oldest parts of Metro Manila, the Philippines. There were old people and cripples begging on the streets and stairs leading to the underpass. The beggars in Quiapo are, however, different from those in Jakarta. They tend to touch people while begging.

Quiapo was humid, dirty, dusty and noisy with the vendors, crowd and jeepneys, a unique public transport popular in Metro Manila, modified from the jeep -- working their way through the chaotic, overcrowded streets.

Sidewalk shops sell all kinds of goods from fruit, electronics, and pirated DVDs to clothes, herbal medicines, candles and at half the price in the shopping mall. The quality, however, is not guaranteed.

One female vendor offered an Asian tourist a T-shirt for P250. She followed the tourist about 50 meters from her sidewalk stall to close the sale. The tourist refused. However, not far from the first vendor, another one offered a similar T-shirt for just P20. The tourist shook his head.

The vendors in the traditional Quiapo market mostly come from the provinces. Alan, a pomelo vendor is from San Carlos City, Pangasinan province, and had been selling pomelos for the past two years.

The pomelos come from Davao City. He sells his pomelos for as much as P50 each earning him a net income of about P300 per day.

A journalist friend, Germelina Lacorte from Davao City, asked Alan how he became al pomelos vendor in Quiapo. Speaking in Tagalog, Alan said he had stopped going school as he had not enough money. "Every night, I sleep on the sidewalk here," he said.

Quiapo is similar to certain areas in Jakarta such as the Jatinegara traditional market in East Jakarta or Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta.

I saw a vendor in Quiapo selling lumpia (chicken rolls) for P10 (Rp2,000) each but it was filled with vegetables. We were eating the lumpia when four beggars surrounded us and touched our arms.

According to information in http://www.stuartxchange.org/Quiapo.html for adventurous travelers, a trip to Quiapo will provide a taste of third-world realities, a merging of Filipino religiosity and indigenous commerce.

Indeed, it was a surreal experience.Quaipo was originally a complex maze of rivers, canals, and marshes. It thrived as a fishing village, abounding in a water lily called Kiapo from which the area derived its name.

By the latter part of the 16th century, Quiapo had become a flourishing center of commerce, awash not merely with water lilies, but also crafts and trade stores, theaters and movie houses, open markets. Then, the elite, the `illustrados` and the new rich also built luxurious homes and mansions in the area.

Glamor of Makati

Germelina and I continued our field trip to Makati, a bus-ride of about one hour from Quiapo. Makati is the main business district in Manila. It offers a lifestyle of comfort and relaxation, clean environment, deluxe class hotels, skyscrapers and fine dining. It`s a world full of contrasts with conditions in Quiapo.

The Greenbelt Mall adjacent to Shangrila Hotel is lined by trees and landscaped gardens. Instead of jeepneys and beggars, there were luxury cars and security guards with metal detectors.

A cup of coffee at Coffee Bean cost as much as P125 (Rp.25,000), the equivalent to two square meals in Quiapo. A group of ladies were chatting at the next table, with their expensive looking dresses which would certainly be out of place in Quiapo.

Makati reminded me Pondok Indah, Plaza Senayan, or Plaza Indonesia in Jakarta where people in business attire look as if they are always in a rush.

I read in entry in http://www.world66.com/asia/southeastasia/philippines/makati that Makati has a history dating back to the time when Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi first set foot on it and gave it its present name, derived from a Tagalog phrase meaning "ebbing tide". Makati was part of the territory ruled by a chieftain called Lakan Tagkan and his wife, Bouan, who lived in Namayan, now part of Sta. Ana, Manila.

In 1589, when a permanent seat in the city corporation was put up for sale at a public auction in accordance with the custom of the period, Captain Pedro de Brito, then an aide to the Spanish Army of Staff and chief constable of the Audencia, bought the property, which included the territory now occupied by Makati, for 1,400 pesos.

The House of Probation and its adjoining church were to be built on a hill called Buenavista, within the confines of a cattle ranch, which the founders owned in a district called Makati. The church, now located in the center of the Greenbelt mall,was to be placed under the patronage of Saint Peter. (This condition probably accounts for the prefixing of San Pedro to the name "Makati", which later also came to be called "Sampiro").

Three centuries later in 1914, by Act No. 2390 of the Philippine Legislature, the name "San Pedro de Makati" was changed to "Makati".


Wide Gap

Dr.Eric Loo, a scholar at the MA Journalism programme of the Ateneo de Manila University told me that we could see the different situation and life style between Quiapo and Makati. In Quiapo we could see the poor and their simple life style while in Makati we could see the rich people with the glamour life style.

Is it reflexing an economic gap between the rich and the poor in the Philippines?

"Yes, we can see that there`s a wide gap between the rich and the poor here," said Germelina Lacorte, who is associate editor of davaotoday.com.

According to the site http://www.txtmania.com/articles/poverty.php in October 2001, the Population Commission (Popcom) said there are 30.6 million Filipinos or 6.12 million families who are suffering from poverty.

There are about 77 million Filipinos in 2001 and this number is growing by 2.05 percent annually. This means that some 1.5 million Filipinos are born every year, 600,000 of whom to poor parents. Some 32.5 million Filipinos, comprising 66.3 percent of the population, are considered matured enough to work. But 3.3 million of these people, or 10.1 percent of the workforce, cannot find jobs while 5.2 million others, or 17.7 percent, have no regular source of income.

According to the World Bank, the Philippines had a per capita GNP of US$1,050 in 1999, compared to China`s US$780, Indonesia`s US$600, Vietnam`s US$370, Lao`s US$290 or Cambodia`s US$280. Yet, the Philippines` poverty incidence rate of 40 percent is higher than China`s 3 percent, Indonesia`s 23 percent, Vietnam`s 37 percent, Lao`s 38 percent or Cambodia`s 36 percent. World Bank said that in the Philippines, the welfare is concentrated on the hands of the few.

In 1986 President Corazon Aquino focused her presidential campaign on the misdeeds of Marcos and his cronies. The site http://countrystudies.us/philippines/58.htm stated that the economic correctives she proposed emphasized a central role for private enterprise and the moral imperative of reaching out to the poor and meeting their needs. Reducing unemployment, encouraging small-scale enterprise, and developing the neglected rural areas were the themes.

It soon became clear that the plight of the people had been subordinated largely to the requirements of private enterprise and the world economy. As the president noted in her state-of- the-nation address in June 1989, the poor had not benefited from the economic recovery that had taken place since 1986. The gap between the rich and poor had widened, and the proportion of malnourished preschool children had grown.

How about in the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) `s government era ?

In March 2008, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said soaring oil prices had hurt her country`s fight against widespread poverty despite high economic growth last year. "We are aware that no matter how much improvement there is at the top of the economic ladder, many of our people still struggle mightily," she said late Sunday, with the text of her comments released Monday. "The high price of gasoline and everyday commodities hits our poor the hardest," she said , at http://webhost-studio.net/philnews/article.php?id=1980, quoted from AFP.

"While the high price of oil is a global issue outside the control of government, we have nevertheless taken and will continue to take actions to reduce the pain on our people of these high prices." Official figures released last week showed 3.8 million more people had joined the ranks of the poor between 2003 and 2006, amid cuts in social spending and new taxes to boost a narrow revenue base.

The data showed one in three Filipinos live on a dollar or less per day. The economy grew at a 31-year high of 7.3 percent last year, when inflation was kept at a 20-year low of 2.8 percent. But the Asian Development Bank has said not enough jobs are being created amid insufficient investment and obstacles to growth like poor infrastructure.

"Many things are left to be done. I plan on working hard with you the next two years to fulfill our Philippine Reform Agenda until the day I leave office in 2010," Arroyo said, quoted by AFP. "We have made tough and unpopular decisions to raise revenues and as we in the executive crack down on tax cheats so that we could invest in our physical infrastructure and in our people," she said.
(*)

Copyright © 2008 ANTARA

http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/7/30/feature-a-day-in-quiapo-and-makati/

Poor Children Rely on Orphanages to Get Education

By Yuri Alfrin Aladdin

Jakarta, (ANTARA News)- Looking a bit nervous and very tired, Muryana, a 45-year-old woman wearing an inexpensive dull dress, was moving back and forth in front of the administrative office of the Vincentius Putera Orphanage. Her 10-year-old son, Puja, was sitting on a bench nearby.

"I want to register my son, Puja, at this orphanage. I want to see the orphanage`s administrator. I have been waiting here since 9 a.m.," she said. Since many other people had also come to the orphanage for the same purpose, Muryana and her son had to wait for about three hours before they got their turn to see the orphanage`s administration staff.

Vincentius Putera Orphanage is located on Jl Kramat Raya No.134 in Central Jakarta. It is an orphanage run by a Catholic organization which only accepts boys. The building is very old as it was built in 1913. With its Dutch colonial style, the building looks like a big church. Some photos of the Catholic priests who led the orphanage in the past decorated the walls inside.

Muryana said she was poor. "I find it more and more difficult to bear the daily economic burden. The prices of almost all commodities, especially food, are rising. I have no more money to raise him," she said sadly, referring to her son, Puja.

Her husband was a taxi driver but no longer staying with her. "He always complains that his income is not sufficient to support the family. As the head of a family, he should be ashamed of himself," she said.

"He became desperate and lost all his self-confidence. Eventually, he stopped coming home and chose to stay in a small rented room, away from us. He is no longer giving us any money," said Muryana.

As Muryana didn`t have money, Puja quit his school this year.

"It is true that there is no school fee at the state school but I still have to provide money for public transport to take him to school, for the school uniform, for books, and other expenses," she said.

"Puja would be in junior high school if he continues his studies this year. It`s better for him to stay at the orphanage. I will live with his younger brother. I can work as a domestic helper," said Muryana.

At 12.30 p.m., the door of the orphanage`s administrative office was opened. It was Muryana`s turn to see the administrative officers. She entered the room with her son, Puja, and begged the orphanage`s administrator to accept her son.

"The number of poor people is getting bigger in Indonesia after the government increased the fuel prices several times. Many poor people come to us to put their children into our care," said Antonius Dasfamudy who acts as Vincentius Putera Orphanage`s publlc relations officer.

"Only one or two people came to us in the past but these days about 10 people came here every day. Of course, we can`t accept all of them as our capacity is limited," he explained.

According Dasfamudy, the orphanage was now taking care of 350 boys who were staying in the orphanage and 100 others who were living outside the orphanage, mostly with relatives.

"We provide each child with three meals per day with each meal costing about Rp20,000 (US$2). If their other expenses are added, the orphanage has to spend a total of about Rp40 million per month (US$4,000) on the children`s needs. However, the total operational cost of the orphanage, including the salaries of employees, averages about Rp100 million (US$10,000) per month.

Since the government increased the fuel prices last May, our overall monthly expenditures increased by about 15-20 percent," he said.

Dasfamudy said the orphanage`s finances were heavily dependent on the generosity of donors : individuals, industries, the central government and the Jakarta city administration.

The donations from individuals and industries were, however, unpredictable. Meanwhile, donations from the central government and city administration were easier to predict.

The central government through the Social Affairs Ministry actually had increased its subsidy from Rp2,500 (2.5 cents) per day per child last year to Rp3,000 (3 cents) per day per child since early this year.

"However, the amount actually is smaller than last year. Since January this year, the central government only wants to give subsidy to about 35 children in our orphanage while last year about 60 of our 350 children got the subsidy," he said.

He added the Jakarta city administration was also subsidizing only 90 of the orphanage`s 350 children with Rp4,000 per child per day.

"We don`t know how much subsidy they will give us this year. They promise to give the subsidy at the end of this year. It could be higher or lower," he said.


Muslim Orphanage

Giving an almost similar picture as Dasfamudy, the deputy head of the Muslim Orphanage (Rumah Piatu Muslimin) Masbukin said he assumed the government knew that the prices of daily necessaries had increased and that this was also putting a heavier financial burden on orphanages. "The central government and the Jakarta city administration should increase their subsidy for us," he said.

"Indeed, our operational costs have soared after the government increased the fuel prices several times. Last year, our operational cost was about Rp70 million. But now it has increased to Rp80 million," said Masbukin.

He explained that the orphanage had charge over as many as 75 children staying inside and 167 children staying outside of the orphanage.

"The central government through the Social Affairs Ministry can not subsidize all of the children. Also, the ministry only wants to subsidize children who are staying in the orphanage. They don`t want to subsidize our children who are living outside with their families," said Masbukin.

"We should increase the stipend for the children as their transport fare, the prices of their books and private school fees have also gone up. The central government as well as the Jakarta city administration should pay more attention to us. Actually, it is the state that has the obligation to take case of orphans as stipulated in the Constitution," he said.

Meanwhile, the Social Affairs Ministry`s director for child social services, Haniff Asmara, denied that the economic difficulties the public were now experiencing had contributed to the increasing number of poor people seeking to put their children in orphanages.

"We can`t conclude that the big number of people coming to the orphanage means a worsening economy. I believe this rather shows that our services have become more and more reliable. That`s why more and more people now send their children to orphanages," he said.

He said the Ministry had an annual budget of Rp125 billion (US$12.5 million) to support as many as 500,000 children living in 8,610 orphanages all over Indonesia.

"Ideally, our budget should be about Rp1 trillion. But in reality, the budget is limited to only Rp125 billion. That`s why, we can`t subsidize all children living in orphanages," he said.

According to him, there was some solution for the orphanages` financial problem. First, he said, orphanages in the future should be focused on poor and orphaned children who stayed outside, for instance, with their families.

"The cost will be smaller than if the children stayed at the orphanages," Haniff said.

Secondly, the total budget for financing orphanages should be backed by the central government, provincial governments, and district administrations. "For instance, the government could bear about 50 percent, the provincial government about 30 percent, and the district administration about 20 percent," he added.

On a separate occasion, Director General of Services and Social Rehabilitation at the Social Affairs Ministry Makmur Sunusi said many provincial and district administrations did not care about orphanages` financial problems. They leave the problems` solution to the central government.

"This is wrong. We are now in the regional decentralization era. The Social Affairs Ministry should give only directives and technical assistances in managing the orphanages. Actually, the provincial and district administrations have the obligation to handle orphanages` financial problems, not the central government," said Sunusi.

According to him, many provincial and district administrations prefer to invest their money in inudstries rather than in helping orphanages.

"They view the subsidy for orphanages only as a charitable activity, not as an investment in human resources," said Sunusi.


Dwi and Dahlia

Dwi, 12, and Dahlia, 15, are staying at the Muslim Orphanage. Dwi has just finished elementary school and will be go to junior high school in the next semester which will begin in mid July. Previously, he had lived with his family in West Jakarta.

"My father was only a factory worker. He died three years ago, leaving financial problems to the family. Then, our house was destroyed by fire. We had nothing left after the incident. Then, in July 2005, my mother took me to this orphanage. She is now working as a domestic helper in West Jakarta," said Dwi.

Dahlia is a thin cute girl wearing a "jilbab" (Muslim head-scarf). She has just finished the second year of junior high school in Central Jakarta.

Previously, she lived with her family in Cikarang , West Java province. After her father died four years back, her mother took her to the orphanage.

"I miss my mother. Now, she is working at a factory in Bekasi, West Java. She only sees me once every two months. Then, I saved up money for months. My mother added to my savings and I bought a cheap cellular phone. Therefore, now, whenever I miss her or my mother misses me, we can communicate," said Dahlia.

Dahlia said she hoped to be an elementary school teacher while Dwi said he wanted to be a pilot. "Education is important for us to make our ideals come true," said Dwi.

Didn`t they sometimes feel less confident among friends from outside the orphanage?

"Yes, sometimes I feel it. Some of my friends at school are from rich families. They have much money. They can watch films in the cinema, shop at malls, but I can`t. My pocket money averages Rp2,000 (2 cents) per day. It is enough to buy a cheap snack. Usually, I bring my lunch box to school so I don`t have to buy another snack. I save my money," said Dahlia.

But Dahlia and Dwi did not complain about situation. They knew that the orphanage had a limited budget. "But it is not a big deal for me. I am happy staying in this orphanage. I have many friends here," said Dwi, smiling.(*)

COPYRIGHT © 2008
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/7/8/poor-children-rely-on-orphanages-to-get-education/

Poor Indonesians Feel Effects of High Oil Prices

By Yuri Alfrin

Someone knocked on my door one morning just when I was about to leave for work. "Sir, could you help me by giving me a job? Please, let me restore your house," he begged.

Sarmidi, 60, a freelance construction worker who lives with his wife and two sons near my house in Depok, West Java, is among the many who will work at any job to survive. He said that since the government increased the fuel price on May 23, many house owners had stopped repairing or building their houses, which means fewer jobs available to Sarmidi.

Indeed, prices of basic necessities have increased since May. It was more important for people to spend their money on food, medicines and school expenses than to restore their home.

With his wife sick and two sons unemployed, Sarmidi is in dire straits. He said that a few months ago he was cheated by someone who introduced himself as a journalist of a leading newspaper and who knew the top ranking police officials in Jakarta. The journalist told Sarmidi that he could help his 25-year-old son to be recruited as a police officer by bribing an official.

He asked Sarmidi for about 7 million Indonesian rupiah (about US$700) to bribe the police official. Sarmidi did not have the money. Finally, he borrowed the money from his friends and relatives.

However, after waiting for several months, he realized the "journalist" had cheated him. The top ranking police official as well as the newspaper's management denied knowing the "journalist." Sarmidi is now 7 million rupiah in debt to his friends and relatives.

He only has an elementary school education. His two sons completed senior high school. He is paid about 50 thousand rupiah (US$5) a day as a construction worker. Which is barely enough for a family of four in Jakarta, where living costs average about 1 million rupiah per month or 33,000 rupiah per day. And he does not get construction jobs every day.

"The government's decision to hike the fuel price has a big impact on my life. I become poorer and poorer now as the primary food prices are increasing sharply," he said sadly.

"The direct cash subsidy 100,000 rupiah per month per poor family for seven months by the government as a compensation for the fuel price hike is not enough for us," he added.

He thanked me when I asked him to come back tomorrow to repair my broken window.


***

Every morning I take the train to work at Antara News Agency in Jakarta. I usually depart from the Depok Lama train station at eight. However, that morning I wanted to interview some people eking out a living on the streets.

I met a bookseller at the station. Johar has been selling books for the past eight years. He has no kiosk or shop, just a small carpet that he spreads on the railroad platform to sell his second-hand books -- about 50 novels that morning.

He says the publisher raised the book prices by about 15-25 percent after the fuel price hike.

"After the publisher raise the book prices, it's very difficult to sell books. I used to sell my books and get such net profit about 50,000 to 60,000 rupiah [around US$5-6] per day. But now, the situation has become more difficult. Only a few people want to buy novel books like this," he said.

An ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver came close to us. As he knew that I was a journalist, he asked me to write his opinion about President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He cursed Yudhoyono's decision as it had made poor people become poorer. "But please don't write my name," he said.

Not far from him was a woman beggar with her thin daughter. They sat and begged for money from passers-by. I came close to her and gave her 1,000 rupiah (US10 cents) and took her picture. She does not want to tell me her name.

"I have got trouble along my life. So don't ask me about the government's policy. I don't understand it. Whatever the government do, there is no change for my life," she said while staring at her 1-year-old daughter.

I waited for my train on platform one. As in every station in Indonesia, there were many beggars staying and doing whatever to survive. That morning, I saw there were more beggars than usual at the station.

On May 23, the Indonesian government announced that fuel prices would increase by as much as 28.7 percent as the international oil prices had reached US$125 per barrel.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the fuel subsidy had resulted in a budget deficit. Hence, the government decided to increase the prices of premium gasoline from 4,500 to 6,000 rupiah, diesel fuel from 4,250 to 5,500 rupiah and kerosene from 2,000 to 2,500 rupiah.

To ease the burden of the poor people, the government distributed as a cash subsidy as much as 100,000 rupiah per family for only seven months.

Since the announcement, students have demonstrated daily in the streets.

A lecturer of the Economic School of the University of Indonesia, Rofikoh Rokhim, said that the government could not avoid the decision as the oil price in international market had reached US$125.

She explained that previously about 80 percent of the government subsidy was enjoyed by 40 percent of high class people, while about 60 percent of the low class (poor) people only enjoyed 20 percent of the subsidy.

"This is not fair. That's why the government should reduce the fuel subsidy by the fuel prices hike. Remember, the poor people don't have cars," she said.

She admitted that there would soon be a pro and con, as all goods and services prices were going to increase. Meanwhile, most employees in Indonesia did not enjoy an increasing of their salary.

©2008 OhmyNews

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=435289&no=383533&rel_no=1