by: DONALD SEVILLA
GETTING OUR HOPES UP
We can all rave about the much awaited entry of
big mall operators like SM and Robinson’s to our
shores, but the grim economy at present could
dampen our reality.
While dreams could be the stuff of reality someday
and there’s no limit to it, we should be awake to
the bitter truth we are facing daily.
Having gone for a grocery run just recently, I was
surprised at how far our peso went. Without
perhaps noticing it, prices of goods are inching
up.
What we used to pay for stuff we bought a year
ago is much higher now notwithstanding the
normal adjustments for inflation.
Like rockets hurtling into space defying Newton’s
laws of gravity, skyrocketing prices of everyday
stuff we need are a bane to our comfortable
existence.
The global geopolitical situation does not bode
well with the war in Ukraine still ongoing and the
Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Middle East in danger
of escalating.
While these adversely impact a volatile global
economy and trade, it could also give rise to
business opportunism. Just about any greedy
businessman or trader could conveniently make it
an excuse to make a killing.
Yet even without it, Bohol has long been suffering
from the adverse effects of our tourism industry.
Just about everything is pretty expensive and we
have earned a reputation for being just that.
While we welcome the entry of big players in any
industry to our province as it would trigger
competition that will bring prices of goods and
services down, will these big investors set up
shop now?
Do we have enough purchasing power at the
moment to support these ventures population-
wise? As in any undertaking there is a period for
gestation, a time to grow.
Breaking ground may be a good sign of things to
come but we should be more practical than
enthusiastic. It took years for the Panglao airport
to see the light of day even after its initial
groundbreaking.
Yet election campaign promises are just that and
often remain so. With another election coming
soon, politicians are scrambling to keep the fire
burning to secure voters into their fold.
In the meantime what are we to do? We cannot be
like the proverbial ” Juan Tamad” napping under a
mango tree waiting for its fruit to fall.
SM or no SM, we still have to put food on our
tables. We cannot pin our hopes on a dream and
hinge our lives to something yet coming. We need
what is showing now and not what’s coming
soon.
Instead show us your hard work and put your
money where your mouth is! Empty stomachs
cannot live on a dream and an entertainment.