Mendicancy Culture among Filipinos – Is it a Bad Thing?

Poverty is one critical problem that the country continues to face. Although figures show that our economy is growing, more and more Filipinos still consider themselves poor, and that is not difficult to prove. Roam around the streets of Metro Manila and you will see beggars, children selling goods, unsightly shanties or families living under the bridge. With many Filipinos living below the poverty line and with very few employment or livelihood opportunities, some become desperate and resort to begging. Begging is an obvious form of mendicancy, but it is far from the only one.

What are the other signs that tell we are already developing a culture of mendicancy, and is this ever a good thing?

What is Mendicancy Culture?

Medicancy in itself is defined as “the practice of begging, as for alms”. As it applies to culture, the practice of relying on handouts or the “kindness” of people for money or other forms of help. A culture of mendicancy basically creates people who may always be waiting on handouts; expecting that others with more means will readily assist them, thereby taking away the need or the urgency to make their own way in life.

More Obvious Forms

If you are a Filipino commuter, you may find it common to see individuals riding buses, pretending to be Bible preachers and collecting money afterwards. They pass out white envelops to passengers for donations. Children who jump onto jeepneys cleaning shoes might not be new scenery to you. These street kids quickly clean passengers’ shoes by simply wiping it with a rug, then later ask for money. You may see adults carrying infants, beggars singing or playing instruments, and many others. Filipino tribes coming from different provinces asking for money in the city is also not a usual sight. There are Aetas, Badjaos, Igorots and other groups who would often travel during Christmas season to beg for alms. These are among the most obvious forms of mendicancy, and surely, you can name more when asked.

Less Obvious Forms

It is easy to name the obvious forms of begging we see in the country, but there are less obvious forms we might not even be aware of. Our country gets more than our share of typhoons a year. In fact, an average of 19 typhoons enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility annually. There is no need to ask why, because we can never control the forces of nature. Instead we need to focus on our preparedness and the ability to bounce back after a disaster.

It is a fact that we are one of the most disaster-hit nations, and this also puts us on international news. The result? Many countries offer aid in different forms. It is not a bad thing to receive help, especially if voluntarily given. However, since we lack preparedness and rehabilitation plans after a disaster, foreign countries tend to see us rather helpless and cannot help but offer their help. We, on the other hand, somehow get used to their assistance and expect help every time we are hit by a disaster. Shouldn’t we be improving our plans on how we can avoid as many people to be victims of typhoon or think of ways on how we can build stronger homes?

The number of overseas Filipino workers is constantly increasing. This still has a lot to do with poverty, but what does it have to do with mendicancy? The billions of yearly remittances help the economy, and these remittances are also what OFW families use to afford a more comfortable life. There is danger that the OFWs’ families may become dependent on them, and we can already see this in reality. There is also a tendency for the country to become overly dependent on remittances instead of pursuing better economic development plans.

A culture of mendicancy is obviously a dark phenomenon. It does reflect inability to fight poverty, unwillingness to strive harder in life, and dependency. Every individual, regardless of sex and race, has to have the drive to make him or herself better. We have to continually grow and improve not just in terms of the ability to earn money, but to improve oneself. Filipinos should not always live by others’ generosity. Surely, there are struggles and sufferings, but we must take these as challenges to strive harder in life. We all have to learn about self-fulfillment and dignity. We only have one life to live, so we better make the most of what we can.

References:

http://english.safe-democracy.org/2008/07/08/mendicancy-in-the-philippines/

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/50520/ofw-remittances-promote-mendicant-culture/

It’s back! The biggest finance & investment event of the year — iCon2015!

Our annual conference will be this May 30, 2015 at the SMX in Mall of Asia. Joining me in this empowering conference for this year are:

Marvin Germo – one of the most sought after stock market experts and will talk about stress-free investing in the stock market. Marvin is the author of 2 best-selling books on stock market investing and one of the most visible investment advocates.

Mike Manuel – the Chief Investment Officer of Sun Life in Asia. Mike is an accomplished fund manager for over 2 decades and his team manages one of the largest funds investment funds in the country. He will be speaking on growing trends in investments and how to properly invest for the future.

Efren Ll. Cruz – one of the fore runners of the financial advocacy in the Philippines and has 3 decades of experience in the various facets of investment and financial industry. He is a best-selling author, columnist and one of the most in demand finance trainers in the country. Efren will give us a presentation on investment management.

Chinkee Tan – Mr. Chink+ and the wealth coach of the masses! He is ann award wining media practitioner, best seller of multiple books and one of the most active personalities that encourages Filipinos to be financially empowered. Chinkee will give a talk on the value of entrepreneurship in growing your wealth.

Francis J. Kong – the country’s number one motivational speaker, multi-award winning media practitioner, best-selling author of over 10 books and truly an inspiring coach. Francis will give a powerful and life-changing talk on “beyond investing”.

Aside from our powerful platform speakers, we will have a special session during the lunch break with Dr. Alvin Ang, PhD on the impact of the ASEAN integration on investing and Jess Uy on growing trends on global investing.

I will be speaking on balancing finances and investments and will do an overview of growing trends that will affect investing.

iCon 2015, just like the earlier previous conferences is not only power-pack, informative  and insightful, it is also empowering!

For inquiries, please click HERE or send a message to deniece@brandspeakasia.com or 0917-8482974

QUESTION: Hi Randell, I am married with a 2-year old kid, and our household income is enough for our needs while letting us save for my daughter’s future. Should I be saving for retirement even though I’m only 30? –Paolo, asked from Facebook

ANSWER: It is a downright YES for that question, Paolo. Unlike investing, which depends on a person’s financial and household situation, retirement is something that must be planned as early in life as possible.

I do not intend to make you feel regret for the past decade, but it is actually ideal to have started retirement planning during your 20s, when you still had no full-time responsibilities and had all your salary to yourself. But you are not alone. The fact is that 9 out of 10 Filipinos do not plan for retirement at all. Some of us enjoy our younger years living from paycheck to paycheck to buy and do things we want, while some might still need to help their parents and siblings especially those coming from large families. These things should not hinder us from setting aside at least a small portion of your income for your seed savings plan.

The sooner you start putting away money for your future, the more time there is for your financial portfolio to grow. Now that you’re 30, the next decade for you is crucial and you must take planning and goal-setting very seriously. If you’re not sure what specific steps to take, here’s a quick plan of action you can follow:

Identify how you want your retirement to be. Retirement is all about living a life of comfort. If you’re planning to retire at 60, you need at least 20 years of preparation, so starting now will make it easier for you in the future. List down the most realistic things you want to have by then, and identify how much it’s going to cost. It is estimated that in order to achieve a life of comfort, you need to generate at least 75 percent of your preretirement income. The key is to picture yourself 20 or 30 years from now and decide that you and your children will have a comfortable life.

Continue saving. It’s good to hear that you have already started saving up for your daughter. Carry on! The next steps for you is to increase the amount you save per month.

Learn about government services on retirement. The agency responsible for social security in the Philippines is the SSS (Social Security System) and GSIS (Government Service Insurance System) for government employees. According to the SSS website, your contributions since you started working will be transformed into a retirement benefit when you retire. A retirement benefit is “a cash benefit either in monthly pension or lump sum paid to a member who can no longer work due to old age.” The pension, is usually, no enough to provide you with a comfortable life during retirement years, and this is a problem experienced by most of our fellow Filipinos.

Consider other savings and investment opportunities. From a short survey on retirement I conducted a few years ago, I learned that most Filipinos’ top 3 retirement instruments are real estate, time deposits and savings accounts. There were few mentions of more sophisticated mediums like life insurance, mutual funds, government bonds and stocks. Take into consideration your income-expenditure plan every year, average inflation rate, and identify which investment opportunities best suit you. The amount you will have at retirement depends largely on the types of investments you commit to.

Consider learning about different types of investments and identify which ones suit you best. Reduce your risk and maximize returns by diversifying your financial portfolio. Take a look at investments like mutual funds, UITF or the stock market as these investments are generally great for capital accumulation in the long term. Here’s a tip — auto-debit arrangements that is used towards a mutual fund or a UITF is an excellent way to build funds that can come handy during retirement.

Be consistent and don’t lose momentum. From the survey I mentioned earlier, one insight came up about Filipinos’ culture of tending for our ‘extended families’. That’s one of the reasons why doing retirement planning is easier said than done. Make sure you do not touch your retirement savings earlier than planned. When you step in to your retirement years, avoid using up your finances quite early.

Start now! Paolo, your 30s is most important decade for retirement planning. At this age, you’re now focusing on providing for your small family. But as the head of the household, your family depends on you to have a long-term plan to support the kinds up until independence and retire without being a burden to them. You are still on time to start, so congratulations!

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Attend the biggest investment conference of the year, iCon2015! Speaking at the conference this year will be Marvin Germ, Efren Cruz, Chinkee Tan, Mike Manuel, Jess Uy, Dr. Alvin Ang, Francis Kong and yours truly. It will be held on May 30, 2015 at SMX Mall of Asia. For inquiries, email deniece@brandspeakasia.com