Biting the bullet

A common complaint against the Aquino administration is that its claimed economic successes in the last five years are not “inclusive” or are not felt by the majority of Filipinos, especially the poor.

Thus, the President in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) this week rattled off figures supporting his administration’s claim that many permanent, quality jobs had been created locally.

The jobs that had been created have prompted at least 440,000 overseas Filipinos to “come home for good” to work here, PNoy said. Of course, creating more jobs translates to increasing the purchasing power of consumers.

At least as far as the middle and upper middle classes are concerned, a 21 percent increase in the sales of motor vehicles from January to June this year seems to support the claim of increased purchasing power.

Toyota remains perched at the top with 57,717 units sold (41% market share), followed by Mitsubishi (25,198), Hyundai (10,689), Ford (10,427), Isuzu (10,169), Honda (8,735), Nissan (5,186), Kia (4,898), Suzuki (4,843) and Chevrolet (3,991).

Mere observation on the streets of the metro would tell us that the bulk of motor vehicles being sold are entry-level cars and  gas or diesel-thrifty people carriers like Asian utility vehicles.   

Let’s not forget too the roof-raising sales of the ubiquitous motorcycles, the most cost-effective way for one or two persons brave enough to risk their lives or limbs to go from point A to point B.

Yes, the increase in motor vehicle sales can be fodder for more chest-thumping by the government. However, it’s also an affirmation of its failure to modernize and make more accessible mass transport system to the populace. With the MRT and LRT breaking down with alarming regularity, many Filipinos have chosen to bite the bullet of taking out car mortgages for the sake of mobility. –End-

Image by: The Guardian