"Saan aabot ang 20 pesos mo?", a rhetorical statement popularized by the known ice cream brand Selecta for their Cornetto commercial. In this case, it is ₱18.
In a report released as of August 15, 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) concluded that a family of five only needs ₱8,379 to survive on basic food necessities. Doing simple arithmetic with this data means that each family member would only need about ₱18 per meal, assuming they eat thrice a day. Clearly, this is not enough for food thus the report was met with much criticism and disagreement by the general public. A popular opinion of netizens is that a person subsisting on ₱18 per meal is considered to be living below the poverty line—relying on the bare minimum for food.
With the Philippines’ rising inflation rate and the costs of basic food (rice, bread, fish, vegetables), what can ₱18 really buy? At the least, ₱40 pesos would buy a kilo of rice and ₱10 to ₱15 would buy only a single egg. Unless they plan to survive on instant pancit canton, which is around ₱16 at the suggested retail price (SRP), something must be done about the situation. Instant pancit canton is extremely unhealthy and unsafe to be eaten every day—more so every meal. A few users on the internet have joked regarding this, one mentioning that “solve ang everyday meal peru deritso hukay after 5 years.” (You would have your everyday meal solved but after that directly to your funeral).
As reported by CNN Philippines, Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto has also commented on this matter. “Even if that amount would be adjusted for inflation, in this era of ₱400-a-kilo onions, I don't think that ₱93 would be enough for one family [of five] super tipid meal,” he says.
₱8,379 pesos a month for food is clearly not enough for a family of five to live. To lessen the loads of other bills, possible government responses to this could include mitigating oil prices, offering food assistance, or lowering the suggested retail price (SRP) of common food items.
As the inflation rates grow higher each month, most Filipinos find problems keeping up with it. Figures from the PSA show that – as expected – 2022 has the highest inflation rate with 4.9% this year. We can only hope and pray that they will soon decline.
Cornetto’s catchy slogan was supposed to be a light-hearted marketing campaign advertisement. But upon reading the PSA report, we find ourselves actually asking, “Saan nga ba aabot ang 20 pesos ko?”