The Pedantic

Where I live, Thursday mornings are dedicated to the ritualistic pilgrimage to the local talipapa, a humble expedition to secure a week’s worth of sustenance for the household. Our modest needs are dictated less by appetite and more by the pragmatic demands of advancing age. Reaching for a favorite, I inquired about the price of a kilo of pompano—a fish that, not so long ago, went for a respectable ₱440.

Not so long ago, my P100 got me a full meal, a movie ticket and a jeepney ride home. Today I showed one to the barista and all I got was a sympathetic nod and a small glass of service water.

In 1986, the Philippines stood at a historic crossroads. Fresh from the People Power Revolution, the country embraced a vibrant democratic morning with a distinct economic head start in Southeast Asia. Across the South China Sea, Vietnam was in dire straits—reeling from decades of war, international isolation, and hyperinflation. Yet that very year, Hanoi launched Doi Moi, an ambitious series of economic reforms meant to transition from a rigid command economy toward a more market-driven system.

When the US Federal Reserve, the world’s most influential central bank, moves interest rates, Manila can feel the ripple, even 8,500 miles away. The effects do not arrive all at once, and they do not affect everyone in the same way. But eventually, they can show up in the mortgage, car loan, credit card bill, and even the grocery budget.