Twenty pesos: when a little is a lot
Just how much cash is 20 Philippine pesos? Technically not a whole lot.
Just how much money is 20 Philippine pesos? How far can it take you? Not much. Not far. Not even for a Third World country like the Philippines. It can buy you a turon,which is a sweet spring roll snack filled with bananas and — occasionally — jack fruit. It can buy you three pens at the largest local bookstore chain. If you hailed an old school jeepney — and not one of those eco-friendly ones that look more like buses — to get to the nearest mall, it’ll be enough for a round trip. (With those eco-friendly ones, you’d still be lacking two more pesos.) It’s a decent enough amount to give the guy who delivered your pizza.
It’s enough to afford you tiny items but not really enough to make your eyes pop. It therefore surprised me one Christmas when, after handing over a twenty peso bill to my Grab driver, he received it with profuse thanks. “Sana araw-araw Pasko! (I wish it was Christmas everyday!)” He looked so incredibly and sincerely happy it bemused me. As mentioned, twenty pesos is not a whole lot. Also, didn’t his other passengers tip him for good service too? That second point bothered me more than the first. Why was he acting like people tipping him was an unusual event?
Didn’t his other passengers tip him for good service too? That bothered me. Why was he acting like people tipping him was an unusual event?
A subsequent incident, though, made me realize how relative a little was. A little can mean a lot to some. Here’s the real-life illustration: I rode a bus to get from Point A to Point B. There was a man seated across the aisle from me and I wasn’t paying him mind until the conductor came round to give him his ticket. Apparently, the man had only anticipated paying fifty pesos for his bus fare. I saw mounting worry scrawled across his face when he found out he still needed to cough up an extra twenty pesos. You could tell this was a problem. He tried to look for the money on his left pocket. Nothing. His right pocket. Nothing. His bag. Nada.
Mounting worry was scrawled across his face when he found out he still needed to cough up an extra twenty pesos. You could tell this was a problem.
Finally, after what seemed like a long while, he fished out a five hundred peso bill from the innermost recesses of his wallet. By the way it was carefully folded, you knew this was his emergency fund. “Break only when necessary!”
I was just relieved he had the money.
I remember things that surprise me so I definitely remember those two incidents. Twenty Philippine pesos. An insignificant amount.
But not really.
