Living Paycheck to Paycheck

By Michael Henry Yusingco, LL.M 

For the millions of Filipinos who live paycheck to paycheck, every day existence is about scraping by. Working all day, sometimes all week. Juggling several jobs just for the essentials. Navigating the tightrope between bills and food, tuition and transport, health emergencies and mounting debts. One missed day of work, one unplanned expense, or one sudden illness can trigger a financial collapse. When they see politicians flaunting wealth and privilege with impunity, are they enraged? Is revolution in their minds?

While many Filipinos live in this constant state of vulnerability, public officials, many of whom claim to serve the people, live lives that are increasingly disconnected from the vast majority of the population. The daily struggle of “regular” folks teaches painful lessons about inequality—lessons that have become even harder to swallow as those in power become wealthier and more callous in showing off their wealth. For Gen Z and Millennial voters, this daily, visible inequity is a source of profound bitterness and distrust toward the very system that claims to represent them.

With little time and energy for formal political engagement, social media functions as the eye-opener for many working-class Filipinos. It is Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube that give life to deep grievances. It is pretty clear now that when Filipinos who live paycheck to paycheck see politicians smiling at ribbon-cutting ceremonies or riding in SUVs surrounded by security, it cultivates resentment within. Indeed, every government announcement about economic growth, inflation control, or job creation sounds like a lie, because it does not translate to cheaper rice, better wages, or job security.

Many Filipinos lament the fact that public office is being used as an avenue for wealth accumulation rather than public service. Indeed, this has been the modus operandi of political dynasties for decades. But recurring scandals involving pork barrel funds, overpriced infrastructure, missing healthcare subsidies, and many others have sharpened an intense loathing for the political class. Pertinently, the recent midterm election showed that Gen Z and Millennial voters might now be ready to act on this internal rage. Not suggesting a brewing revolution here, but maybe just a slight hint of it.

Remarkably, the Marcos administration still fails to grasp this frustration seething within Filipinos living paycheck to paycheck. The President continues to be in campaign mode when Gen Z and Millennial voters want leaders who do their jobs without fanfare, who deliver results without need for public adulation. But the Marcos administration seems content just fashioning a public image. It is so hard not to suspect that they are more interested in ensuring that they appear to be serving the people, but less so in doing the hard yards that produce outcomes beneficial to the public.

When Gen Z and Millennial voters see the President in a podcast just casually regurgitating what they already know, it is only natural to feel dismay and anger. Because these kinds of moves are precisely all about projecting a curated persona. It indicates that a performative ethos motivates the President more than actual public service. Nothing wrong in making the President accessible to the people. But this effort must not be an end in itself. Accessibility must be geared towards meeting practical needs of the public.

For instance, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Marcos administration can flip many Gen Z and Millennial voters to their side by just ensuring a stable and secure public commute. Get rid of dodgy and abusive taxi and TNV drivers. Rally the concerned agencies to guarantee passenger safety in airports and seaports 24/7. Warrant that only modern PUVs ply the streets. Make certain roads do not kill. Obviously, these will not be enough to assuage the anger and despair of Filipinos living paycheck to paycheck, but it will provide relief that they desperately need. The bottom-line is, enough with the PR stunts. Just do the work that will improve the quality of life of every Filipino.

Filipinos living paycheck to paycheck demand politics to return to its most fundamental purpose: public service. Not branding, not legacy-building, not partisan warfare. Crucially, whether they like it or not, this is the only way for the Marcos administration to do well in 2028.