If the System had a Shape

Minsan, pinakamadaling maintindihan ang lipunan kapag ginawa mo lang siyang simpleng drawing. 

Isang tatsulok, o triangle. 

Sa pinakatuktok, kakaunti lang ang tao. Sila yung may hawak ng naglalakihang mga negosyo, lupa, impluwensya, sila rin yung mga hindi kailanman magiging problema ang pagkain sa hapag, at access sa mga oportunidad na malayong maabot ng ordinaryong Pilipino. Habang pababa nang pababa, mas dumarami ang tao. Hanggang makarating ka sa pinakailalim, ang laylayan—kung saan naroon ang milyon-milyong Pilipino na araw-araw, ang pangunahing iniisip na lamang ay makaraos. 

May pagkain ba mamayang gabi? May pamasahe ba bukas? Paano babayaran ang kuryente? Pag-aaral? Paano kung may magkasakit? Paano kung mawalan ng trabaho? 

That is the cruel part of inequality.

Poverty does not simply mean having less money. It also means having less room to make mistakes, less room to take risks, and sometimes, less room to dream. 

Maayos na healthcare, quality education, food, water, employment, wage, equal opportunities, and other basic necessities—hindi dapat ito mga pribilehiyong swertihan kung sino ang makakakuha, at hindi na sana natin kailangang ipanawagan, ipakiusap, o ipaglaban. Pero hindi. Ganito ang sistema. 

Hindi ibig sabihin nito na masama ang pagiging mayaman. Hindi rin ibig sabihin na lahat ng nasa taas ay nandaya para makarating doon. The problem begins when the system makes it significantly easier for those already at the top to stay there while those at the bottom spend their entire lives simply trying not to fall any lower. 

Yumayaman pa lalo ang mayayaman, mas naghihirap ang mahihirap. 

Dito nagiging relevant ang tatsulok. 

Sabi sa kanta, “Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok”. 

Kahit ilang dekada na mula nang una natin itong mapakinggan, it continues to resonate—because wala namang nagbago. 

Maybe the most dangerous part is that we have learned to live with it. 

We have learned to accept that some people will always have more than enough while others will spend their entire lives trying to make ends meet. We have normalized long commutes, low wages, overcrowded hospitals, ineffective educational system, insecure jobs, hindi makatarungang sahod, at mga pamilyang nasanay na lang na pagkakuha ng sweldo ay diretso na sa mga bayarin, walang ipon, walang sobra, saktuhan, madalas kinakapos pa. 

Parang naging normal na lang. 

That is where the triangle becomes more than just an illustration of inequality. It becomes a structure that teaches people where they are expected to stay. 

The triangle remains, not because people at the bottom stopped trying. But because the system keeps asking them to climb while making the climb harder every day. 

At hindi tayo dapat makuntento o magkibit-balikat sa ganitong usapin. Because at the end of the day, it’s the next generation and those after them, mga anak at apo, who will have to live with whatever we leave behind.