A cousin from Zamboanga Sibugay made a surprise visit last week following the death of his sister-in-law. By all indications, it was an emergency trip. If not for the sudden demise of their relative, we don't think the couple would have made the harried trip. Anyway, with their unannounced trip back home, we had the occasion to ask how come the visits have become far and in between. It used to be that they come a visiting their homeland every time Baclayon marks its town fiesta. Not anymore, as attested by the gaps in their fiesta sojourns.

Curious of what made it so, this BGlante's cousin blurted without batting an eyelash that it was due to a slowdown in business of his son based in Toledo City in Cebu. His son the source of his regular combat pay suffered some sort of a business reversal prompting him to regulate the release of the cash bonanza—from monthly to during emergency situations only. For the uninitiated, our cousin calls what used to be a regular release as combat pay to signify that he deserved the dole out as if he was a soldier fighting for flag and country. Whatever that means, we would like to think that it was just his mischievous way of calling the money due him as combat pay as a doting father to what used to be a successful son in business.

Born with a silver spoon until tragedy after tragedy befell the family, our cousin was reduced to a poor status (at least not below the poverty line) when the share of the inheritance was slowly dissipated in his effort to make both ends meet. The family used to own vast tract of rice lands and hectares upon hectares of coconut plantations in Zamboanga when one by one our cousin's four siblings suffered incurables diseases. What was left of the vast properties was divided among the heirs with our cousin getting his own fair share. When his sons and daughters went to college, he was left with no option but to mortgage part of his share leaving a portion enough to sustain the spouses' daily existence.

By our own estimates, he is not entirely penniless because all of his children have finished the courses of their choice only that they have already a family of their own. So, if our cousin asks for emergency money from his children, in most cases it all depends on the availability of extra fund. Under this situation, our cousin has no choice but make do with what is left of the property he inherited from his parents, now all dead. We don't know exactly if our cousin belongs to the middle class or the poor segment of society. For if indeed he is considered as poor, then he is one of the more than 7 million poor Filipinos who belong to this social stratum. Our storyline shifted from the intrepid saga of our cousin to the millions of Filipinos now wallowing in poverty despite the so-called increase in the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) pegged in the first quarter at 7.2 percent.

With the impressive growth according to P-noy's economic managers, the country is supposed to enjoy a remarkable improvement in its population's economic situation. But why is there no trickle down effect to the country's poor? That's the problem that confronts us given the GDP growth. While we are beating our breasts as a result of the 7.2 GDP growth, the reality that stares us in the face is how come, we have a lot of unemployed Filipinos, the staggering figure as of last count is also more than 7 million. Is not an increase in GDP means more jobs? The disparity in GDP increase and more jobs makes many Filipinos shaking their heads. Maybe this includes my cousin Demsey Luza whose combat pay loses its regular allure due to economic downturn.