MANILA: Over ten years ago, when Fatima Macud brought home roughly 30,000 pesos ($509) a month, the money was enough to cover her expenses and still leave room for savings.
Though she now earns 45,000 pesos, Macud finds herself unable to save any money as she struggles with rising prices to cover daily spending.
“Yes, I got a salary increase, but the thing is, the cost of living here in the city also increased,” the 52-year-old resident of Metro Manila told Arab News on Saturday.
“Now for me, it barely covers my basic needs because the price of commodities just keeps rising — goods, services, everything … Everything feels way too expensive … Now, I can’t save money at all. It’s not enough.”
The Philippine economy has slowed to the weakest pace in nearly 15 years outside of the pandemic, with data from the Philippines Statistics Authority showing just 3.0 percent growth in October to December, compared with 5.3 percent from the same period a year earlier.
