"The catch-as-catch-can living"

The catch-as-catch-can living

By Ma. Jesusa F. Constantino

       It was five years ago, when I was still a high school junior that my father was ousted from the well-known company here in our City for an unfavorable reason, and I know it was true. Then, my father, who is a degree holder, resorted to a job, typically, not suitable for his educational background. Consequently, he was underemployed. Of course, if he did not do so, my mother, who is a teacher, would have carried all the responsibilities (i.e. expenses) of the family. Undeniably, raising a family with four children is a serious matter.

        This kind of situation is widespread. Job hunting is not a joke. It entails a lot of patience and determination. There's always a struggle to get the most rewarding of jobs. It's always a survival of the fittest. That's why it's very important for someone looking for a job to brace himself, physically, mentally and spiritually for the ultimate battle of brains, skills and accomplishments. The question is: how will one do it, if searching for a job here in the Philippines or in our locality is like fitting yourself forcedly in the eye of a needle?

        A better quality of life is the reason for searching for a job, indeed it is the ultimate objective of societies and nations. This has been the pursuit since the ancient time. 

        If we are to hark back, how I wish situations written in the book or seen in the movie can come to reality here in this country like the conditions in the fabulous Shangri-La of the Lost Horizon. It was like a paradise for people. They contributed their individual ideas, talents, skills, and labor to the community for its development. The needs of the people were justly supplied, and they were happy and contented. 

        At present, I can see that if people are great, then their country is also great. If the people are lazy and corrupt, then the country is weak and unstable. Truly it is because it has been observed that the peoples in the less developed countries do not have the right kind of education and training. This means that their knowledge and skills are not applicable to the needs of their economy. Therefore, they are not functional. 

        For example, here in San Carlos City, there is an oversupply of college graduates in Business Administration. But only very few are really qualified. Their only option, if they are lucky, is to accept a job which is not related to their academic background. Or else, they join the great hordes of underemployed professionals just like those people who I came across with. 

        One of them is Joselito B. Alcabaza, 33, is an Education graduate from Central Negros College. He is now a security guard at Western Union, SCC Branch. He said that he gambled with this job because this was the only available work he found, after he failed in applying as a teacher-aide.

        Another is a Political Science graduate from Foundation University. But Joeven Balolong, 44, is now a city traffic enforcer, a far cry from the training he got that should have made him a lawyer or political scientist. This is the most accessible job he stumbled upon after graduation. Since the city that time needed a traffic aide, so he grabbed the opportunity. He will not look for another job anymore which will match his educational background because he now has a family. 

        Among the many Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Accountancy graduates is Ma. Caridad "Maricar" V. Silva, 46. She graduated from the University of Negros Occidental- Recoletos, Bacolod City. 

        Years back, she was able to work in Cebu City, but the low compensation she received made her decide to set-up her own business. 

        This is what I call the "catch-as-catch-can" type of living, when job seekers grab the work that is available regardless of calling them underemployed or unemployed. I learned this term, from my younger brother who is fond of watching wrestling. The catch-as-catch-can is a style of wrestling in which most holds are permitted, including many that are not allowed in other wrestling styles. According to the English dictionary, when it used as an adjective, it means making do with whatever is available.

        Now, whose fault is this? Is it because of political leaders who undeniably control government hiring and employment with the so-called "backer" system? Or is it the other way around that there is serious defect in the wrong attitudes and values of people?

*This article will be concluded in the next edition.-ED