Implications of Zamboanga Siege to Money, Credit, Banking and The Economic Activities of Zamboanga City

Implications of Zamboanga Siege to Money, Credit, Banking and

The Economic Activities of Zamboanga City

The Zamboanga siege caused by the Moro National Liberation Front or MNLF contributed to a temporary stop of business operations in the city. It was one way to assure the safety of the citizens from what was happening outside the different structures in the city. But because of the cease of operations, both the city and its citizens were affected economically.  These are further divided into individuals, households, businesses and the government.

Individuals are important in a society. Without them the other members of it will not be able to exist. Students, teachers and factory workers are some of the people who belong to this category. The Zamboanga siege not only caused people to stay in their homes, but also caused the suspension of classes. Students who are given money for their daily expenses at school most likely got cut off from it by their guardians since they were no longer going to leave their homes to spend it. This means that they would not be able to buy food from their cafeterias in their respective schools. They would not have to pay for transportation to go to school and or any other school related expenses. Their savings would not suffer in the sense that they would not use the money, but it also would not increase. It means that the circulation of money contributed by the students would lessen. Some students who come from outside Zamboanga City and do not have family there would have a hard time going to banks or the automated teller machines to withdraw money because of the dangers lurking outside their shelter. They would have a difficult time to satisfy some of their basic needs. Also, they would not be able pay for shelter on time and would have to ask for an extension from their landlords or loans from someone who has extra money to spare. Students living in dorms would have to ration their food and share among their peers so that their food costs would lessen.

The teachers on the other hand would not be able to teach classes that supply their salary. In some cases, they are also students. They might want to finish their studies in order to get a masters degree or such. Since most of them support their families with the money from their salaries, they would have to use their savings in order to do it. But the banks were closed for the majority of the siege. The teachers would have to learn to properly allocate their money and find alternative ways to provide for themselves and their families. Factory workers who usually receive their wage weekly would have a hard time coping with the closing of the factories they work in. This is because factory workers do not earn much, so to not receive their weekly wage for almost a month would definitely make a dent in their savings or bury them in some form of debt.

After the siege, people were allowed to leave their homes. Students were able to go to town and hang out with their friends. This means that they would end up spending money in the stores or food joints where they meet up. Some students might even be fed up with what they have to eat at home since not a lot people were willing to leave their homes to buy food. This would lead them to spend a lot of their savings in order to buy food that they had to go without to satisfy their wants. In the near future, they would most likely be told by their guardians to transfer to another school outside the city to avoid being put in the line of danger again. There would be a drop in the number of students enrolling in the city of Zamboanga by the next semester to come. This implies that there would also be a drop in the funds for the schools they attended in Zamboanga. Before this happens, classes would resume in a handful of schools with students doing their best to finish their first semester in their respective schools. The teachers would be able to resume their work and earn the salary they need to properly sustain their families. Some of them would start looking for teaching jobs located in a more peaceful city as to assure their safety. This would decrease the human resources of the city in the form of teachers. Factory workers would also experience a decrease in numbers so that they can find work in a safer environment where their pay would not likely be affected by dangerous circumstances but they would not decrease by much. Since there will be some openings for jobs caused by some of the other employees who opt not to continue working in the city, there would be a small rise in employment opportunities that need to be filled as soon as full operations can be achieved.

The households in a society are the ones who consume the most products; it may be in the form of food, clothes, shelter, education and etc. During the siege, most of the breadwinners of these households were not able to work. They had to find ways to make the food they already have at home last longer. They had to find creative ways to make the food they have to work with more appetizing than usual. They had to cut back from eating expensive food products like meat or imported branded ones. Fruits, vegetables and canned sardines would be their main focus to use in their meals because they are cheap and nutritious. So the sale of these products during the siege has increased more than usual. And since the economy was in no condition to produce more of these commodities, the prices have increased causing inflation in the price of basic goods. This is clearly an example of the demand-pull inflation. This type of inflation occurs when people buy more than what an economy can supply causing an increase in price. To be informed about what was happening outside their homes they needed to have access to their television sets or radios that uses electricity or batteries which both cost money to use. They had to look for ways to occupy the young ones in their homes who are inclined to play with electronic gadgets when left in a confined space for a long time. These devices would need constant charging which uses a lot of electricity. So their household expenses increase in regards to the increase consumption of electricity and the same thing happens to their total cost of water. To save money people would cook with either coal or gas which are considerably cheaper than electricity. Others would take a bath every other day to conserve water. Some households have children that are studying outside the city. Their children depend upon them for financial support. They would have to find ways to deliver the money or look for kin and friends who are willing to loan it to their kids. These would usually be the case with households that were not hit by the fires during the siege. Those of them who were evacuated to the different evacuation centers would have food provided to them. But even if the food is provided, the cost of the destruction of their former homes would take a toll on their savings. They would not only have to pay for their children’s educational expenses but also for the loss of their homes and other personal belongings.  To do this they would have to dip into their savings, but spend it more frugally and just buy the basic necessities.

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