How GCash perverted gift-giving

The Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 27 December 2024

Many people these days claim that “budol is life” when nothing escapes hackers and scammers in stealing money from hard-working OFW’s to housewives, students and retirees including priests and religious called to always lend a hand to those in need.

One collateral damage more serious than scammers and hackers in this cashless transactions and e-wallet is the perversion of our cherished values of gift-giving especially at Christmas as well as our generosity in lending money to those struggling with their financial needs.

I am referring to the erroneous advertising efforts by the highly popular GCash that is creating a generation of people lacking in shame and respect for others. We say it so well in Filipino – kawalan ng kahihiyan or hindi na marunong mahiya.

Though I do not have a GCash without any plans of getting one, e-wallets like online banking by nature is good. It is very innovative, so helpful in providing a convenient, safe, and reliable exchange of money in a cashless manner. However, though the problem lies mostly on those who abuse its system, GCash is still guilty of perverting the values of Christmas and practically of the essence of gift-giving by promoting online or virtual pamamasko.

Like the online Mass, there is no such thing as virtual pamamasko that supposes an actual presence, a face-to-face meeting to greet anyone with a Merry Christmas.

Pamamasko is one Filipino tradition worth keeping wherein once a year we visit not only our godparents (Ninong and Ninang) but also our relatives and friends as well to personally greet and wish them a Merry Christmas. It is only on this joyous day when some people could really meet as relatives and friends next to funerals and wakes.

But, when the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020 and limited our social interactions, some inaanak (godchildren) pushed the limits of GCash when they dared to greet their godparents with Merry Christmas via text messages that had their GCash account number included.

It is a virtual hold-up in fact, the start of that dictum “budol is life”. Worst of all, it had spawned a generation of people who are bastos (rude) and kapal-muks (thick-faced)!

Sorry for the words but that’s the kind of people who use social media to get money from anyone except for purchase transactions. Christmas is about love and being together. Iyon lang!

As far as our generation is concerned (GenX and those before us), pamamasko is not about money but the spread of love and joy of Christmas. The money given was just a “consolation” that is why the amount never mattered at all. Salamat kung may bigay, okey lang kung wala because what really mattered was to be present with our elders to assure them they are loved and remembered.

Sad to say, GCash had normalized this kabastusan and kakapalan ng mukha with their ads on the internet about sending Christmas greetings with a reminder not to forget to send their QR Code. In normalizing this despicable manner of greeting Merry Christmas, GCash in effect showed its true color of being self-serving. And bastos and kapal-muks too!

We hope GCash will stop this kind of advertisement that is grossly erroneous and wrong. They are not teaching our young to be worthy people of dignity and respect, eroding our social fabric and made shamelessness as normal. Pera-pera na lang ba talaga tayo ngayon?

See how almost daily we find in social media of many friendships and relationships marred and destroyed with some people abusing GCash, borrowing money online especially by mere acquaintances. That is just a hairline difference between them and those scammers!

Gift-giving even the borrowing or lending of money are things that remain on a person-to-person level. Forcing others especially the well-meaning and good ones into the virtual world as we have now witnessed spawn scams and corruption. Modern technology can only be good for as long as it remains confined to its intended application like convenience, safety and reliability of having cashless transactions. What GCash has promoted this season is actually budol – not only of a literal hold-up of Ninong and Ninang but almost of everyone when some callous people dare to borrow money on line with the tag, “i-GCash mo na lang.”

The budol now rampant in e-wallets in effect is a result of their own unconscious budol for more clients and customers.

Let us bring back our true sense of shame and delicadeza. GCash is for transactions, for things to buy and pay for. Not for friends and relatives because they are persons to be loved, not objects to be used or possessed via GCash.

Maybe “budol is life” indeed, but, beware more of scams that erode our values than steal our money. These last two weeks until the new year, visit your godparents because of love and concern, not for the gift they will give you because that is the true spirit of Christmas. God bless and Merry Christmas!