N Insights
By Doc Ian Mark Q. Nacaya
When Families Struggle, Government Must Feel It Too
Public service must never be distant from the daily struggles of ordinary people. When fuel prices rise, the burden does not remain at the pump. It reaches the dining table, the fare budget, the school allowance, and the already stretched resources of families trying to get through each day. In moments like this, government must not only see the hardship. It must feel it too.
Among those hit hardest are public utility jeepney drivers, taxi drivers, tricycle drivers, and other transport workers whose livelihood depends on daily travel. Many of them remain tied to fixed fare systems that do not adjust quickly when fuel prices surge. Their expenses rise fast, but their earnings do not. After long hours on the road, many return home carrying not only fatigue, but the painful question of whether what they earned is enough for food, rent, and the needs of their children.
Yet the burden is not borne by drivers alone. Passengers are also under pressure. Workers, students, vendors, and minimum wage earners are already struggling with the rising cost of living. For them, even a small increase in fare can mean less money for meals, medicine, or school expenses. This is why the issue must be approached with fairness and balance. The hardship of drivers is real, but so is the hardship of commuters. Public service must be wise enough to see both.
This is where government must act with urgency, not indifference. National agencies must improve the speed of their response whenever sharp fuel increases create immediate hardship. Delayed action only deepens public frustration. When government moves too slowly, it leaves both drivers and passengers to absorb the shock on their own.
Local governments also have an important role to play. They may not control global oil prices, but they can reduce the suffering that follows. In times of family economic crisis, LGUs must bring government closer to the people. Assistance should not remain trapped in offices, paperwork, or distant announcements. It must be felt in communities, in neighborhoods, and in households where daily burdens are most severe.
LGUs can intensify price monitoring, improve local transport coordination, and extend targeted support to affected drivers, vulnerable commuters, and low-income families. They can bring relief, food assistance, transport support, livelihood opportunities, and basic social services directly into communities. They can simplify access, reduce delays, and make public programs more responsive to real needs. In difficult times, governance must not only be present. It must be accessible.
Good governance is not tested when life is easy. It is tested when families are struggling, when workers are worried, when drivers are squeezed, and when ordinary people begin to wonder whether government still hears them. That is the moment public service must be seen, felt, and trusted.
When families struggle, government must feel it too. And if it truly feels it, it must not remain distant. It must come closer, act faster, and lighten the burden of the people it is meant to serve.
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