The ‘Baryanihan’ spirit

In a distant past, a jeepney ride cost only 10 centavos. You could savor a mouthwatering plate of hot-off-the-pan pancit for only P10. And you could buy a really stylish pair of shoes for only P20. Oh, well, those were the days when a centavo could go a long, long way. Today, your barya (coin) is only good for paying for your jeepney/bus fare or buying candy at the sari-sari store.

As coins are cumbersome to carry around, compared to paper money, we try to get rid of them first — we give them as tips to waiters, gas station attendants, supermarket personnel who push our carts to the parking area, the atras boys who help us get in and out of parking, etc. 

In restaurants, when customers get their change after paying, they often leave behind their coins as the waiter’s tip and get all the notes. But there are those who keep their barya in their cars for assorted uses, like maybe to buy a copy of the day’s newspaper from the newsboy on the street.

Truth is, we don’t really value the barya. We don’t really give it the respect that it deserves. After paying for something, do you really bother to count the loose change? Nope, you just toss it into your wallet and forget about it. Back in the ’60s, there was a campaign called “Respect the Centavo.” I remember in grade school, whatever little barya we saved from our allowance, we would patiently stash away in our trusty piggy banks, which we kept well-fed with coins until it was time to withdraw some money to buy something like maybe a school bag or a toy.

Now, though the piso, the benchingko, and even the sinkong duling collectively can still buy some things, because of their small value, they end up lying around the house and gathering dust in vases, ash trays, cabinet drawers, etc. Or getting tossed in wishing wells, or even forgotten in the bottom of bags for months, even years, thus creating a coin shortage which is a major headache for Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This coin shortage prevents businesses from giving back exact and proper change to their customers. Remember that time when the stores were all out of coins and were giving candy instead of barya as change? Some irate customers who wanted their change couldn’t be pacified with candy. Due to the drought, the lack of smooth transactions pushes BSP to produce more coins, which means spending more funds in the process.

It’s worth noting that we can do a lot with our little coins. The neglected barya is still worth something, which is what SM Hypermarket’s Baryanihan project has been able to prove in the last two years. Thinking big, SM Hypermarket wanted to make a difference by using the unwanted coins of its customers so they could help improve the lives of those within their own communities. The collected shoppers’ loose coins are used to purchase essential items for each SM Hypermarket branch’s chosen charity. Upon checkout, cashiers politely ask customers if they would like to donate their change to Baryanihan. A receipt is given for every donation made. At the end of the project (or six months later), the amount collected is doubled by SM Hypermarket as a counter contribution to the cause. The doubling of the amount serves as a motivation for shoppers to support the program even more.

The project kicked off in 2011 at SM Hypermarket Adriatico. It has since gone from raising funds for Manila Zoo’s cleaning and maintenance materials to a nationwide implementation of the program which benefited various charitable institutions, including orphanages, elderly shelters, churches, and schools in 2012. This year, Baryanihan comes back, with all of its 37 branches diligently doing their homework to improve the learning conditions within various schools nationwide.

There are thousands of children who are deprived of the opportunity to study and those who do go to school must endure poor learning conditions, which have become quite endemic for public schools in the Philippines. Children are packed into tiny classrooms, some share benches while others sit on the floor. Some classes are held under trees and in the most unlikely, often non-conducive, learning places. More, majority of the schools lack the ample number of teachers to give proper attention to each child’s progress. There are shortages in books and school supplies, too. Often, more than three children have to share the very limited supplies.

With last year’s successful Baryanihan collecting as much as P2M from 30 stores nationwide, this year’s program hopes to alleviate children’s learning conditions and provide a more comfortable school environment for them in terms of maintenance supplies, ventilation equipment, complete school supplies, books, and more.

With Baryanihan, you no longer have to carry heavy coins around. You can even clean up the coin clutter at home. Donating to Baryanihan also brings back the coins into circulation, preventing coin shortage. Most of all, these little coins are re-purposed to make a big difference in communities all over the country.

So, use those loose coins and make a pocketful of dreams come true. Let the spirit of Baryanihan shine in our hearts.

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