Gated progress

Progress is a beautiful word. It evokes a vision of movement, of lives getting better, of dreams drawing closer, of communities lifting themselves out of hardship.

- GEORGE ROYECA

We see progress in highways, in GDP numbers, in ribbon-cutting ceremonies. But for many Filipinos, progress is something they only see, never something they can enter.

Because for all our talk of growth, we've designed a society where progress is gated. And too many of our people are left standing at the entrance without the right documents, the right connections or the right background to get in.

You see it everywhere. A young entrepreneur has a brilliant idea but can't get a loan because they don't have a credit history. A sari-sari store owner wants to grow but can't formalize because the paperwork is overwhelming and the process takes months. A skilled tricycle driver is still considered unauthorized in certain zones, even if he's the only transport option in his barangay. A mother wants to apply for government aid but has to travel hours to fall in line for a form she doesn't understand, only to be told to return with another set of signatures.

This isn't just inefficiency. It's exclusion. It's a system that says, "Yes, we have opportunities, but only for those who already have access."

We often define poverty as the absence of money. But more often, it is the absence of options. When you don't have a choice in how you move, how you earn or how you dream, you are not just financially poor. You are structurally trapped.