"AS THE 'ENDO KING'
ENDS CONTRACT WITH LIFE"
ENDS CONTRACT WITH LIFE"
(Or: "Remembering Henry Sy Sr.,
his contributions, 'Endo', and exploitation")
As news reports mourned about his passing days ago, Henry Sy Sr. known as the man behind the largest chain of shopping malls in the Philippines, hath again became a major feature as papers been busy dealing about his contribution in the Philippine economy and society, what more about his life dealing with hard work, perseverance, and wit that brought success as a magnate.
However, for those who looked realistically about him, that man being praised about is the same man whom described as the "hallmark of Endo", if not titled as "Endo King" which apologists described as "labour optimisation" even it carrieth a lot of negative weight due to that shortened term itself: renewing workers’ contracts every five months, a scheme of hiring and firing workers, obviously to skip labor laws which provide a six-month minimum contract to entitle the workers to certain monetary benefits, including leaves with pay, and the right to form or join unions.
From this, undoubtedly make Sy, the nation's richest businessman, as the nation’s undisputed king of contractualization, lending credence to widely-held beliefs that for every great wealth, there’s a great crime behind as he personifies sheer capitalist greed coupled with a freeloading mindset, hence casting doubts on his often-told rags-to-riches story.
***
But come to think of this, for as some commentators, hearing both his "good" and "bad" sides of this known compradore, rather settled to provoke their reader's conscience by not necessary to discuss a known merchant's sins and instead praising his feats during his lifetime; sometimes they would say about his life as one of the best examples, and everyone did benefited from going to his mall buying or simply looking around and feeling its air-conditioned hallways, enjoying fastfood in every stall, anything that made Henry Sy's "ShoeMart" contemporarically known for.
After all, there's nothing wrong in being rich. Unlike the Ayalas, Sorianos, and Cojuangcos who somehow started their wealth depending on the vast land tracts supported with privileges since the Spanish and American periods, Henry Sy Sr. started his wealth only in the 1950s after the Second World War, selling U.S.- made boots and supported by his relatives for quite some time as any other Chinese engaging trade. And from his first store (SM Carriedo) was built in 1958, followeth by his first supermall (SM North Edsa) was built in 1985, many huge malls carrying the SM brand sprouted around Metro Manila and in big cities in the provinces.
Quite nice isn't it? But what's wrong is when one became rich because one is either corrupt or took advantage of cheap labor, paying contractual workers three hundred pesos a day while earning billions half-a-day marketing, promoting, and enticing people to buy stuff; what more that he himself as one of those whom promoted crass consumerism for Filipinos- making the contemporary Filipino as short-term, material-driven, in making goals.
Quite nice isn't it? But what's wrong is when one became rich because one is either corrupt or took advantage of cheap labor, paying contractual workers three hundred pesos a day while earning billions half-a-day marketing, promoting, and enticing people to buy stuff; what more that he himself as one of those whom promoted crass consumerism for Filipinos- making the contemporary Filipino as short-term, material-driven, in making goals.
Yet there's no point in glorifying one's greedy life. The accumulation of wealth well beyond any practical need or any human capacity to truly appreciate is not to be admired. The compulsive hoarding of wealth hath becoming a mental disease that's shared by corrupt politicians and business magnates alike, trying to maintain prestige as possible by any means, while apologists, on the other hand, would refute such negatives through and through as would say that it can easily be surpassed by "positives" in the form of "ever-expanding job creation" and "business expansion by partner entrepreneurs".
But the question is: did it truly uplifted the working folk with those five-month contracts? At what cost did Henry Sy Sr., like all the privileged others who created pseudo-stories achieve so-called successes enough to hid the facts? Fine that malls been built and shaped the fates of those communities, but how about others such as how many trees did cut down, hills bulldozed, tenants evicted, and corrupt politicians enriched with payoffs? The scholarship programs and other acts called social responsibility are itself crumbs being thrown, a measure meant to skip taxes and duties as Filipinos.
But the question is: did it truly uplifted the working folk with those five-month contracts? At what cost did Henry Sy Sr., like all the privileged others who created pseudo-stories achieve so-called successes enough to hid the facts? Fine that malls been built and shaped the fates of those communities, but how about others such as how many trees did cut down, hills bulldozed, tenants evicted, and corrupt politicians enriched with payoffs? The scholarship programs and other acts called social responsibility are itself crumbs being thrown, a measure meant to skip taxes and duties as Filipinos.
***
Ideally, to employ thousands of people is itself admirable since the people employed enjoyed job security, proper wages, and better benefits, that allowed them to uplift their lives and prosper their communities; as one kid said:
"...well-like minded, compassionate businessmen and capitalists among the ruling elite in this country and I hope they can conscience their fellow to give something back to the poor and to help the country economically and to donate some of their riches to the Government in financing its programs..."
But reality says otherwise: for the order is itself a parasite, enriching its own off through the exploitation of other people's labor. The crumbs isn't enough for a suffering many, they will demand more than the cake but the kitchen itself.
All in all, the contract hath been expired. He hath just left the office called "life", but the question is, is his fame still riddled with his spooks?
All in all, the contract hath been expired. He hath just left the office called "life", but the question is, is his fame still riddled with his spooks?