PARADOXICAL

Misadventures with GCash

Since I am not much into apps, I can't remember when and why exactly I set up my GCash account. What I have a vague memory of is that old friends and relatives were asking me if I had a GCash account where they could donate an amount of money to help me in my family's moment of dire need, and that was when my father died in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic and members of our household soon contracted covid one by one.

Even if I didn't know how to have an account, I just had to have one, so of course I asked for help.

GCash was a Godsend, a lifeline. I, with my disabilities, particularly appreciated the fact that I no longer have to go out, commute, line up in a long queue, watch paint dry, lose patience, etc. just to pay my monthly bills.

Why didn't they think up of this e-wallet sooner? And why did I even hem and haw in having it?

I was particularly thankful when news reports broke about the covid virus being possibly transmitted through paper bills.

Soon, I reveled at the fact that I could pay my electricity, water, and Internet bills at my fingertips, with just a few taps. Unbelievable, but it's true.

I also used it as an online bank of sorts. People who transacted with me could pay me easily through it too, and vice-versa. Gone were the days of physically going to the bank and wasting away precious hours inside staring at the tellers and examining the clothes and shoes of fellow clients while waiting for one's turn to deposit, withdraw, or settle something.

But just as it was so convenient to send and receive cash of all amounts and meet my obligations, it was also so easy to get scammed.

One day, a colleague of mine texted on FB Messenger, "Sir do you have PX,000 that I can borrow?"

Since the person had been a good payer, I said I didn't have that kind of amount to spare, just PX,000 right now."

"Oh, that would be enough," he answered.

Right after I had tapped my forefinger on the Send button, here came the news that the person's FB account had been hacked.

Super-gullible me learned a big lesson that day. Good thing the person made an effort to return half of what I lost. It wasn't that much to others maybe, but not to me. Goodbye hard-earned money from honest labor.

Despite that, I didn't blame GCash. I kept on using it, to pay and to get paid.

...Until one day came the news of celebrities losing money received through GCash. I panicked a bit about the sizeable amount I had stored in my account for various purposes. Good grief. To be fair, I saw it intact when I double-checked, but it didn't allay my fears that I could be next. So I had everything encashed first thing the next morning.

Could you blame me if I have trust issues with the app?

The last straw is when I paid a bill through it, or so I remember, only to be told at the physical office of the provider that the transaction didn't get through. Was I appalled!

I frantically tried to search my phone for stored electronic receipts, to no avail. I routinely save my GCash receipts on my phone, but one time, I got fed up with so many receipts stored that I decided to either delete them or email those receipts to myself. Alas, I could no longer find the evidence of payment out of the avalanche of saved files, so eventually, I gave up: I had to have the unpaid bill settled in person, face to face, or suffer the consequences.

I temporarily stopped paying bills through GCash because of this bad experience. But since I continue to send and receive money through it for other reasons, I remain an active user to this day.

I am wary of GCash for another reason: paranoia. I don't know if I should say this, but the reason is Biblical -- something to do with that scary passage in the Book of Revelation predicting the advent of a dystopian cashless society. Has that day come to pass? Are we seeing people with bar codes and QR codes on their foreheads soon?

posted by Resty Odon  # 5:08 AM 0 Comments

Resty S. Odon is a freelance writer who used to be based in Metro Manila, but currently resides in Bayambang, Pangasinan.

Born in 1970 in Pandacan, Manila, he grew up in the big city until his family moved to Bayambang, Pangasinan, where his father hailed from, when it was time for him to go to school. He attended Bayambang Central School (kinder and grade school) and Pangasinan State University Laboratory High School, and he finished B.S. Biology from the University of the Philippines-College Baguio (now UP Baguio) as a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scholar.

After graduation, he worked chiefly as a writer in various capacities in Manila’s 'knowledge process outsourcing' (KPO) industry. He started as an indexer and abstractor for a humanities database project in Innodata Philippines, engineering and psychology database projects at Asec Philippines, and chemical industry database project in Data Gateway Philippines. Then he became a coder and document titlist for a legal database project in Quorum Litigation Services Philippines, Inc. (later renamed Legal Data Services Inc.). He also tried his hand on medical indexing in Asec Information Technology Inc. For several years, he also worked, on and off, as an online English instructor for Smarthinking.com. In Innodata-Isogen (EMCI), he became a copy-editor for an American medical website and, later, news digest writer for an Australian nursing website. He also worked briefly as a scientific editor for a British-owned, Hong Kong-based editorial services firm KGSupport. He then became an online medical copy-editor for MIMS Philippines.

In 1997, on the side, he tried writing essays for publication and eventually broke into magazine and newspaper feature writing. Soon, he became a freelance magazine contributor, staff writer, and editor. These prior work experiences all seem unrelated, but they each had an impact on his writing. His writings on wide-ranging subjects have appeared in various sections of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, including Sunday Inquirer Magazine. In the People at Work section, he contributed dozens of short think pieces about life in the workplace. He also had articles published in Philippine Star, Fudge magazine (Manila Bulletin), and Manila Times. In asianTraveler magazine, he rose to become an editor from being a proofreader and frequent contributor.

As a content writer online (blogger), he has contributed articles in a diverse range of independent media entities. Eventually, he came out with a book (more precisely, a compilation of essays) accessible online, “Being Filipino This Side of Town,” which explores a favorite subject, the puzzle of Filipino identity.

In 2016, he was hired as a writer by the Local Government Unit of Bayambang, Pangasinan through then Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao and was designated as Public Information Officer (PIO). As PIO, he was responsible for creating engaging content for the official Facebook page of the municipality, Balon Bayambang, and the official monthly newsletter of the same title, on top of managing the Public Information Office of the LGU. His team also periodically produces annual reports and other special publications, including books about the town's history and culture. Among the books he wrote for and helped edit are Subol na Pananisia, which is about the local parish church's history; Say Nanlapuan, the town's detailed cultural-historical profile, an output of a local culture-mapping project; and Santuario de San Vicente Ferrer: The Journey, a book detailing the arduous journey of getting the local parish church officially declared as an archdiocesan shrine.   

In 2024, his essay on his hometown's fish-grilling tradition won the third prize in the prestigious Doreen G. Fernandez Food Writing Award, a competition for all writers of Filipino descent from all over the world. 

In 2025, he was invited as guest columnist by Northern Times, Pangasinan province's newspaper with the biggest circulation.

Apart from overseeing the documentation of LGU accomplishments from day to day, his most recent endeavors are heavily focused on overlooked topics, including his personal experience in public service, as well as the history and traditional culture of his hometown.

posted by Resty Odon  # 5:20 PM 0 Comments