By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
The pandemic has affected a lot of Filipinos in various industries. The situation is truly tough for everyone, but one thing is palpable, the Filipinos will definitely rise above the circumstances. This is the theme behind the new music video released by DiskarTech, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) inclusive app that helps to empower many unbanked and underserved Filipinos, especially those living in grassroots communities.
The video features vignettes of real-life stories on overcoming life’s challenges. There is Ronald Singalawa who made a makeshift sound-proof room out of egg trays for his son who was a call center agent working from home. The music video also features career shifter as a result of the pandemic like Ria Erika Larios who was laid-off from a cruise ship company but now a full-time online seller. Maurice Maureen Avila also lost her job as a flight attendant and tried becoming an entrepreneur. Christine Taborda, a working from home mom who is now juggling work with her “mommy duties”. They give faces to the Filipino’s indomitable spirit who does not easily give up and bravely deal with problems.
Diskarte for success
The song was written by Christine Estabillo as a tribute to Filipinos who bravely face their everyday struggles. They start their days with hope and sustain the belief that “sikap” and “diskarte” will enable them to build better lives for themselves and their loved ones.
Estabillo has been through many challenges herself, including being laid off from her job and losing her mother to Covid-19. She shares her emotions succinctly, saying, “Filipinos are tough people. Crises can bring them down, but they’ll come right back up. But after all those challenges, we have no choice but to survive and continue living. I guess this is true for every Filipino, whatever happens, we have to fight to survive. That’s where being ‘madiskarte’ comes in. We are survivors.”
In his statement, RCBC Executive Vice President, and Chief Innovation & Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva, shares his own observation about how Filipinos have always been madiskarte with their earnings and how RCBC supports their initiatives to help them grow.
“Undeniably, 2020 has been a tough year for the Filipinos. We started the year with a natural calamity, the eruption of Taal Volcano, and then came this pandemic that continues to impact the lives of many. One thing is remarkable amid all these, the indomitable spirit of the Pinoy shines through. This is a song about hope, faith, and resiliency,” Villanueva explained.
We are quick in getting back up on our feet, he observes. “One day we’re down and soon after we’re up and about and have recovered. We would like to capture and immortalize these very special qualities in a song thus we thought of commissioning somebody to put all these together. We also wanted to show that RCBC is a dependable partner of the Filipinos in nation-building and their own personal growth.”
Strength in unity
Estabillo wrote the song not only to lift spirits but to also point out how Filipinos should come together in order to face the crisis as a stronger nation. “We’re all in this together. We have gone through difficult times together, so let’s triumph over it together.” When “sipag at tiyaga” are not enough, we should also be matapang and madiskarte, when time calls for it. As the song goes, “hindi sumusuko, hindi papatalo, ganyan tayo, madiskarteng Pilipino.”
For his part, RCBC president and CEO Eugene S. Acevedo said, “We want the song as an inspiration for the Filipinos. This is for them. We want them to own it. We would like them to realize through the song the greatness of the Filipino. We are a strong people and no calamities or crisis would ever let us down.”
Partner for growth
Aside from honoring resilience, RCBC supports the Filipino’s dreams of having a better life. With more of the unbanked and underserved sectors empowered by the DiskarTech app, they are able to take charge of their finances and reach their life goals.
The app functions as a bridge towards the virtual economy. DiskarTech users can easily and quickly create their own basic deposit accounts through one-time registration via an electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) digital process even without an initial amount or maintaining balance.
Users can also enjoy 3.25% interest to encourage them to save more, with a goal-oriented digital savings feature that reminds them to top up their savings to meet their set goals, like saving for a motorcycle or a mobile phone.
Other DiskarTech features help Filipinos deal with the pandemic safely. These include cardless ATM withdrawals, fund transfers, deposits, and cash out from thousands of agent partners nationwide. Other convenient services include bill payments to major billers and government services, telemedicine, purchase of airtime load and gaming pins, and quick response (QR) code transfers. To further equip Filipinos to face the crisis, more services will be introduced soon, such as microinsurance and learning space to build entrepreneurship skills.
For more information about RCBC DiskarTech, visit diskartech.ph.
