While they drink champagne…

A video taken from a Malacañang Palace event featuring the country’s elite drinking champagne, glass after glass, recently made the rounds on Viber chat. While the video circulated, a number of people were lamenting the fact that no one in government seems to be monitoring or regulating inflation, fees and charges imposed by certain businesses and companies on Filipinos.

Even the usually generous and loving dog owners or fur mommies and daddies are complaining about the high cost of veterinary fees and charges. They complain of the high cost of clinic visits and consults that now cost more than what medical doctors and hospitals charge for human patients.

The problem is that no one knows exactly who is supposed to regulate and control fees and charges of veterinarians. I don’t know, but these complaints are becoming a serious concern for the growing number of people who much prefer to have a fur baby over human relational complications.

In cases where a dog suffers minor cuts, bites from fights, the usual rate is somewhere between P2,500 to P5,000 all in. Getting your dog spayed in order to avoid unintended breeding costs anywhere from P7,000 to P12,000!

The shocker that I heard about last week was a dog owner whose high-value dog needed corrective surgery due to a limp or pilay on the hind leg. The owner had to pay P400,000 for the surgery but the dog did not get any better and now, the dog owner is in talks with his lawyers.

The cost of being healthy has also become so expensive for humans, especially those who want to join a health gym. I recently got a collection of fees and charges that gyms in malls are charging and discovered that many of these mall gyms charge more than physical rehab clinics in major hospitals!

When you sign up, you pay over P4,000 to be a “member” or client, then you have to pay for an access pass of around P1,000 to P1,500 to get in to use the equipment, lockers, etc. On top of that you pay for a monthly package that allows you to use the facilities for a set number of days or sessions.

And if you really want to be safe and sure, they encourage you to have a coach, who you will pay for separately. If you can’t afford one, I can almost