Yet another dollar scam. We never learn. A mere five years from the Multitel/Baladjay series, the pyramiding scheme is hitting the headlines again. This article is about something else—a devious event the amount of which is mind-boggling but will never see the light of day.Leonida is a 45-year-old woman who looks older than her age. She is a domestic worker in Hong Kong who put her five children to school and to support her husband. Her husband relies on her remittance to take care of the household. Finally, after graduating her youngest from high school, she decided to come home. It has been a good and tough 20 years away.She managed to save up despite the mounting expenses. She opened a small store. Armed with basic financial literacy, she maintains two bank accounts—one in pesos and another in dollars. When sales are slow and from time to time, she withdraws from the dollar account and exchanges the dollars for pesos to make ends meet.

Although two of her kids are already college graduates, the eldest hardly makes enough. The second is still looking for a job. Her reserves are dwindling fast.Last month she had to make another withdrawal. Her account balance in the dollar passbook showed $2,800 when, by her calculation, it should be $3,200. The last time she took money was in April when it read $3,400 minus $200. She ought to know, the account being a product of her lifetime savings. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that a few lines of her passbook were garbled. To anyone who has ever held a passbook, this happens occasionally when the printer or passbook misaligns or when there are clerical errors in the entries. This was not the case. Leonida was a victim of a scam.

Suddenly, she was $400 poorer.She went to see the bank manager and ask about the missing money. She asked to see the withdrawal slip which is her right and standard bank operating procedure. The manager could not produce it there and then and asked her to come back in a few days. Note that the bank is in Manila while she lives in Bulacan. When she made the trip back, she was shown a withdrawal slip for $400 dollars. However, she does not recognize the signature and is sure it is not hers. Even a visual comparison shows its difference with the specimen on record.

After a few verbal exchanges of which Leonida was at the receiving end, she was told by the manager that that was it and if she was not happy, she was dared to take legal action!What is she to do? The expense and hassle of filing a case will obviously cost more than $400. Not to mention that Leonida is barely a high-school graduate and who is not familiar with our court system and even the means of redress. Intimidated by the manager in business suit and speaking Taglish within the imposing bank premises, she has no one to run to and nowhere to turn. She has heard of the Bangko Sentral (who hasn’t) but will it listen to a foolish and lowly woman like her? She knows of the Public Attorney’s Office but can she really access justice?

While we debate on committee chairmanships, it is people like Leonida who bear the cost of rotting systems and rotting people. If there was a death penalty, it should be the likes of the branch manager who should be shot. They use private power to abuse the little people, people who have less in life and know little about banking.

People without access, without connections, without hope. Preying on fellow Filipinos like that is a national shame. Leonida was advised to withdraw everything and close the account and to record everything in case someone looks into her case. In the meantime, she is preparing her papers to make the trip back to Hong Kong. Who knows how many of our modern heroes have been waylaid? This is indeed a staggering scam that will never make it to the front page.