Quindoza, Neil Jaden P. REFLECT Pahiram!

Pahiram!’ is a short story written by Annie Pacaña-Lumbao that teaches us the

importance of returning what we owe. It presents the different obligations of the characters in the
story. But let us start with the main characters, Leo and Lena.
The story stated that Lena borrowed some supplies from her brother Leo and promised to
return them after making the paper doll. With that said, we can say that Lena is the ‘debtor’
because she is the one obliged to return the supplies she borrowed while Leo is the ‘creditor’
since he is the one who has the right to demand Lena to comply with her obligation. The
objects/prestations are the supplies Lena borrowed from Leo—such as the scissors, paper, pencil,
and crayons. The kind of obligation that they have is a natural obligation since it is not
enforceable by court action. It is a real obligation because Lena is expected to return what she
had borrowed.
Another obligation present in the story is between the Mother and Aling Chona. The
Mother ordered her children to go to Aling Chona’s store to borrow a kilo of rice payable at the
end of the month. Aling Chona agreed and proceeded to list the Mother’s name in her list of
debtors. In this scenario, the Mother is the ‘debtor’ because she is now liable to pay Aling Chona
for the amount of the rice she borrowed from her, and this amount is the object/prestation of the
obligation. Meanwhile, Aling Chona is the ‘creditor’ since she is the one to whom the money is
owed. Since both parties have each others’ consent to enter an agreement, the source of
obligation between the two is from a contract. It is also considered a real obligation since the
Mother is expected to pay her debts.
In the story, Aling Chona told the kids that she applied for a loan at the bank to start up
her sari-sari store business. The same is the case with Aling Simang with her sewing business.
So, in these cases, Aling Chona and Aling Simang are the ‘debtors’ because they are liable to
pay off the object of the obligation—which is the loan—to the bank. Meanwhile, the bank is the
‘creditor’ because it is the bank that provides Aling Chona and Aling Simang the capital they
need to start their business. The source of the obligation is also from a contract since you must
enter a loan agreement in order to process your loan. It is a civil obligation because it is
enforceable by court action. The object of the obligation is a real obligation because Aling Chona
is expected to pay off her loan.
The last obligation is between Mang Karding and their farmers’ cooperatives. Mang
Karding is the ‘debtor’ while the cooperatives are the ‘creditors’. Just like the previous
obligation, the object of the obligation is also a real obligation since Mang Karding is expected
to pay also his liabilities.
For me, one benefit of an obligation is that it opens up to a lot of opportunities—you can
either start up a business or invest in stocks. Then once you profit, you can pay your obligations.
But the downside of it is that sometimes, someone will lend you money, but it will include
interest. It is also hard to pay off your debts if your source of income is not enough to cover your
liabilities. So, for me, when deciding whether to borrow money or not, we must take into
consideration if we can pay off our debts before or on the agreed date of the fulfillment of our
obligation. If not, then we should be cautious when borrowing money. Promise a date where you
think you can actually settle your liability.