The “Other Side” of Divisoria

The “Other Side” of Divisoria (Manila, Philippines)

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

While Divisoria has always been known as the shoppers’ Mecca, especially, during Christmas, there is” another side” of it which I do not want to present as an image of poverty but that of perseverance, patience, and honest endeavor. This is the “other Divisoria” which many people just refuse to see as it might cause them to puke! The accompanying photos show how these honest Filipinos contentedly strive to live in sheer honesty.

 

The skeptics always say, “it is their fault for going to Manila and suffer deprivation”. These hypocrite skeptics have  TV, radio, and occasionally read newspapers, so they should know that the provinces from where these people who are eking out an honest living on the “other side” of Divisoria, are infested with NPAs, Abu Sayyaf, opportunistic landlords, and loan sharks. For the arrogant, the world is just for those who can afford to live decently. On the other hand, as these skeptics have not endured days of hunger, they may not understand how it is to make a difficult decision to live a hand-to-mouth life in Manila by scavenging in garbage dumps, rather than die of hunger and be in constant fear for dear life in the province.

 

It is true that the slums have been in existence for many decades now, but there would be no slums had the government ever since the time the nation has become independent, did not get infested with corrupt lawmakers and officials. The slums have been around since the time that deprivation and exploitation have been propagated by learned Filipinos who found their way in the halls of Congress and Senate, as well as, agencies, even at the helm of the government. Unfortunately, the seed of exploitation has grown into an uncontrollable proportion today, making corruption as wrongly and unfairly viewed to be always a part of the Filipino culture.

 

The striving people from the slums near Divisoria, and other districts of Manila, in this regard, may be viewed by the arrogant as akin to dogs and cats, because of their many children, oftentimes making them utter unsavory remark, such as, “they know they are poor, yet, they keep on having children”.

 

How I wish these skeptics can also openly, make biting remarks –

• to the corrupt politicians and government officials, such as, “they graduated from prestigious universities and colleges, yet, they do not know what is right or wrong”

 

• to the filthy rich, such as, “they have plenty of money, yet they can’t even throw a piece of bread to a beggar”

 

• to the stiff-necked Catholic priests, pastors, and other religious ministers such as, “they are supposed to be representatives of the Lord, but they can’t afford to take a look at the spiritually hungry”

 

Finally, compared to the disgusting hypocrites, loan sharks, corrupt government officials, arrogant “religious ministers” and conscienceless rich, who are supposed to be learned and intelligent, the people who honestly make a living such as those who belong to the “other side” of Divisoria, are worthy to be called creatures of God – true human beings…slum denizens who are viewed by aforementioned with utter repugnance.

 

(This blog will definitely, not hurt those who do not belong to the mentioned “classes” of loathsome Filipinos.)

 

Mga Lubak at iba pa…sa Tuwid na Daan

Mga Lubak at iba pa…sa Tuwid na Daan

ni Apolinario Villalobos

 

Maihahalintulad ang buhay sa binabagtas na daan

Maaring ito ay tuwid, liku-liko, paahon o palusong

Sa araw-araw nating pamumuhay sa mundong ito

Bumabagtas tayo ng daan…hindi alam saan patungo.

 

Sa pakikibaka sa buhay ay para rin tayong tumatahak

Ng daan na hindi lang baku-bako dahil sa mga lubak

Marami ring mga sagabal – mga bato at minsa’y tinik

Na kung di maiwasa’y magdudulot ng sugat…masakit.

 

Kung minsan naman, ang daang tinatahak ay liku-liko

Para ring buhay na maraming dinadaanang pagsubok

Kung minsan ay mga pasakit na pabigat sa ating balikat

Na kailangang tiising pasanin, kahi’t dusa ang kaakibat.

 

Minsan nang may taong nag-anyaya, samahan daw siya

Sa pagbagtas sa tuwid na daa’t sinabi pa niyang nakangiti

Pangako’y puno ng kaginhawahan sa buhay, animo totoo

Subali’t kalauna’y nabatid, daa’y may lambong na siphayo!

 

Ang daa’y diretso nga, nguni’t tadtad naman ng mga lubak

Marami ring bato, tinik ng mga damo, ipot, at kung ano pa

Marami na ngang sagabal, umaalingasaw pa sa kabantutan

Kaya sa pagbagtas nitong daan daw niya, sinong gaganahan?

 

Hindi na lang sana siya nangako, dahil lahat ng daa’y masukal

Maraming sagabal dahil ito ay parang buhay, hindi matiwasay

Upang makaraos, depende na sa pagkapursigido ng isang tao

Kaya, kung Diyos nga ay hindi nangangako ng tuwid na daan –

…ito pa kayang isang tao na wala pang napatunayan?

 

Malaking Sakripisyo ang Maging Chairman o Maging Iba Pang Opisyal ng Maliit na Barangay Tulad ng Real Dos (Bacoor City)

Malaking Sakripisyo ang Maging Chairman O Maging  Iba Pang Opisyal

ng Maliit na Barangay Tulad ng Real Dos (Bacoor City)

ni Apolinario Villalobos

 

Hindi nakakapagpayaman ang maging opisyal ng isang maliit na Barangay, na ang pinaka-kunsuwelo ay kasiyahan namang nararamdaman dahil sa tulong na naibibigay sa mga ka-barangay.

 

Matapat na sinabi sa akin ni Barangay Chairman BJ Aganus (Real Dos, Bacoor City) na sa wala pang dose mil niyang suweldo, ang kabuuang sampung libo lamang ang kinukubra niya. Ang butal ay “iniiwan” niya sa pondo ng Barangay upang magamit na pandagdag sa mga gastusin tulad ng para sa kuryente at iba pa na wala sa regular payroll na binadyetan, subalit kailangan upang mapaganda ang operasyon nila. Ganoon din ang ginagawa ng mga Kagawad ng Barangay na kusang nag-aambagan din sa kabila ng kaliitan ng kanilang allowance. Hindi nila alintana ang sakripisyong nabanggit dahil nababawasan naman ng suportang binibigay ng kani-kanilang pamilya sa pamamagitan ng lubus-lubusang pag-unawa.

 

Ang nanay ni Kapitan BJ na si Aling Sofie ay umaming sa kabila ng katungkulan ng kanyang anak,  silang mag-asawa ay tumutulong pa rin dito. Isang umagang napadaan ako sa bahay nina Kapitan BJ ay natiyempuhan ko si Aling Sofie na nagpaunlak sa request kong samahan ako sa kagagawa pa lang, pero kulang pa rin sa gamit, na Multi-Purpose Hall ng Real Dos. Bilang isang ina, natutuwa siya na nagkaroon ng bunga ang katututok ng kanyang anak sa City Hall, upang magkaroon ng Multi-purpose Hall ang Barangay, kaya kahit sabihin pang damay siya sa sakripisyo ng anak ay okey na rin sa kanya. Natiyempuhan din namin ang “volunteer” na si Aling Amparing na siyang naglilinis ng kapaligiran ng Multi-Purpose Hall, kasama na ang basketball court na nasa harap nito. Wala siya ni pisong kabayaran, subalit dahil nakita niya ang kabuluhan ng maliit na gusali ay hindi siya nagpatumpik-tumpik sa pagkusa ng tulong sa abot ng kanyang makakaya na paglilinis tuwing umaga.

 

Nadagdagan din ang mga street lights sa Barangay Real Dos dahil na rin sa “pangungulit” ni Kapitan BJ sa city government, kahit pa ang naging resulta ay dagdag-bayarin sa kuryente na maituturing na malaking kabawasan sa budget ng barangay. Subalit naalala ko noong nabanggit niya na mas mabuti daw na nakikita ng mga taong nagagastos sa maayos ang pera ng barangay, kaysa naman daw nakatabi lang. Ibig sabihin, hindi baleng sagad ang gastos basta napapakinabangan naman agad ng mga tao ang pinagkagastusan.

 

Ipinapakita ng Barangay Real Dos ang kahalagahan nito bilang matatag na pundasyon ng lunsod ng Bacoor sa pamamagitan ng maayos na pamamalakad. At, pinapakita ring lalo ng mga opisyal ng nasabing barangay na hindi totoong lahat ng nagsisilbi sa bayan o sa madaling salita ay mga opisyal ng gobyerno ay korap…dahil sila mismo ay abunado at naghihirap. At, alam ko ring marami pang Real Dos sa iba’t ibang panig ng Pilipinas na sumasagisag sa tunay na kahulugan ng “tamang paninilbihan sa bayan”.

Look beyond a person…to discover more about him

Look beyond a person

…to discover more about him

Apolinario Villalobos

The title of this share, actually, is a derivative of the saying, “do not judge a book by its cover”. A not so pretty or handsome face for instance does not necessarily mean that the person has a mean attitude. Also, we should not judge the financial status of a person by looking at his or her face. This is in line with the impression that the more exquisiteness it is, the better chance that he or she is from a well-off family, because “rich people are beautiful people”. This also goes with the way some people dress up.

One Saturday, I befriended a guy who sold “buraot” items or junks on a sidewalk in Divisoria. Every time I saw him on Saturdays, he was wearing the same tattered dark brown shirt and oversized basketball shorts. I just presumed that they perhaps, consisted his Saturday get up. Sometimes his two children would be with him. One time, I endeavored to befriend him, and broke the ice by buying many of his cheap items. I was thankful that he entertained my queries, until he accepted my offer to buy snacks for the three of them. I pretended to be engrossed in our conversation so that I could patiently wait until it was time for them to pack up their wares at ten that morning. With apprehension, I asked if he would allow me to see where they live, to which the guy acceded. We walked our way to a shanty of discarded tarpaulins and plywood boards by the bank of a river. His wife was out, collecting junks from garbage dumps.

Inside the shack, I saw a framed photo of three boys between a man and a woman, obviously, a family portrait. When asked, he told me that the smallest boy was he, and those with him were his parents and brothers. I found out that he came from a well-to-do family in Mandaluyong, with the name even sounding familiar. Without waiting for my questions, he volunteered that he left their home to elope with his girlfriend, the daughter of their laundrywoman. He had to do it after learning that she was two months pregnant with their baby. His parents did not approve of their relationship ever since. Rather than give them reason to fire the mother of the girl, the two opted to just go away.

The guy was 22 years old and his wife, 25. Their elder child was 4 years old and the younger, 3. He added that his wife had already undergone the so-called clinical family planning operation, or ligation. He was in his second year college when they eloped. His wife finished high school and was working as a sales girl in a mall. Her contract was not renewed, forcing her to work in a sidewalk carinderia as an all- around assistant. They had bright plans for their kids, even showed me four mineral water bottles heavy with coins, and a purse full of folded bills. They planned to enroll their elder child in the barangay/DSW-sponsored prep school three blocks away from their shanty.

When I learned that both kids were not yet baptized, I asked if it’s okay to have them undergo such rite in Sta. Cruz church or Binondo church, expenses on me, including lunch afterwards. When he agreed, I told him to look for two sponsors, a male and a female, to which he excitedly suggested his friends who were also selling junks in Divisoria. He told me that he and his wife still had decent clothes for such occasion. From the shanty, I went to the Binondo church, the nearest to where they lived, to inquire about scheduled baptisms and make the necessary arrangements. When everything was in order, I went back to my friend and told him to alert his wife and their two friends for the set schedule on the following Sunday. Eventually, the two kids became Christians. We shared a simple lunch in a sidewalk carinderia afterwards.

For the undiscerning, the unkempt appearance of others who eke a living from the refuse in dumps, can be revolting, and they are perceived as a hopeless lot. The story that I have shared shows that it is unfair to make hasty judgments based on the external appearance of a person. Behind the unkempt appearance could be a fervent desire fuelled by perseverance to live decently. The guy whose story I have shared, showed that in this world, anything is possible, and that a happy life does not always depend on money. In other words, behind unkempt appearances could be dreams!

The family I met was a picture of happiness, living on discarded vegetables and overnight-old sometimes burnt rice asked from carinderias, and drizzled with coffee or broth of vegetables and instant noodles to make it palatable. Despite their hand-to-mouth existence, he and his wife still had the courage to make plans for their two kids. They have been painstakingly setting aside a portion from what meager earnings that they derive from the junks they sell for their future. And, for all those, they do not even harbor a bit of hatred towards anybody, much more, the guy’s parents.

The guy told me that he still loves his parents, and he plans to bring his family to them on December 20, his birthday, to seek their blessing, especially, for the kids, but has no plans of living with them again. For him, it is important that his parents will know that he and his family are doing well.