MANILA, Philippines — Three construction workers and a janitor who were stranded in Makati by the Metro Manila COVID-19 lockdown resorted to selling turon (crispy banana rolls) and lumpiang toge (fried bean sprout rolls) to survive.
In a Facebook post, Susan Arcega shared a photo of the workers — Prak Joseph Serrano, Ariel Gakit, Justin Ganza, and Vincent Demafiles — enticing buyers in Guadalupe Viejo with their tray of goods.
Serrano, who is from Albay, and Gakit, who came from Surigao del Sur, were both assigned to a construction site in Rockwell. Ganza, who is from Butuan City, was assigned to a project in Forbes Park, while Demafiles, who is from Bago City, worked as a janitor at an employment agency in Barangay San Antonio.
The workers sell their lumpia and turon for P10 each.
“They earn approximately P1200, netting 500 daily because their puhunan (capital) is P700 (ingredients and the superkalan). What they earn goes to their food, with P200 automatically set aside for the next fuel needs. So that’s living off a meager daily food budget of 300 among themselves,” Arcega said in her Facebook post.
The four workers live together at the Laperal Compound, Ortega said. The only cash aid they got was donated by Caritas, a Catholic relief agency.
“Kasi po hindi kami entitled sa anumang ayuda. Hindi po kami puedeng umasa sa wala (We are not entitled in any cash aid. We can’t pin our hopes on what isn’t there),” Arcega quoted one of the workers as saying.
Despite the economic difficulties and distress brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the displaced workers continued to find a ray of hope in their alternative line of work. They were even able to share their meager blessings to others who were also hit hard by the pandemic.