There’s two types of economically disadvantaged Filipinos - urban and rural.
Both live an essentially hand-to-mouth existence.
The rural folk make a living from agriculture, fishing or livestock. I cannot describe their way of life, as I’ve lived in the city all my life, and am more familiar with the urban folk.
The urban folk are mostly rural folk who came to the cities to try and earn money. Those who are uneducated find odd jobs like cleaning, washing laundry, looking for recyclable garbage to sell, or watching and washing cars.
Some urban folk live in what are called “squatter areas” - basically an empty lot where they built shelter from whatever materials they can muster. Entire communities spring up from such settlements. I’ve visited a few, including houses next to the train tracks. It’s a precarious existence. There’s hardly any clean water, no sewage system. But people are enterprising. They’ll find water from some busted pipe, and “steal” electricity from nearby neighbourhoods. They will have little shops, selling a few groceries, or breakfast food.
Sometimes these areas become recognised by the government as legitimate barangays. A lot of people go to live there and not all of the residents look “poor.” They look like they’re doing ok; they wear branded clothing, they sport jewelry, and their homes are built of cement blocks.
Some people are hardworking enough to send kids to school. I’ve seen a kid with his box of wares next to him - cigarettes and candies - while he laboriously did his homework, right there on the side walk. These kids go on to become success stories. You might read of them in papers -those who graduated top of the class, while their parents worked as cleaners or laundry women.
Then on the other end of the spectrum are those who never make it. They live in whatever spot they can find - under bridges, in front of abandoned shops. They scrounge around for food in garbage heaps, or beg from strangers. Their children grow up in the streets, they run around filthy, they knock on cars while carrying younger siblings. These folks have no thought other than to live day to day. The kids buy glue to sniff; the adults drink, or seek cheap recreational drugs.
When I was a student in Manila in the early 2000s, I saw a family who lived every day in a street corner. The mother sat idly on a piece of cloth, begging from strangers. She and her spouse slept in a wooden box, covered with a few sheets.
Later her belly grew bigger; she disappeared a short while; and much later I saw her begging again, this time with a swaddled infant beside her, looking angelic and clean.
They had no thought of tomorrow; once I saw the man, dancing on the street corner, balancing his child on one hand, while his wife bounced and sang next to him, their eyes gleaming in pure delight.
Later I saw him hunting a cat. I was waiting to cross the road, and observed an orange tabby licking its paw leisurely. The man snuck up behind - at first I thought he wanted to grab it, make the cat his pet, as we used to as children - then he pulled out a thick wooden plank and brought it down with great force on the cat’s skull. I heard a loud thwacking sound but the cat didn’t die. It screamed and streaked across Taft Avenue, getting ahead of me. I felt utterly displaced, like I was in an actual jungle, where feral instincts still prevailed.
I apologise if the answer sounds classist. I’m only trying to describe what I have seen and experienced, of people who struggled daily to survive on limited means.
I was raised in a middle class family. We weren’t starving, but we did have to watch our budget and scrimp on luxuries. My best friend in primary school was rich. She invited me to her house every year for her birthday. Once I heard her ask a question from her mom. Her mom replied, “That’s because she is poor.”
I really felt sad for my parents, who are very proud. They didn’t feel “poor.” They were very well educated. Both had ancestors who were landowners (how their land ended up is another story). We were better off than a lot, but to my friend’s mom, we were poor. This just shows that “poor” is relative.
I have received mostly positive comments for this post, but there are a few negative replies. Some people accuse me of all sorts of things. I have been described as being poorly educated (with statements written in mangled English). Some say that the poor don’t exist in the Philippines.
Please note, I am not insulting anyone whose way of life I have described here. I just did that - describe, based on personal observations.
My experiences stem from my student days and my time volunteering with local charity groups and with Doctors Without Borders.
For future haters: you are free to vent but please note that posting accusatory, irrelevant remarks on Quora will get you banned.
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