Blood, Sweat, and Smiles- The Search for a Reason

Climbing on buses. Persuading the travelers to buy his delicious buko pie. Then, jumping from a moving bus, off to the ground, as if an action star. Mang Oliver will not stop until the buko pies that he’s selling were not sold out. And, he’s been doing this for almost 15 years. As long as his three children graduated in college, stopping this work is never an option.

Mang Oliver is one of the hundreds (or thousands) of ambulant bus vendors who earn much lower than the national poverty threshold. He is also among the many heads of families, who despite their poverty, continue to persevere and hope for a brighter future for their children.

According to the De La Salle University Library website, under the subject ‘Poverty,’ there are seven additional themes seen to be direct causes of poverty in the Philippines - macroeconomic issues, unemployment issues and unchecked population growth, problems in the agriculture sector, governance concerns, armed conflict, and disability.

In the case of Mang Oliver and some bus vendors, unemployment is the main cause of them being poor. But, Filipinos tend to look at the brighter side of life. Yes, there are sacrifices by the vendor just to be able to survive, and send their children to school. But later, it is with great pride being able to see their kids earn their degrees.

Why did they look at life that way? The idea of looking for the answers is a search for a reason. It’s going to be a bumpy road, but it’s worth a try. And now, the search is on.

1st Stop: the Bachelor

For Mang Bates (Beyts), being a bus vendor is a family tradition. It is as if ‘it runs in the blood.’ There are four of them in the family who are bus vendors. They are all living in Brgy. San Antonio.

Mang Bates was a 3rd year high school student when he stopped and started vending on buses. He spends Php.600.00 everyday for a tray of buko pies. At the end of the day, he often earns Php.200.00.

He didn’t bother to look for another job. “Mahirap mag-apply ng trabaho eh… Wala din namang ano eh…pinag-aralan…(It’s hard to apply for a job,…I don’t even have…any educational attainment…),” he said.

He is just one of the Filipinos that reflect the general lack of opportunity and poverty in the Philippines. John Kenneth Galbraith, in his book The Nature of Mass Poverty, said that one explanation of mass poverty is that, the community, or the country itself, is “naturally poor.”

Just last August, Credit Suisse, the Swiss financial services firm, has “downgraded its full-year economic forecast for the Philippines, from 4.6 percent to 4.3 percent.” On the other hand, Asian Development Bank said that Philippines were not lifted out of extreme poverty in the last five years, in comparison to 245 Asian countries.

Up to now, Mang Bates just enjoy his being single, and the benefits that he get by being a bus vendor, and that is the discounts whenever he will ride a bus.

Next Stop: From Rags to Riches

Brgy.San Antonio is the home of bus vendors in Los Baños, and haven for Kuya Jojo Castillo. He was once a bus vendor, since 1995, at the age of 14. But now, he’s a supplier of buko pies to the bus vendors in Brgy. San Antonio. He earns Php. 100 to Php. 800.00 everyday.

Based from his experiences, being a bus vendor is like having your “paa sa hukay(feet buried under the ground),” with all the dangers that you’re going to encounter- the difficulty of climbing on a moving bus, the possibility of an argument with a bus driver, being hit by some vehicles as you go down, etc. It’s like you’re putting yourself in the position of being buried to death.

But then, he said that it’s a joy when they earn money. And it’s more inspirational when you’re a responsible parent, that you’re doing this for your family.

{i:“Ang buhay ng (bus)vendor ay mahirap na masarap- masarap ‘yan ‘pag
kumikita ka, mahirap ‘pag wala kang kinita..} ( The life of a (bus) vendor is a mixture of gain and pain- it’s a blessing when you earn money, but it’s a pain when you didn’t.),” Kuya Jojo said.

In spite of that, he calls himself “fulfilled.” He considered being a bus vendor as a stepping stone from “rags to riches.” What he meant by ‘rich’ is that, he’s ‘rich’ in helping other bus vendors, by giving them a source of income.

His wife, Teresita Castillo, never imagined that she’s going to have the life that she has now. They are not that rich, but they are not hungry anymore. She admitted that it’s very difficult to be a wife of a bus vendor, because the earning is like a sail on a boat- it’s not that stable. But the thing that she’s very proud of is that Kuya Jojo made his children study to private schools such as AMA Computer University in Calamba, and University of Perpetual Help in Biñan.

The same with Mrs. Salvacion Banasihan, wife of Mang Roni, her motivation was the thought of their dreams for their children. The idea of their children having a good life in the future is more than enough to repay all their sufferings. And now, with very much pride, their two children graduated, with a degree of BS Information Technology and BS Hotel and Restaurant Management, in a private school in Los Banos, Laguna.

Third Stop: A ‘Family’ than an ‘Organization’

According to the bus vendors in Olivarez Plaza, they didn’t have any formal support coming from the municipal government. But their organization, Bus Traveler Vendors Association (BTVA) in Los Baños is recognized by the government since December 28, 1984. The resident-heads or the presidents of the association are Rodolfo “Bogs” Padillo and Ronilo “Roni” Banasihan.

BTVA is not a so-formal association. They didn’t even have a regular meeting, since they always see each other on the road. They schedule a meeting whenever there are problems, and the minutes of it are the different concerns of every bus vendor in Los Baños. The main event of the association is their celebration of their anniversary.

After facing all the threats of the road, before they end the year, they have this anniversary celebration for them to have a break. They solicit to the municipal government, and then, they would have their get-together in a resort with their families.

Last Stop: Reason

To be poor is believed by many as a bad thing. Poverty is defined as “the condition, in which the basic needs of human beings are not being met and people lack the necessary food, clothing, or shelter to survive, can be distinguished from relative poverty, which has been defined as the inability of a citizen to participate fully in economic terms in the society in which he or she lives."

It is also believed that it’s difficult to live in a Third World country like the Philippines. That’s why most of the Filipinos work abroad. But then, there are still some Filipinos who really work hard for the sake of their family, regardless of economic status. In spite of the weight of reality - poverty, unemployment, and others, they still hold onto their dreams for their families, just like the bus vendors in Brgy. San Antonio.

It’s actually a matter of giving color to a colorless paper. “Risky” source of living, simple lifestyle, a gamble with fate- instead of being disheartened by their situation, they just make the most of the day to earn money. It’s an unexplainable joy whenever they see their children with a diploma, or their wives preparing a meal three times a day.

Climbing on buses. Persuading the travelers to buy delicious buko pie. Then, jumping from a moving bus, off to the ground, as if an action star. The same routine. Countless opportunities ahead. The idea of looking for happiness, hope, love, opportunities, etc. is a search for a reason. It’s going to be a bumpy road on the way. We might fail, or succeed, but it’s worth a try. And now, the search is on.