Paul Joshua Boleche
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Today, we look back at the stories of Brgy. Zone V residents who continued to make a living by weaving doormats, even after a fire suddenly devastated their livelihood during a global epidemic.
Throughout our documentary, we explored three narratives, each from a distinct perspective, connected by a common struggle: meeting their most basic needs. This created difficulties for these people. Wages are low, especially in Cavite, so they must seek out for additional work just to make ends meet. Unfortunately, as everyone suffered from the impacts of COVID-19 in our lives, they were also met by a tragic fire that nearly ended their lives.
Angie Pirote and her family had lived in Dasmarinas City for 25 years and relied on weaving doormats for a living. Prior to the crisis, Angie's family survived on the modest earnings of her husband and children. When COVID-19 started to affect their lives, her child's wife died, and the jobs on which they depended on were lost.
With her rattling voice, she told us, "Bali ito na lang po ang pinagkukunan ng pagkain namin sa araw-araw. Pero minsan, kapag wala po kaming mabentahan, wala po kaming makain." (This is our only source of living left. But sometimes, if we haven't sell any, we won't have food to eat.)
Meanwhile, Gilda Patiño, together with her husband Jose and five children, also depends on this source of income. Jose's work as a barangay employee had been insufficient to meet their family's necessities.
"Hindi po sapat kasi bago dumating ang sahod, siyempre meron na kaming pinagkautangan. Pagkarating ng sahod, magbabayad na po kami." (The salary is not enough because allot it to pay our debts before we have even received it.)
We asked Jose about the fire since he was among the first people to respond on the scene. He told us that, despite having been alerted, not much could be done to retrieve anything. Except for his motorcycle, very little was saved.
"Mabuti yung bunso ko, nag-aaral, iyak nang iyak, nahatak pa niya 'yung motor." (Luckily, my youngest child, studying at that time, managed to drag it away from the fire while crying.)
For these people, it was not easy. We had seen the barong-barongs they have created from the remains of the fire. This was also the time where even a slight increase on the prices of goods would hurt everyone's budget, as jobs were scarce. Yet the weavers persisted, and would soon begin rebuilding their lives.
For Angie, seeing her children and wanting to give them the best life possible is enough to motivate her to continue.
"Kailangan lakas lang ng loob, lalong-lalo nang amin na karanasan sa buhay ngayon." (We really need to be strong, especially after what we've experienced recently.)
For Gilda, selling these doormats has been their lifeline, even though sometimes they have to sell it in a much lower price.
"Kung wala po ito, mula't sapol... 25 years na po kami, ito po ang naging gabay namin." (Without these, ever since we started living here 25 years ago, these doormats guided our lives.)
Despite hardships, they never ceased moving forward. Behind their face shields and masks are people with smiles, hardened by their experiences, and spirits strengthened by never folding up to life's challenges.
Our award-winning documentary is available on our Facebook page, Gulaman Entertainment.
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This story is an entry to COMCO Mundo’s “UNMASKED: The COMCO Mundo Write to Ignite Season 3”. The initiative aims to pull and collate powerful stories from the Philippine blogging communities. “UNMASKED” aims to explore how each mask is a person brimming with hope and wonders to share with others, as well as why it is important to tell their inspiring journeys in life. The “Write to Ignite” Season 3 is made possible by COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises, with airasia, Babyflo, PHILUSA Corporation, Century Tuna, Licealiz, Lamoiyan Corporation, Rémy Martin, and Uratex Monoblock as brand partners.
