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This morning while I was walking along a street in our neighborhood looking for “saging na saba,” I chanced upon two ladies singing Christmas carol in front of one of the houses. Each one had a mini-tambourine on her hand and was joyously dishing out their personal version of a Christmas song that unfortunately I could not recognize. I waited until they were done and were on their way to another house when I approached them.
 The elder lady on the right is Aling Elena while next to her is her
niece Elvie. Aling Elena’s full name is Elena Austria while Elvie’s is
Elvie de Loyola Soriano. I jokingly commented that her name sounds like
a resident of an exclusive subdivision in the metropolis. As it turns
out she is actually a widow with four children to feed and hardly
the means to make both ends meet.
They came all the way from Binmaley, a 3rd class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, a very long way from
our place in Cubao. They say they are temporarily lodged in BBB,
Valenzuela while they are here in the city but still BBB is a far off
place and a represents a considerable commute. I forgot to ask with
whom they are staying but I surmise that it’s either a relative or a
kababayan. After all, here in the Philippines, as long as you can trace
a common ancestor somewhere in your genealogy, you’re as good a
relative as anyone can get.
I commended their industry and their resourcefulness to augment their
family’s income. I know that caroling may not come across to some as
laudable but in the course of my exposure to working in poor
communities, I have come to appreciate that it is easy to have that
kind of posture when opportunities are plenty. With most of our poor
neighbors out there, they get whatever comes their way and make the
most out of every situation. It is quite interesting to note that in
the streets of Metro Manila where the poor abound, the women and
children of the families seem to outnumber the men in terms of their
perseverance and resolve to provide a decent living for themselves.
What a sad commentary on our nation’s sense of machismo and masculine
pride.
At one point in our chat, Aling Elena related her son Cesar’s tenacious
display of determination to pursue education. Currently a first year
college student of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the Pangasinan
State University, he has consistently shown a strong desire to finish
his schooling in spite of their family’s meager resources. Aling Elena
laments that they are hard up to send their son to school as her
husband’s income watching over his employer’s fishpond is only P100 a
day. In spite of this, she is hopeful that they will eventually meet
some kind souls out there who can help her son achieve his dreams.
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