I came face to face with the existence of “PAG-PAG” during my visit to Helping Land. What is it? For the poor who live in slums around garbage dumps in Metro Manila, Philippines, it is food Pag-pag is made up of leftover pieces of chicken or morsels of meat found in trash bags at restaurants like KFC, Jollibee and McDonalds after working hours. Scavengers will turn these bags of “TRASH into TREASURES” the very next day by separating what they consider edible & recyclables for their family to consume and for profit.
SHE was behind a gated area when I noticed her movement from a distance. I peeked my head into the cracked open door and said hello. She looked up at me and smiled. I asked if I can come closer and she allowed me. To be honest, I knew what she was doing, the bags of garbage that surrounded her was a clear indication but to actually see what she was doing was another. She was working on a half eaten chicken thigh, dusting off rice and other food particles that was sticking to it then placed it in a water filled bucket to her left containing other chicken findings. To the right in a smaller container that appeared to have tiny boneless chicken pieces and burger meat. Around her were open bags that housed assorted recyclable materials like paper cups, plastics and Styrofoam containers. Tons of flies filled the air.
I felt silly & somewhat embarrassed for asking as I knew the answer but I did anyway, “anong gagawin mo sa mga yan?” (what are you going to do with those?) She replied with a simple, “kakainin, ibibenta” (eat and sell) saying it proudly as she continued to go about her routine. She volunteered to tell me that she will make “Adobo” (to cook in soy sauce and vinegar) with the bucket of chicken pieces and sell them for 5-10-20 pesos a bag. Current exchange to 1 US dollar is 45 pesos, so you do the math. On a good day just on pag-pag alone, she said she can make 200 pesos and this is going to support her family.
I wanted to ask more questions but I was falling behind the group of Project PEARLS volunteers and I didn’t want to be alone in the area of unknown to me so I bid her farewell, thanked her for her time and to make sure she doesn’t just become a memory, I asked to take this picture.
Confession…
I am disturbed and heart-broken that this is reality for many people living here in Helping Land and many other places here in Manila but I place no judgment. I do not walk in their shoes and know nothing of their past that contributed to what they face today. I admit that it was a depressing sight to see such method of survival and a way of life for her and many like her. So many can not afford to eat like you and me and pag pag is the only way they know to fill their empty stomach, keeping her in business.
I share the many questions you probably may have right now on what is the government doing about this, do they get sick from eating this, can they do something else and so on but one question is haunting me more. What can I do, what can WE do to HELP?
Sherril Salangsang, U.S. Volunteer
