XXXII. ALL FOR A WHISTLE ... BABIES FOR SALE !

          We happen to ply our trade in a place where we get to co-exist with people who earn their keeps from the streets. To them, living in the street is a choice, protected and coddled by persons of authority and allowed to earn their keeps acting as "barkers" for passenger jeepneys, taxi cabs, colorum SUV's and motorcycle "habal-habal".  Some have taken "parking territories" where you have no choice but to hand out some bills so your vehicle won't get  "accidental" bumps and scratches. Children goes to begging and petty thievery, while women gets pregnant the moment they step into puberty. Asked why so young, they say they have to find a partner for protection. And you'll be surprised what they do with their babies, usually they get them "adopted" for monetary consideration.

           One woman, a known drug user, and only in her late 30's or early 40's, had sired 17 babies and got at least 15 of them "adopted".  I am not sure how many partners she's had but the amazing part of it is that she doesn't even seem to mind, and even spoke of how easy it is for her to deliver babies, just like taking a dump.  So as to not to be bothered by so much paperworks, someone arranges the adoption for them, taking care of delivery, the birth certificate, and other facilities for the so-called adoption. To give the babies a chance for a better life, they say, something that they could not hope for to give them while living in the streets.

          I sell books for a living in a market place where there are plenty of these so-called street dwellers. The better ones are those who scavenge for recyclable materials they could sell for food. Others even go over the garbage can for some food left-overs, and hope for compassion from passers-by. They usually have no home to go home to and just exist to survive until their time comes. The worse ones  pester people, so they would hand over what they are eating to them.

          Then there are the "professional" beggars. They earn more than ordinary wage earners, and eat better too. I happen to know some old beggars, since they change their coins to paper bills from stores adjacent to us, and usually the amount exceed a thousand for a day's routine. There as they exchange their earnings to paper bills, their dependents hobbled over them to partake their shares. The worse ones hire babies as props since they won't use their own to beg in street corners. Most people don't take notice, but the babies with them are always asleep or looked ill. They give them drugs so they sleep all the time, so as not to be a  bother while they wait for coins to drop in their begging bowls.

          Then there are the "solvent gangs", mostly runaways. They usually survive by petty thievery and stealing from drunks at night. Some of them have handlers for protection, engaging them in pick pocketing and snatching activities. Since most of them are minors, they've been in and out of jail, but could not be imprisoned since the law protects them for being minors. They are the "real" problem that our government does little to solve. They are a pitiful site but if you are plying your trade in a place where they abound, you could not give in to them for they will hover and pester you everyday. You have to make them realize that you are someone they could not mess with so they would leave you alone.

          And the worse of therm all are the thugs and street bullies. Most of them are have handlers that are cohorts of  persons of authority, running errands and acting as "barkers" in illegal terminals. They collect  from jeepney drivers so they won't get shooed away while they collect passengers from intersections. Some sampaguita vendors sell them the flower necklace which they hang inside their windshield as a sign that they had paid their dues so that traffic enforcers in other stops would look the other way as they violate road ordinances. They also collect from illegal vendors and act as parking attendants so the vehicles won't be cited for violations. They also arrange trips for passengers of "colorum" vehicles and motorcycles, and you can't get a taxi without them hovering over you for tips.  All this things happen under the noses of  Barangay enforcers and cops on the beat.

          They understand only one language - that is force.  You have to stand your ground, not allow them to push you around, so they will think that you have some connections and to mess around with.  The worst kind in a place like this are not the tough guys but the "big shots" and their lieutenants who can pay people to do the violence for them.  That's the only way you could keep them away for acts of kindness doesn't work for them. One favor for them will lead to another, and each one of them will try to get the same kind of favor from you. Acts of kindness are viewed as acts of weakness. All of them wanted to be feared. But the truth is, they know that they are the "expendables", they just take what they can take but only from those who don't fight back.

          Most of them were already given relocation homes which they either rent out or sold to other relocatees. Most of them have tasted jail time, their badge of toughness, and were into drug and other illegal trades. Before they don't bother to hide their drug use, even hanging around the market place while high on drug. You can very well see from the cellphones and gadgets they have that money is really not so much of a problem to them. They have no respect for guards since their protectors also wore badge, the real ones.  The market place to them is their territory, so you have to mark your own turf so they won't stray beyond your lines.

          Things, however have improved the past few months under the new administration. It took two deaths of  their former "kosas" ( term they use for jail mates) who had gone "big time", to put them in tow. They still do their usual routines minus the selling of drugs and stolen items.  They were rounded up and told to stay away from drugs and illegal trades, and four hard cases were locked up until now. Six months of  Duterte, and there were no news of snatching and hold-ups in our area.  Sadly. after the suspension of "tokhang", 2 cases of hold-ups, one leading to death, happened in our area, so the thugs were probably testing the waters.

          One thing that news reporters miss out when write something about things, they only skim the surface and rely on hear says. They interview the wrong guys, mostly people who are in the same circle and won't tell everything for fear that they may be regarded as "rats". Government authorities who deal with the problem sounds good on TV and are a master of disguising their true intentions that they generate compassion for these kind of people. These kind of "street dwellers" are not as poor as they appear to be, for I've seen 3 generations of them, right in our store fronts. Barangay officials of the  past have tried giving them jobs but they simply don't want to do hardworks. They were given the 4 P's, and other loans which they only gamble away or spend on their vices. Sadly, I see no solution for them to change their ways.

          They are pawns of illegal trades. As long as there are sidewalk vendors, illegal terminals, colorum vehicles, and the streets are treated by government authorities as "theirs" to rent out, these problem will never end. Politicians approach the issue with an open mouth but only to get votes but hardly make a dent in ironing out solutions.  TV news, print media find them good items to be read about, but only to sell their ads and newspapers, and only sugar coats the real issues. The church ? I don't see them doing anything about the problem.

          All for a whistle, I came to like this phrase, - a little effort, a little wind, could make people hear the sound. Maybe this piece could make some people hear, make them see a bit of it. I don't expect easy solutions but we could at least educate ourselves, and not try to add to the problem. As Confucius use to say - " If you want to solve the problems of the world, go back to your home and start with your family. "