MICAH ELLAH V.

UMALI
12 - FOTITUDE
PAGPAG
SCRIPT

Lights all ablazed

Guests garbed in garments of green, gold and white
Laughter, tinkling of glasses
Food here, food there, food everywhere
Food to feed the nation

On the other side of earth

Another feast is taking place
A feast of chicken, pizza and pasta
Oh, people are so merry
Partaking of the feast of the day

In the light of the parties, merry-making, abundance of food served, and the
indiscriminate disposal of food left by the rich and the famous, this is mana from heaven. For the
poor, who can hardly survive hunger, the trash of the rich is their life.

Heavy roars of trucks

Music to their ears
Ah, there is food, there is hope
There is life.

In the dumpsite of Payatas and the Smoky Mountain of Tondo, men, women and children
scurry to the dumpsites to find their treasure. The packs of waste from McDonald’s, Jollibee and
Pizza Hut are the poor’s gifts from heaven.

What a wonderful day!

Food a plenty
A party we will have
Thank God for your gifts.

This is one ugly face of society. Where there is aplenty for the rich, there also is aplenty
for the poor – the trash of the rich. In the face of extreme poverty and hunger, the poor had
learned to survive – PAGPAG, the food for the poor.
 “Dati po, magsasaka ang aking tatay at Nanay sa probinsya. Yun pong lupang sinasaka ni
Tatay, pinaalis po kami. Gagawin daw pong tayuan ng mga bahay. Ano ba tawag doon,
subdibisyon. Binigyan po kami ng pera nung me ari. Sumakay po kami sa barko at nagpunta sa
Maynila. Madali daw po ang buhay dito. Napupulot daw po ang ginto sa Maynila.”

Ah, there is gold in Manila.

Innocense, ignorance
To a life unknown
Hopes, dreams, in the city of dreams.
Fear of the unknown they have not.

And then, reality bites.

Nowhere to go, no known faces
Nothing to eat
Survive, they must.

“Ako po si Ronillo Delotavo. Isa po akong magsasaka sa Palo, Leyte. Yung pong sinasaka
kong lupa, pinangako po sa akin ng Agrarian, ibibigay daw po sa akin. Pero bigla na lang pong
may dumating. Kailangan na daw po nila ng lupa. Lumapit po kami sa Agrarian. Wala daw po
kaming karapatan doon. Kailangan daw po naming umalis.” Wala na po kaming ikabubuhay sa
probinsya. Mahirap po ang pera doon.

Harsh realities
Cities becoming dumping places
For the dreamers
For the fearless.

Death and sickness they know not.

Food they must have from wherever ihese may come
Children are crying, food they must have
Let there be food!

In a country where there is a vast expanse of arable lands, why are people hungry? What
is the government doing to feed its people? When is help coming?

We hope for the day when we can leave this place

We hope for the day when we can eat clean food
We hope for the day when we can live in houses
We hope for the day when we can go to school
There is hope, there is a burning desire within us.
WE HOPE TO SEE LIGHT
THIS IS OUR DREAM.