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In a country where over 8 million are food-poor, food scavenging has sadly become a norm for many families. Others call it trash, but for them, it’s their “meal of the day.”
Sautéed with a bit of oil, garlic, and a choice between patis or toyo, are various parts of fried chicken. However, what remains of the chicken are mostly just bones.
In the Philippines, these recycled meals are called “pagpag,” which roughly translates to “dusted off food.” Families scour dumpsites for what appears to be “still edible.”
The sound of garbage trucks, carrying leftovers from fast food chains, signals meal time.
Families clean the leftover food by dusting it off (pagpagin). To be extra sure, others wash the leftovers before boiling or frying – modifying someone’s dinner leftovers into someone else’s breakfast.
Pagpag is also a business. Some food scavengers sell their pagpag, sometimes giving discounts to neighbors and patrons.
Health professionals warn against the dangers of eating pagpag. They are at risk of getting salmonella and other illnesses. Eating nothing but pagpag can be detrimental to children’s health for they are not getting the nutrients needed for proper growth and development.
Despite these warnings, some families say they have no other choice. It’s either pagpag or nothing at all.
'Meal of the Day'
Filmmaker Giselle Santos produced a short documentary entitled, “Meal of the Day” with a grant from YourWorldView, an online platform for emerging filmmakers around the world.
Santos made the short documentary right after she graduated from college. During her research, she noticed that most films made about pagpag had outsiders as narrators.
“I wanted the people to tell their own stories and that was the main idea and motivation for the film. More than the idea of pagpag, I wanted to know more about the people, their experience, their reasons,” Santos said.
In the film, the families themselves narrate – they share where they get their food and how they turn it into meals. The stories are dismaying for they display the harsh reality many Filipinos face every day, the same reality that several other Filipinos are unaware of.
Santos said that dumpsites have their own supervisors who employ the help of the Tondo residents in sorting recyclable materials. Aside from receiving fees, the workers could also take home pagpag.
Others do not ask for fees, instead, they get paid with pagpag – which they either consume for themselves or sell to others.
When Santos asked the families what pagpag is, they answered, “Pagkain ng mahirap (food of the poor)."
“It’s quite saddening and frightening to realize that the gap between the poor and rich in our country can be measured by what we throw in our bins,” Santos said.
Santos urged government to be more proactive in addressing the issue. In the meantime, families in Tondo and elsewhere continue the long tradition of pagpag.
source: Rappler.com
Filmmaker Giselle Santos' "Pagpag: Meal of the Day" is a 2012 documentary that exposes the stark reality of life in Manila's slums, where many rely on eating leftovers from restaurant garbage bins (pagpag) just to survive.
Many Filipinos are still in this torturous existence up to this day. If you can spare some money, please donate to Duterte's Kitchen or some other food center. With your small donation, you can help some of our less fortunate countrymen eat with greater dignity.
NOTE: Duterte's Kitchen DOES NOT accept monetary donations. They only accept donations IN KIND.
Ang inyong munting donasyon na pagkain sa Duterte's Kitchen ay malaking tulong sa ating mga kapus palad na mga kapatid na PILIPINO.
Para po sa mga nagtatanong-
Duterte's Kitchen is located at 600 EDSA, Langley Building, between MRT Cubao Station (northbound) and the old SSS Cubao Bldg, near Farmers Plaza.
Open Mon-Sat.(7am-7pm), Volunteers and donors are very much welcome, feel free to drop by.
Please note that DK only accept donations in kind or of service. (NO CASH DONATION PLEASE)
Landline: 02-560 8856
Mobile (Globe): 0915-551 1099
Email: duterteskitchen@gmail.com.
If all Filipinos will help Duterte's Kitchen will be available to reach the poor Filipinos anywhere in the country.
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