Marginal folks struggle to earn amid GenSan's sweltering heat

Source: MindaNews

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 26 April) - Unmindful of the blistering heat of the noontime sun, 75-year old popsicle vendor Norberto Bores makes his way through deserted streets here, hoping to sell all his popsicles.

Many people in this coastal city opt to stay indoors to avoid the scorching heat of the sun, a daily occurrence in this usually sunny city along Sarangani Bay.

As temperature rises during the day, streets begin to be deserted. Most tricycle drivers saw it impractical to go out with the extreme heat and a limited chance to get passengers.

"Too hot to go out there, not many passengers and fuel prices have gone up again," said 40-year old tricycle driver Gerry Tobias on Thursday, April 25.

Like the elderly vendor and the tricycle driver, many residents have to endure rising temperatures, uncertainty in livelihood and rising prices.

The harsh weather, Tobias said, makes it difficult for him to earn enough for his family's daily needs.

Working to survive

For Bores, "No time to rest. I need to earn money for my food and medicine."

Bores braves the sweltering heat every day, wearing only a baseball cap and a cotton jacket to protect his frail body from the sun as he pedals his bicycle, hoping the heat will get people to buy his frozen delights.

When the heat became unbearable, "I look for a shade," he quipped as he rode his bicycle with a large Styrofoam box full of popsicles.

"Kung mahurot ni tanan, naa koy P500. Kung dili mahurot, ugma na pud (If I sell everything in the box, I make P500. If not, I will sell again tomorrow)," said Bores, who described his situation now as no different from the post-World War II era when he was a kid.

But even with the searing sun, there are more days that Bores is not able to sell all his three-for-P20 popsicles.

Balut vendors woes

At night when there is a better chance to do business without the blistering heat, balut vendors are faced with a lack of supply, mainly because of the effects of long dry spell and no rainfall.

Many balut (duck embryo) vendors here bewailed the scarce supply of balut that pushed prices to P25 from the usual P18.

The limited supply and increased prices drove sales down, balut vendor Arnulfo Rafael said. "Gamay na lang ang kita (I now have less income)," he said.

Rafael gets his supply of balut from Esperanza town in Sultan Kudarat, which was recently declared as being in a state of calamity due to heavy damages to agricultural crops, livestock and poultry.

In the village of Baluan here, the once vibrant park "Balutan sa Baluan" is not as lively anymore. Many balut stalls have closed shop due to lack of supply, affecting the livelihood of residents in the village, said Baluan village head Dennis Besa.

Victor Vergado, president of the Baluan Duckers Association said the extreme temperature being experienced has affected the production of balut in their village.

"Wala nang mapangitlogan ang mga bibe dahil nasira mga palayan (The intense heat destroyed the rice fields where the ducks lay their eggs)," he said.

He said they expect the situation to get worse and last until September this year.

No state of calamity

On Tuesday, April 23, City Administrator Franklin Gacal said they do not see putting the city under a state of calamity despite the intense heat being experienced by residents.

Gacal said out of the city's 11,000 hectares of agricultural land, only about 100 hectares have been affected by the extreme weather condition.

In a social media post, Gacal credited the city administration for the El Nino mitigation and adaptation measures that were prepared last year yet as the reason why they do not see the city as being in a state of calamity.

Shifting to normalcy

On the other hand, Binrio Binan, head of the local Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the dry spell is already waning, citing that there are already indications of going back to normal weather conditions.

In a media forum on April 17, Binan said in their assessment, there was already an 83-percent indication that the weather was transitioning to neutral conditions and rainfall can be expected. There will be rain in May, he said.

"No more high heat index, no more intense heat conditions, but we have to prepare for landslides and flooding. We have to prepare for La Nina," the weather agency official said. (Rommel G. Rebollido/MindaNews)