By Marjorie Gorospe
INQUIRER.net
MANILA CITY, Philippines — Alfred Herrera or “Naning” is just one of many Filipinos selling Sampaguita to believers of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila.
At the age of 16, Herrera already sees the need to support his own finances, while making sure his siblings are fed. The second of nine children, he knows his income from selling Sampaguita is needed.
But unlike others selling Sampaguita, Herrera can only go every Fridays to Quiapo. From Monday to Thursday, he has to attend his classes.
“Nagpaalam naman ako sa teacher ko na ‘pag Friday, hindi ako papasok kasi magtitinda ako. Naiintindihan naman niya (I have told my teacher that I have to work every Friday. She understands my situation),” Herrera says.
Herrera partly enjoys going back to Quiapo to sell Sampaguita because he has established return buyers or “suki.” It keeps him busy as he stays near the Quiapo church.
He feels that people are buying from him because of his condition. Herrera was born with only one leg. But his condition has never stopped him from helping his family earn extra income.
According to him, his mother has attempted to give him up while he was still in the womb. However, as it turned out he is now a blessing to his family.
Herrera dreams of becoming a computer engineer. For now, however, he only wishes he could have something better to serve on their table every meal.
Herrera is one of many Filipino children forced to work because of poverty. While it is his right to study and enjoy life, he is forced into a situation wherein this right is violated.
Who is to be blamed for this? Since Herrera has chosen this life, wherein he has to help feed a family, he doesn’t have much choice but to set aside childhood and be forced to become an adult.
Not surprising, Herrera never regrets selling Sampaguita.
He has learned valuable lessons in his six years of selling. But he also admits that he can’t help but feel embarrassed whenever his classmates see him in Quiapo.
“If I were to offer a Sampaguita to our patron, my prayer would always be for my family, to have a better life in the future,” he says, as he continued selling Sampaguita.
One Feedback on "Discovering faith in Sampaguita"
wonderwoman
The plight of Alfred Herrera or “Naning” who sells sampaguita at age 16 reflex the performance of our government’s failure to uplift the live of marginalize sector of our society. We have a corrupt government in the first place.
Much of the resources derive from payments of hard earn taxes by the people just ends up to the pockets of corrupt government officials. Just recently, 1.2 billion was lost and was committed by no other than the infamous Senate President Villar who took advantage of diverting the C-5 road to pass through his 12 subdivision.
In the military, we have the ExGeneral Garcia, former Comptroller of Arm Forces, enrich himself by the millions taking advantage of his position, and subsequently convicted by the Ombudsman.
In the PNP, the ExGeneral De la Paz, another former Comptroller of the PNP, was able to spirit out of the country, approximately 7.7 million pesos, and was caught in Russia for none declaration. And lately, another 46 thousand Euros (Currency of the European member nations of Europe) of undeclared cash came to the surface as additional cash he carried out of the country. A General Whoes salary would not even go above 50 thousand a month was able to get hold of so much cash!
We have the episode of Joc Joc Bolante, who escape abroad and was subsequently brought back to the country, just at the height of the Fertilzer Scam. Billions is involve in the scam.
We have the aborted NTC-NBN scandal wherein it is highly perceive that no other than our First Couple (PGMA and her husband) are involve. Again, billions of pesos could have been lost thru over pricing. What initially started as $67 million project ballooned to $ 368 million pesos.
There is the “Pampanga North Rail” project, which is perceive to be over price by the billions of pesos.
The infamous and the most expensive streach of highway in the world which is the Deosdado Macapagal highway is also listed among the crimes committed by the government of PGMA.
There is the Swin project and the Rice Highbreed project and another fertilizer scam committed by the incombent Secretary of Agriculture, Arthur Yap. Instead of a direct participation of the Department of Agriculture in extending assistance to the would be receipient, the swine funds that runs in to billions of pesos was diverted to a seudo finance company. Naturally, the records made by this suedo finance company are majority fake. So much ghost projects that never existed but were used to justify expenditures were so rampantly committed. In short, “di doctor ang mga record sa Department of Agriculture. In fact, a reporter who unvailed the heist committed in the Department of Agriculture under Joc Joc Bolante and up to the time of Secretary Arthur Yap still exists. That reporter who was subsequently MURDERED, and according to her, the corruption in the Department is comparable to the corruption in DPWD, CUSTOMS, and the BIR. For these revelation, she was MURDERED.
In general, the roots of our problem in the government can be sum up to these. 98% of the officials in our government, from the President, Cabinet Secretaries, to the Department Heads, and Governors and Mayors, are occupied by ETHNIC CHINESE. These races are naturally corrupt. It is in their genes to commit corruption thru subterfuge, deception and lies.
This is the reason why ethnic Filipinos are generally poor inspite of our rich natural resources, despite of the billions of Dollars remittance made by OFWs, on top of the billions of dollars borrowed by our government. We, the ethnic Filipinos will remain poor as long as our government is in the hands of corrupt ethnic Chinese.
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