The walking repair man

COMFORTABLE shoes and sturdy umbrellas are essential things you need when you’re out job-hunting. But have you seen someone who is out hunting for worn-out shoes and broken umbrellas? One morning, I saw this man with curly long hair carrying a backpack and some umbrellas, walking alone in Kalaw Avenue. What caught my attention was a square tarpaulin attached to his backpack that says: "Repair shoes payong tahi sandals bumabasa ng kapalaran." In English, that roughly translates to, “I repair shoes, umbrellas, sandals, and I can also read your fortune.” His name is Felix Cerbito, 59 years old, a native of Northern Samar. Cerbito said he lives and works in the roadsides and walkways of Metro Manila. For him, work means waking up at five o' clock in the morning, walking and searching for worn-out shoes and umbrellas that needed some fixing. He had been doing this since 1998. "Nag-aral ako ng paggawa ng sapatos sa Luneta. Nanonood lang ako sa mga nagagawa tapos natuto na rin ako [I studied shoe repair in Luneta. I just watched those who were repairing then I learned aftewards.]," said Cerbito. Prior to being a walking repair man, he was a carpenter. "'Yung kaalaman ko sa karpintero, napakinabangan ko ng kaunting panahon kasi wala ng ma-aplayan, wala namang tumatanggap.[I benefited from doing carpentry briefly until no one wanted to employ me anymore]," Cerbito added. In a week, Cerbito earns P200 from sewing umbrellas, which costs P20; repairing shoes for P80; and shining shoes for P40. But he admitted that he used to earn P400 a week. "Ngayon mahina na. Bihira lang maka-200. Kapag wala akong kita, P50 dalawa ng sapatos. Kapag mahirap ung nagpapagawa, minsan P25. [I now earn less. I rarely earn P200 these days. If I don’t have any income at all, I charge P50 for a pair of shoes. If the customer can’t pay that much, I charge them P25]," said Cerbito. Fixing worn-out shoes takes two hours and a half. But if the soles of the shoes need replacement, it would usually take him five hours to finish one. This is so since he would often buy the soles from a store. It takes him 30 minutes to fix umbrellas. During our interview, he admitted that walking gives him blisters. But he’s not complaining. He earns an honest income this way. "Sa paglalakad, nagsugat paa ko, paltos sa kalalakad. Minsan, 'yung kinita kong P50, pinambili ko nalang ng tinapay. [My foot gets blisters from walking. Sometimes, I use my P50 to buy bread]," said Cerbito. Cerbito hopes to spend his remaining years in a real home, not in the streets. "Ang gusto kong gawin sa buhay ay may matirhan ako. [I want to live in a home someday]," said Cerbito.