| Home | CPP | NPA | NDF | Ang Bayan | KR Online | Public Info | Publications | Kultura | Specials | Photos |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Tudla productions released a video documentary entitled Buhay-Barya (A Pittance of a Life) that portrayed the different faces of poverty in Metro Manila. The video illustrated real people and their problems in the face of real events. It was first shown to the public on December 10, 2003. The 57-minute video is divided into different story segments. It features the story of a contractual worker in a
The first story follows the life of the couple Rosalie and Bong. Rosalie is a contractual worker in a garments factory. She has transferred from factory to factory several times, but no matter what she does and no matter how long she has worked in a factory, she never becomes a regular worker. In many cases, the factories simply change their names to avoid the regularization of workers like Rosalie. Bong, meanwhile, has been laid off from his job in a factory because he dared to form and lead a union. Both of them worry about the future of their only child Bianca who was then close to celebrating her second birthday. No matter how hard they toil all day, they still face an uncertain future. They are not even sure if they could afford a simple birthday celebration for their child. To tide them over, Rosalie pawns her ATM card to her supervisor in order to borrow a relatively big amount. In exchange, her supervisor deducts 10% each time from her wages until she pays off her debt, with interest. The second story follows a day in the life of the couple Nonoy and Jeng. The couple has six children, two of them already in college. Nonoy used to be a regular worker but was fired after he joined a union. He now works as a batilyo. Batilyos are employed according to the antiquated and oppressive kabo system. Nonoy usually receives only P150 for a night of backbreaking labor. Meanwhile, Jeng works all day cleaning fish at the port. She only earns from P100-200 on average. The couple�s combined earnings is woefully short of what it takes to support their children. Thus, they resort to skimping on their food and other expenses. To augment their earnings, Jeng borrows money from her relatives to set up a small store while Nonoy has a sideline job with the barangay. The third story is about Mang Crispin, a garbage collector who loses his job because the company that he worked for has had a slump. He merely hitches a ride from his fellow garbage collectors and works as an extra hand just to tide over his family from hunger. In order to eke out some money on days when no trips are made to collect garbage, he gathers and sells usable garbage. On other days, he works as a collector for �ending,� a numbers game. In spite of the poverty and oppression that the couples in the three episodes suffer, they continue to aspire for a bright future for their children and for themselves. They are part of a growing workers� movement struggling for a just wage increase, enough jobs and other workers� rights. The last story shows the collapse of Sarao Motors, a local company owned by a national bourgeois. The owner relates that the company was unable continue its operations because of the high cost of importing spare parts and the proliferation of second-hand passenger vehicles dumped from Korea and Japan. The stories portrayed in Buhay-Barya bear witness to the intense bondage and oppression suffered by those in the lowest to the middle strata of society at the hands of the ruling classes and the existing government. From what they have said and from their very lives and experiences, what is starkly evident is the hopelessness faced by the toiling masses and the entire people under the existing reactionary and rotten system. 
| |||||||||
|
[ HOME | CPP | NPA |NDF | Ang Bayan | KR Online |Public Info] [Publications | Specials | Kultura | Photos] The Philippine Revolution Web Central is maintained by the Information Bureau of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Click here to send your feedback. |
|
