A tired Tatay waits along the road for passing motorists to buy his broomsticks in Pinamunagajan town in southwestern Cebu. | Screengrab from Bella Saw video
CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — Helping someone in need was what 26-year-old Bella Saw needed to lift her spirit after heading home from a medical checkup for her tonsilitis.
And catching on her phone camera an old man selling broomsticks, sitting alone at the side of the road in Barangay Tutay, Pinamungajan town in southwestern Cebu, was the chance that she needed to make someone happy.
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Making others happy
She said that making someone happy would also make her happy.
“Dili ma explain akong kalipay. Nawala gud ang sakit sa akong liog. Nagpacheck up man ko ato gikan kay gitonsil ko, dili malingi akong liog,” she said.
(I cannot explain my happiness. The pain in my neck was even gone. I had a checkup because of my tonsilitis, I cannot turn without feeling pain in my neck then.)
“As in, happy kaayo ko nakatabang ni Tatay,” Netizen Saw said.
(As in, I am so happy to help tatay.)
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Netizen on broomstick vendor
Saw was referring to that July 24 meeting with the old man selling broomsticks, that she passed by on her way home from a medical checkup.
“Gikan ko nagpacheck up, while padung uli I (was) randomly taking videos sa karsada kay nindot kaayo ang weather, taligsik gamay, ” she captions her video that she posted on her Facebook page.
(I just came from a checkup, while I was on my way home, I was also randomly taking videos of the road because the weather was good, with a few rain showers.)
Seeing the old man there prompted her to stop her motorcycle and call out to the old man, who approached her.
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Netizen Saw on Tatay
There she found out that, Tatay was from Aloguinsan, Cebu, which is quite far from where he was selling his broomsticks.
Tatay told her that he had to get the broomsticks in the town everyday, so that he could sell them.
“Naghilak jud ko ato nga time. Gikumot ako kasingkasing, weakness jud na nako (nga) makakita ug ing(on) ana,” Saw said.
(I cried at that time. It felt like someone crushed my heart (when I heard his story), it is always my weakness to see someone in that situation.)
Saw bought the remaining broomsticks that Tatay was selling and let him keep the change, which brought a tear to the grateful broomstick vendor.
“Salamat, kaayo ninyo. Makapalit na gyod ko ani og bugas,” said the teary-eyed Tatay.
(Thank you for this. I can now buy rice with this.)
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Netizen on being called ‘pretentious’
Despite her good intentions, to help without any hidden agenda, there are still people, who considered her as pretentious for what she did.
However, Saw said she did not care about that.
“Bahala sila, kay wala man nako na gibuhat for fame. Genuine ra man jud akong pagtabang ni tatay, ” she said.
(That is up to them because I never did that for fame. I was genuine in my intentions to help tatay.)
She said what matters to her would be to continue to be grateful for all the things that she had now, and that she would be able to share them with others.
“I have so much to be grateful, that I am still blessed despite sa mga kalisod sa kinabuhi. Daghan pa diay ang mga taw nga nagkalisod (despite the challenges in life. There are still a lot of people who are struggling) but they still choose to fight and live life,” Saw said.| Irene Ardiente, CNU Intern
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