Manila urban poor prepare a feast of pagpag to celebrate Pope Francis' PH visit

Two days before the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines, urban poor groups in Payatas, Quezon City, north of Manila, prepared a fiest of pagpag, a type of food that is handpicked from restaurant left-overs and a popular viand among Filipino urban poor.

According to Kadamay and Pagkakaisa at Paglaban ng Maralita sa Korupsyon at Sistemang Pork Barrel o PagPag, the poor are overwhelmed by the visit of Pope Francis to the country.

This as the Filipino people are battered by the worst crisis to hit the country in history mainly due to rampant corruption in the bureaucracy and the continuous attacks of the Aquino administration to the livelihood and socio-economic rights of the poor. Despite its economic growth, which is among the most consistent in Asia, the Philippines has been suffering from record-high poverty and hunger incidence among its populace.

For the welcome celebration, different viands of pagpag are prepared by the urban poor for the feast. They say, it's up to the Pope if he will eat pagpag, and it's purpose is but a symbol to show the extent of their suffering. They still wish that the Pope will find time to visit their community despite his busy schedule, as Pope Francis is known to divert from his travel itineraries,

Pope Francis will arrive to the Philippines on January 15 after his trip to Sri Lanka, and will have a dialogue with Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in Malacanang the day after.

“We request our Dear Pope to push the Aquino administration to ending the pork barrel system and other schemes that perpetrate corruption within its bureaucracy, as well as the privatization of public lands which is behind the demolition of our homes, and the privatization of social services in the country,” according to Normelito Rubis, spokesperson of the PagPag.



Meanwhile, according to Kadamay, a national alliance of urban poor in the Philippines, the urban poor are among those who are hit the hardest by corruption and the effects of neoliberal policies that are imposed upon the Philippine economy.

The Filipino laborers are among the lowest payed in Asia and are suffering from chronic unemployment despite the well-pronounced economic growth under the Aquino administration. At least 13 million Filipinos are believed to be unemployed according to Kadamay.

In his dialogue with the President on January 16, the groups wish that Pope Francis will extend their message to the president, so he will act according to 'daang matuwid' (right path) which is a popular campaign slogan of President Aquino when he ran for the presidency in 2010.

Photos by Dennis Sabangan/EPA and Bullit Marquez