iWitness: Diskarte ala Pobre

'Diskarte ala Pobre'

Episode aired on November 19, 2007

Every morning, noon and night, Quiapo Church serves free “lugaw" or rice porridge to the poorest of poor. On Tuesdays, the El Shaddai gives out free bread. The Methodist Church opens its soup kitchen on Thursday afternoons, while on Fridays, San Sebastian Church does the same.

Kara David meets a group of beggars who prove that with a bit of resourcefulness, one can survive for free in Metro Manila.

Their solution to seemingly endless poverty and hunger – and that of other urban poor dwellers – is documented in Kara's upcoming i-Witness documentary.

Aling Nining saves on her food budget by eating “pagpag" or food from the garbage dump. A college graduate, she continues living in a dumpsite to save her income. She has managed to buy cellphones, two colored tv sets and sends her three children to school with her thriftiness. For as long as her kids are still in school, she says she won’t stop eating – and feeding her children – recycled garbage.

A new and sometimes disturbing set of Filipino values, espoused by survivors of poverty, is explored by Kara David in “Diskarte Ala Pobre" this Monday late night over GMA, right after Saksi.