00:00 Hey!
00:01 I don't want to!
00:02 I'm going to call the police!
00:03 Every push...
00:13 Every pull...
00:22 Every pull...
00:26 Every pull...
00:28 ...equals a profit to support their families.
00:35 So even if they have to bear the burden of three months, they will endure it.
00:47 [Music]
00:50 In Albuera, Leyte, we met six friends.
01:14 It's getting harder.
01:17 It's starting to get harder.
01:20 The harder it is, the better it is.
01:37 The group is pulling coconuts from the coconut tree.
01:44 This part is spacious and clean.
01:50 There are no plants.
01:51 Here, the coconuts are being carried by two people at the same time.
01:56 So before they climb up, they shout first
02:00 so that no one will fall from the coconuts.
02:04 Hey!
02:05 I don't want to!
02:07 I'm going to call the police!
02:08 Because while we're climbing...
02:10 If we get hit here, we're dead.
02:12 I don't want to!
02:14 I'm going to call the police!
02:16 Wait, I'll look for it.
02:18 It's hard.
02:22 It's easier without shoes because the feet are attached to the coconut.
02:28 Like this.
02:29 Yes.
02:30 It's attached.
02:32 But it's slippery.
02:34 It's really slippery.
02:35 This is really slippery.
02:36 Yes, for your brakes.
02:37 This is the most slippery part.
02:39 This is not yet?
02:40 Yes, this is really slippery when it rains.
02:43 They usually reach more than an hour in climbing the mountain.
02:54 But for a newbie like me, it's still longer.
03:03 When you said the path is hard, I didn't know it's this hard.
03:08 It's really hard.
03:10 It's really hard, right?
03:11 Oh my God.
03:16 We're in Tuktukta, the mountain.
03:21 This is where they get the coconut.
03:25 Look where we came from.
03:27 You're not letting us climb this yet?
03:32 Later, they'll also let us climb the coconut tree.
03:39 In Tuktuk, they got the pieces of coconut.
03:45 They're cutting the pieces of coconut that have chainsaws.
03:51 They're paying for it to be cut.
03:58 They're using sticks and nails to cut the 80-kilo coconut lumber.
04:06 [music]
04:31 They're cutting it in different parts of the mountain.
04:35 Warren, 15 years old, is the most difficult to pull the pieces.
04:44 It's cut and her fingers are stuck to her hands and feet.
04:49 It's not hard for you to climb the coconut tree?
04:53 It's hard for me too, ma'am.
04:55 Because it's slippery.
04:58 And for other people, their tails are not attached.
05:05 It means that your feet can't reach the coconut.
05:10 Yes.
05:11 It's harder for you than for others.
05:13 [music]
05:19 Why do you do this, ma'am?
05:21 We're from the city of Rigas.
05:23 I get a little money from here.
05:27 I use it to pay for my school fees.
05:31 After school, I have a job.
05:37 I don't have to work anymore because my hands are cut.
05:46 Their job is dangerous.
05:50 Warren says that she has climbed several times the coconut tree.
05:55 A branch fell on me.
05:57 I was holding the rope.
06:04 I got hurt.
06:08 It hurts.
06:09 The coconut tree fell.
06:11 Like Warren, she also pulls the pieces from the mountain.
06:20 She expects to feed her friend Jesse, who is 15 years old.
06:26 We do this to buy rice for the house,
06:33 and to buy food for my siblings for school.
06:38 She has been injured several times.
06:44 What is the most difficult thing you do here in the mountains?
06:50 Pulling.
06:51 Why?
06:52 If you don't know how to do it, you can get hurt.
06:59 If you're not used to it, you can fall.
07:01 I slipped.
07:02 When it rains here, it's slippery.
07:05 You can't climb.
07:12 Rodolfo is the youngest.
07:14 He is strong when he pulls the pieces.
07:17 How old were you when you started?
07:19 Nine.
07:20 Did you get hurt when you were pulling?
07:22 I slipped.
07:23 Their fragile body is broken.
07:34 If climbing is difficult,
07:36 it is more difficult to go down the mountain.
07:39 Let's go!
08:02 The thinner coco lumber is passed to the side of the road.
08:07 This is the coco lumber, which they call 2x6x8.
08:14 It's 2 inches thick,
08:16 and 6 inches here.
08:19 It's length is 8 feet.
08:22 This is 8 pesos per piece.
08:26 The friends took a short break.
08:28 They didn't have anything to eat that day.
08:32 They only had water.
08:34 How are you feeling?
08:36 I'm so tired.
08:37 Very tired.
08:38 Very tired.
08:39 I feel like I'm going to die.
08:41 I'm not going to make it.
08:43 I'm not going to make it.
08:44 I'm not going to make it.
08:45 I'm not going to make it.
08:46 I'm not going to make it.
08:47 I'm not going to make it.
08:48 I'm not going to make it.
08:49 I'm not going to make it.
08:50 I'm not going to make it.
08:51 I'm not going to make it.
08:52 I'm not going to make it.
08:53 I'm not going to make it.
08:54 I'm not going to make it.
08:55 I feel like I'm going to die.
08:56 I'm so tired.
08:57 You're so tired?
08:58 And I'm thirsty.
08:59 If there's no water, I'm thirsty.
09:02 How much are you expecting to earn today?
09:15 150 pesos.
09:18 150 pesos.
09:20 Is that for all of you?
09:22 Yes.
09:23 Oh, so for the whole group, 150 pesos?
09:26 Or for each of you, 150 pesos?
09:28 For the whole group.
09:29 For the whole group, 150 pesos?
09:32 Yes.
09:33 And how many of you will share this?
09:35 Six.
09:36 So for 150 pesos, you're six.
09:38 So that's around 20 pesos each.
09:41 For one day.
09:42 To earn 150 pesos, how many coconuts are there?
09:48 Just three.
09:50 Three?
09:51 It depends on how big and long they are.
09:54 They have to wait for the truck to come and pay them.
10:17 It's not a joke how heavy the coconuts that Jesse and Warren are carrying are.
10:22 Sometimes, they can weigh up to 80 kilos.
10:27 This is what you're carrying?
10:36 After we put this here, we'll pile it up.
10:41 You'll pile it up in the truck that will deliver to the store?
10:45 Yes.
10:47 The coconuts that are being sold are materials used to make furniture and household items.
10:53 After almost half a day of searching for food,
11:01 the truck that they were supposed to get from the coconuts that they were carrying did not arrive.
11:06 Because it was not sold by their friends, they did not earn anything.
11:15 Because they did not earn anything that day, Warren and Jesse just managed to get salt and rice for lunch.
11:22 Salt and cold rice are the way to get back at the Japanese.
11:30 What do you buy with the money?
11:34 Sardines, sir.
11:35 And soy sauce.
11:36 If you have 10 pesos, you'll have money.
11:44 It's been 10 years since Warren left his mother and father.
11:48 His father is not with us anymore.
11:52 He is currently looking for a job.
11:55 They have not yet finished their studies.
12:01 This is the reason why Warren is trying to find a way to get into school.
12:11 Because of the tiredness that Warren was experiencing, his father came to his rescue.
12:18 I am sorry for my son because he is still young.
12:21 I told him that if I can take care of myself, I will not have any problem.
12:28 He said, "Okay, if I finish my studies, I can get a job."
12:40 Warren's friend, Jesse, is the eldest of four siblings.
12:45 Sir, I need vinegar.
12:47 I need vinegar.
12:49 I got some for our dinner tonight.
12:55 What are you going to cook?
12:57 Nothing. Just a dish.
13:07 In 2012, Jesse's father, Mangroelio, had a stroke.
13:11 He used to be a taxi driver in Manila.
13:14 Since his body was paralyzed, he decided to go home to Albuerol, Leyte.
13:20 Since then, he has not been able to find a job.
13:25 What do you expect from your life, sir?
13:28 My wife.
13:29 She is the one who is working now.
13:32 My family is starving.
13:37 I am working as a housekeeper in Manila.
13:42 Jesse's mother sends money to them.
13:46 Jesse earns a lot from pulling coconuts.
13:50 His younger brother studies in an elementary school.
13:55 Jesse is the one who gives him money.
13:59 So they are studying, but you are not?
14:02 I am not studying anymore, ma'am.
14:05 I don't have money to go to school.
14:10 To get a massage.
14:11 Yes, to get a massage.
14:13 I don't have money to pay for the school fees.
14:16 Do you have someone else to study with?
14:18 Yes, ma'am.
14:19 Have you thought of going back to school?
14:23 No.
14:25 Jesse has a special need.
14:29 He has not been examined by a specialist yet.
14:32 That is why his condition is not yet confirmed.
14:36 What do you think when you are in trouble?
14:38 I am okay, ma'am.
14:40 I will do any job.
14:44 I will just need money.
14:47 If you don't have money, you can't do anything.
14:51 It is really hard.
14:55 The reason for the hardship is still the same.
14:58 That is why many children are not able to study.
15:02 Actually, there is a reason.
15:04 Not only out of school youth and child laborers,
15:07 there are many children who are enrolled,
15:09 but there are times when they are absent for work.
15:12 That is why there are 2 to 3 million child laborers.
15:15 The combination of those two is not enough.
15:18 The combination of those two is not enough.
15:21 The combination of those two is not enough.
15:23 The combination of those two is not enough.
15:26 Our Pantawid Program,
15:28 where we provide financial assistance
15:32 to the poorest of the poor,
15:35 to households and families.
15:38 Aside from that,
15:40 we also have programs for out of school youth.
15:43 That is more preventive.
15:46 We provide skills training to them.
15:49 We have family development sessions
15:52 in terms of providing proper parenting to our parents.
15:59 Our economic situation requires the study of our national government
16:08 that we will have sustainable job opportunities.
16:12 We will have food security and job security for each family.
16:18 This is what we are studying in the new government.
16:23 Have you ever thought of quitting your job?
16:28 I don't know, sir.
16:31 I want to quit my job.
16:35 But you can't.
16:36 I can't, sir. It's hard. I don't have a job.
16:39 For Jesse, he needs to put aside his studies and dreams.
16:48 He has to climb mountains and climb hills.
16:53 His body is weak.
16:55 He is dependent on his family.
16:59 Life is hard, right?
17:01 Yes.
17:02 Do you feel that?
17:04 When did it start?
17:06 I was only 11 years old.
17:11 You were forced to do this.
17:13 Yes.
17:14 Because of that, you need to support your family.
17:17 It's okay for me, ma'am.
17:19 I will do any job.
17:22 The country's problem is still poverty.
17:29 A disease of the society that, until it is not treated,
17:33 there are people like Warren and Jesse who will continue to dig for a living.
17:40 Until next Thursday, I am Mackie Pulido.
17:46 I am Giga Manikad and this is the new decade of Reporters Notebook.
17:51 [Music]
17:54 [Music]
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