The story of urban migration which led to tragedy.  

It was 2016 during the last term of the then Pres. Noynoy Aquino, when I was waiting for the Lumads  (Indigenous People) in front of De La Salle University that I noticed a man with a big tattered bag sitting under a waiting shed. 

He's about to eat his meal from styrofoam when saw me with my camera looking at him.  I greeted him and told him to proceed with his meal as I was only waiting for the protest rally to pass.  

After he was done eating I decided to have a chat with him.  He told me he's a carpenter from Bulan, Sorsogon, and he was looking for a job.  Then he became hesitant in answering my subsequent queries. He looked healthy in his clean clothes though it seems old due to the visible wear and tear.  I also noticed he seemed to be covering something in his upper wrist.  

A few moments later I saw the approaching Lumad rally. I took my leave and gave him 50 Pesos which he refused. But I urged him to take it for his transportation allowance in finding a job.  

Fast forward on May 12, 2018, while walking along Taft Avenue, I saw a man and a woman on an island under the LRT. The man looked familiar but I can't remember where I met him. I approached them and had a chat.  I asked if I can get closer to take some photos.  They agreed and the man helped me climb up to their place. I noticed the man's tattoo. "I was at "Munti" (parlance used to describe the National Penitentiary), Kuya, for a long time. 

It had been two years since I was released.  As I was taking photos of his tattoos, I asked him how he got incarcerated at National Bilibid Prison. 

"I was 15 years old when my uncle took me here in Manila to work at a construction site. When I was 18 years old, I had some savings and brought my youngest sister from the province to attend a high school here. It was a hard life in the province. Then one day at work I was fetched by my aunt and took me to a funeral home. I saw my sister's lifeless body.  She was raped by 3 men.  I wanted to die at that moment, but I wanted revenge. I was informed that the three rapists are relatives and were hiding in San Pedro. And what happened next was what I wanted. Then I was imprisoned for multiple murder. I was incarcerated for more than 20 years at NBP, and was transferred at  Iwahig Penal Farm in Palawan where I completed the rest of my prison term.”

I asked him what year he was released and if he was ever at Taft Ave. In front of DLSU.

 "It was you, Kuya! I was trying to remember where I saw you before. You gave me 50pesos then, didn't you?"   I was in near tears as I pity them. His look now is so different when I first saw him.  

"We collect recyclables from rubbish and that's how we survive.  There is nothing in Bulan to get back to."  

I learned that when I saw him in 2016 in front of DLSU, he just got off a boat from Palawan where he finished his prison term at Iwahig Penal Farm.

Oro Plata, Freelance Photojournalist, Street Documentarian, Adventure Cyclist, Landscape/ Travel/Street Photographer

Philippines