TANZA, Cavite — Bernardino Verdejo, 40, rises before dawn each day in his small home in Barangay Biga, Tanza, Cavite preparing for another long day of street vending.
“I need to reach the streets before the heat starts,” he said as he arranges boxes of mangoes, turnips and shrimp paste on his motorized fruit cart.
Verdejo earns between 500 and 1,000 pesos daily selling produce from his cart through the narrow, congested streets of this Cavite municipality. The income supports his wife and five children.
Each box is carefully positioned on the vehicle known locally as a “kolong-kolong,” a small motorized cart common among street vendors in the Philippines.
As he navigates traffic and heat, Verdejo said he thinks about his family’s future — his children completing their education, perhaps one starting a small business, and eventually finding some relief from financial hardship.
“If there’s something I can do for them, I’ll do it, no matter how difficult,” he said while maneuvering his cart through the streets.
The father of five said his daily routine represents more than just commerce. He views his work as demonstrating values of diligence, perseverance and integrity to his children.
“With every turn of the wheel, I carry not just mangoes and turnips, but hope, dreams and the love of an ordinary father working in a simple way,” Verdejo said.
His story reflects the experiences of many informal sector workers in Cavite and across the Philippines who support families through small-scale vending despite challenging conditions.
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