Struggling to make ends meet, Lorraine Empire traded a pair of Nike shoes for a fully clothed bird at an online barter site, one of dozens that emerged from virus closures in the Philippines.
With millions of others stripped of their jobs and many forced to stay home to slow the spread of coronavirus, Filipinos have flocked to Facebook teams to exchange products, add kitchen appliances, children’s toys, and designer bags, basically for food.
“It’s so hard those days. You don’t know where to find the cash to pay the supermarket bills,” said Imperio, a mother of two whose husband works part-time at a doughnut shop in Manila.
His hours were reduced because of the pandemic and he earns only about 9,000 pesos ($ 185) per month, part of which is used to pay the rent of the apartment of the circle of relatives.
Filipinos flock to barter teams on Facebook, where they exchange goods like clothes and toys for food Photo: AFP / Maria TAN
Online bartering teams provided a lifeline for Empires and other Filipinos hard hit by months of virus restrictions that began in March and plunged the economy into a deep recession.
At least 98 groups, some with tens of thousands of members, operate in the archipelago, according to an AFP count.
Almost all started the pandemic, as many Filipinos used the old business practice to feed their families.
The volume of Google searches in the Philippines for the keywords “barter” increased by 300% in May compared to April, according to iPrice Group in a recent study, as the blockages cut family budgets and made them difficult.
His research of 85 popular Facebook exchange groups, with more than two million members in total, revealed that food and other groceries were among the most sought-after items.
Millions of Philippine families starve after wasting their source of income due to Photo virus crisis: AFP/Maria TAN
People post images and specifications of the products they need to market, imply what they need, and then trade through the comments section.
After exchanging bottles he no longer needed, Empire traded a Ralph Lauren jacket and hoodie for six kilograms (13 pounds) of rice.
While Nike’s slip-on shoes were changed to a chicken, a pair had no buyers after 3 weeks.
“Old pieces are harder to sell,” the 28-year-old said.”With barter, it’s less difficult to turn them into food.”
Jocelle Batapa Sigue (second right) set up a bartering site to help others and how she was frustrated not to go shopping photo: Jocelle Batapa Sigue / Brochure
Jocelle Batapa Sigue started Bacolod’s barter community 4 months ago due to the frustration of not being able to buy and because of her preference for helping others.
Her husband had the only quarantine pass in the family, which other people had to bring as they left their houses from the closure.
“It’s hard for me to get what I have when I tell my husband to buy it,” said Sigue, who is a lawyer in the central city of Bacolod.
The organization has more than 230,000 members and more members enroll every day, he said.
He still estimates that thousands of pieces, from shampoo and birthday cakes to cell phones and eyeliners, replace his hands every day.
“Without the pandemic, I don’t think the barter net was popular,” he said.
An estimated 5.2 million Filipino families have experienced “hunger due to lack of food” at least once in the last 3 months, in just about six years, according to a survey conducted in early July through social weather stations.
But it’s not just other people who are losing cash who are trading their assets.
Others have the opportunity to dispose of assets they no longer want after quarantine measures have disrupted life in general.
Chona de Vega, 57, directly swapped her hair and kettle for a shopping bag and now plans to dispose of her iron.
“I don’t want it,” said De Vega, who lives in Manila and spends most of his time at home due to restrictions.
Charles Ramirez, who runs a barter of 14,000 members in the capital, said that a “large percentage” of his organization lived in poverty and most commonly demanded groceries.
“People realize that if they don’t have money, he’s accumulated a lot of curtain stuff (which they can exchange),” said Ramirez, who started his organization in May after wasting his job as a grocery wholesaler.
“It’s a miserable feeling, of course, having to give up the accumulated things just to survive.”