How much does a ‘basurero’ (garbage collector) earn from his job?
For 51-year-old Tatay Cristito Quimado, it is actually around Php500 per day – and he uses this money wisely to send his five kids to school! Last April, one of them graduated from college, and this superb dad could not help but cry over their collective success.
In a feature video on GMA Public Affairs’ #DigiDokyu, Tatay Cristito cried as he admitted that he tries his best to send his children to school because in his poverty, education is the only thing that he could ever give them as a form of inheritance.
Photo credit: GMA Public Affairs / YouTube
“Alas-tres pa lang ng umaga, namamasura na ang 51-anyos na si Tatay Cristito. Mahigit dalawang dekada na niya itong ginagawa hanggang sa nito lang Abril, napagtapos na niya ang anak sa kolehiyo! Maantig sa kanyang kuwento ng pagsusumikap at sakripisyo sa video na ito!” the video was captioned.
Poor as he might be, Tatay Cristito was proud that he was able to send his daughter, Jenny Rose Quimado, to college.
But Jenny Rose’s graduation isn’t the end of Tatay Cristito’s financial challenges as a dad because he still has to send the rest of his children to college as well.
“Sa awa ng Diyos, isa na ang napatapos ko. Apat pa. Hanggang malakas ako, pipilitin kong makatapos sila. Iyong pag-aaral nila, hindi ko pinababayaan kasi iyon lang ang ano [maibibigay] ko sa kanila, makatapos sila,” he added.
“Mahirap kasi marami akong anak, e. Pero kahit mahirap kinakaya ko. Minsan nga, wala kaming makain, e.”
Tatay Cristito admits to having mixed emotions every time he hears someone ask his children what their father did for a living; however, his children are always proud of his job!
“Pag tinatanong, ‘Ano’ng trabaho ng tatay mo?’ (Ang isasagot niya ay,) ‘Basurero.’ Hindi siya nahihiya,” he said.
Indeed, Jenny Rose is proud of her father.
“Proud ako kasi napagtapos niya ako sa pagbabasura niya and alam kong mapapagtapos niya rin ang mga kapatid ko,” she said.
“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa Diyos kasi siya iyong naging tatay ko. Kasi hindi naman po masama iyong trabaho niya at marangal po siya, kahit maliit po iyong kinikita niya, at least, wala po siyang ginagawang masama.”
Watch their story here: