DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 Aug) — Afternoons pass as usual, jeepneys rumbling and people hurrying by. Yet at around 2:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday, colorful macramé wallets, tumbler holders, and sling bags are carefully arranged on the pavement along Quirino Avenue, just beside Davao Doctors Hospital. Their bright cords shaped into famous characters like Kuromi and SpongeBob stand out against the grey concrete. 

Sitting beside the display is 74-year-old Emerberto Bongabong, breadwinner for a growing family of 12 who stitches these products by hand. 

Emerberto’s hands move with steady rhythm each time someone stops to look at his display. Every piece is carefully crafted at his home in Barangay 8-A, Father Selga St. The cords he uses come from a store he fr equents at San Pedro St., where he buys rolls of Japanese-made thread for ₱35 each. 

One roll suffices for a small wallet, but detailed cartoon faces demand more thread and countless stitches. 

Emerberto, who accommodated MindaNews for an interview at his display area last Saturday, said he’s been making bags and belts since 2016. “At first, I didn’t have many character designs. If there were any, they were just simple ones like SpongeBob or Angry Birds. The more detailed designs came from what my wife and children showed me on their cellphones,” he said in the vernacular.

He started selling his crafts years ago outside a pharmacy behind Davao Doctors Hospital, where a roof sheltered him from sun and rain. But in 2018, security personnel asked him to move, so he shifted to a nearby sidewalk beside the hospital, enduring the heat but happy with the passing crowds.

Emerberto’s wife and children help manage the small business, assisting in arranging the items and encouraging him as he moves from one spot to another along the roadside. Their support, he said, has been vi tal, especially as his health has declined over recent years.

He survived two strokes, in 2018 and 2019, which left lasting effects on his mobility. What used to be a 10-minute walk from his home to his spot now stretches to 20 minutes due to aching knees and declining health. On tougher days, he takes a motorcycle ride, spending ₱30 to 50 to reach his selling spot.

“Our earnings from Tuesday to Friday are just enough to get by,” Emerberto admitted. “Sometimes, it’s still not enough, especially when my child needs extra money for dialysis. That’s why I keep working here, doing what I can to help provide food and buy our medicines,” he added.

Each sale on the busy sidewalk helps cover daily meals and the mounting costs of medicine his family cannot avoid. Though the dialysis treatments are supported by PhilHealth, the additional expenses for medicines weigh heavily on their limited income.

The earnings are modest. A typical day would mean ₱300 in profit. Still, they help cover essential expenses, from food on the table, medicine for his child’s dialysis, and sometimes a small saving for emergencies.

He begins his day early, stitching wallets at home late into the night. 

“We spend half a day making these because we still have to add the eyes, nose, and mouth. There are no machines involved; everything is done by hand. We hang the cords on a bench and work with our hands from there,” Emerberto noted.

Each wallet takes hours to complete, with intricate designs requiring up to half a day. Emerberto carefully pulls the cords, threading his needle repeatedly to shape the detailed patterns that draw customers’ eyes. The work is entirely manual, painstaking, and repetitive, without any machinery to ease the process.

His wife Lerma, 65, manages their Facebook page, which has attracted 9,700 likes and 11,000 followers. Through this page, they sometimes accept orders, reaching customers beyond their sidewalk.

Since managing their Facebook page, the family has seen growing interest beyond their usual customers. Occasional online orders help boost income and spread awareness of their craft.

Local netizens often share posts about Emerberto’s work with the most recent one by a netizen named Mildder Naleur receiving thousands of reactions and over 1,200 shares, spreading support widely. 

“This has become quite popular, has even gone trending [on social media]. Some people buy out of pity. There was someone from Manila who bought and said, ‘Let’s buy from Tatay to help him and his child who is on dialysis,’” Emerberto  shared. 

Despite the sympathy and support, Emerberto emphasized they do not want handouts. “We don’t want pity, we want help to grow our business,” he said.

He dreams of expanding the business, teaching younger family members the craft, and perhaps one day opening a small shop.

For now, he continues to sew, quietly providing for those he loves, one knot at a time. (Alyssa Ilaguison / MindaNews)