Gaining wisdom from taho vending
October 10, 2005 | 12:00am
Cebuanos' fondness of its very own delectable native delicacies has unknowingly fed a person's family for the past three years. This person's hardworking nature has granted him the name as the "Midas of Lahug."
Tomas Abanid, (age withheld), endures the scorching heat of the sun in his daily quest for gold while offering us a glass filled with liquid gold: the uniquely sweet taho, pegged only at P5 per cup.
Manong Tomas has been working as a taho vendor for three years, and he has grown to love this job making a commitment to himself of not ever exchanging taho vending to any other forms of livelihood.
"Hangtud sa hangtud na ning akong pagpanginabuhi ani ( I will have this work forever)," he confided.
Proof to this is his rejection to the idea of having another type of employment in place of taho selling, like construction work.
"Ah, dili gyud ko musukol anang trabahua. Diri na lang ko aning akong pagpaninda ( I would never indulge myself into such kind of job, I'd rather stick to my selling job)," he hastily replied.
His daily income ranges from P200 to P300. This is a lot bigger compared to what a construction worker earns who only gets a daily minimum wage of P150, with transportation and food expenses still to be deducted.
His salary, he shares, is already enough, in fact even bigger than how much he used to receive three years ago for his family's daily budget. It still does not include the additional income from his wife whose business is into repacking dried goods, vegetables and spices.
He started selling taho when he came across a taho factory in Sudlon, Lahug. From then on, he became a taho vendor/dispatcher for that factory. At the factory are workers who cook the ingredients of the taho. Dispatchers like him then get the taho from there and sell it in their areas.
In the factory where Abanid is working, instead of rainwater, boiled tap water is used for cooking soy bean curd (the semi-solid white part of taho.)
In the factory, only the curd gets cooked for free. The dispatchers have to buy their own plastic cups. The sago (the processed ball shaped buli plant product) is sold at P5 a glass. Molasses still has to be cooked by boiling red sugar.
As for Manong Tomas, he cooks the molasses and buys the glasses first before going to the factory for the soybean curd and sago.
His wandering starts approximately at 6 am, starting from Lahug to Country Mall, then Banilad, Wireless, Mabolo, then back to Lahug. Sometimes, he takes a jeepney to get to a place earlier. On some days, he hikes and saves the fare money.
"Diri nimo masugamakan ang mabasa sa ulan, ang hapit madisgrasya ug ang maslide sa paglakaw. Kung bag-o ka maglisud pa sad ka ug dispatsar (Here you'll encounter a lot of hazards such as getting soaked in the rain or slip while walking. And at first it is hard to dispatch the taho).
Nevertheless, he still likes his job because he works for eight hours only as the curd curdles beyond this period.
"Dali-dalion sad na nimo ug paninda kay mukun-od man gud na siya (we have to sell the taho before it shrinks)," he furthered.
His slowest days are Fridays, where he earns at P300 to P400. Better days are on Saturdays, when he can get P500 to P600 for collecting his customer's payments.
Although he gets to see and meet a lot of people, he never really gets close to any of them, even his loyal customers. He's only familiar with the faces, not with the names.
"Magdali man gud ka ug apas sa imong schedule kay mudumdum man na ang imong mga suki (I move quickly on schedule, as loyal customers are waiting)," he explained.
His day ends at 4 pm. When he is lucky, he ends at 12 noon. He then returns to the factory where he gives a daily standard remittance of P250. The rest is the profit.
"Mao nang maninguha jud ka nga makakwarta kay mahalinan man ka o dili, P250 gyud ang makuha sa imong kita (you have to work hard because your daily remittance is P250, regardless of sales.)"
He then rests after walking around to be ready for the next day. When he ends at 12 noon, he spends the free hours helping his wife.
Asked if he ever gets bored or tires with his work and these slippery accidents in the rain, he answered:
"Ang mutan-aw sa among trabaho, makahunahuna na laay siya, duol sa disgrasya, kapoy. Mga tamad ra na sila, kay kung buot hunahunaon, wa man gyuy trabaho nga dili kapoy. Dili man gyud ta makakwarta kun magpuyo lang ta. Dili gud na muduol nimo (Those who say that this kind of work is boring, dangerous or tiring are lazy. One has to move around to look for his money. The work will not seek you out.)"
With this kind of perseverance, look how much gold this Midas has got. His gold does not amount to material substance, but rather, on loads of wisdom.
Tomas Abanid, (age withheld), endures the scorching heat of the sun in his daily quest for gold while offering us a glass filled with liquid gold: the uniquely sweet taho, pegged only at P5 per cup.
Manong Tomas has been working as a taho vendor for three years, and he has grown to love this job making a commitment to himself of not ever exchanging taho vending to any other forms of livelihood.
"Hangtud sa hangtud na ning akong pagpanginabuhi ani ( I will have this work forever)," he confided.
Proof to this is his rejection to the idea of having another type of employment in place of taho selling, like construction work.
"Ah, dili gyud ko musukol anang trabahua. Diri na lang ko aning akong pagpaninda ( I would never indulge myself into such kind of job, I'd rather stick to my selling job)," he hastily replied.
His daily income ranges from P200 to P300. This is a lot bigger compared to what a construction worker earns who only gets a daily minimum wage of P150, with transportation and food expenses still to be deducted.
His salary, he shares, is already enough, in fact even bigger than how much he used to receive three years ago for his family's daily budget. It still does not include the additional income from his wife whose business is into repacking dried goods, vegetables and spices.
He started selling taho when he came across a taho factory in Sudlon, Lahug. From then on, he became a taho vendor/dispatcher for that factory. At the factory are workers who cook the ingredients of the taho. Dispatchers like him then get the taho from there and sell it in their areas.
In the factory where Abanid is working, instead of rainwater, boiled tap water is used for cooking soy bean curd (the semi-solid white part of taho.)
In the factory, only the curd gets cooked for free. The dispatchers have to buy their own plastic cups. The sago (the processed ball shaped buli plant product) is sold at P5 a glass. Molasses still has to be cooked by boiling red sugar.
As for Manong Tomas, he cooks the molasses and buys the glasses first before going to the factory for the soybean curd and sago.
His wandering starts approximately at 6 am, starting from Lahug to Country Mall, then Banilad, Wireless, Mabolo, then back to Lahug. Sometimes, he takes a jeepney to get to a place earlier. On some days, he hikes and saves the fare money.
"Diri nimo masugamakan ang mabasa sa ulan, ang hapit madisgrasya ug ang maslide sa paglakaw. Kung bag-o ka maglisud pa sad ka ug dispatsar (Here you'll encounter a lot of hazards such as getting soaked in the rain or slip while walking. And at first it is hard to dispatch the taho).
Nevertheless, he still likes his job because he works for eight hours only as the curd curdles beyond this period.
"Dali-dalion sad na nimo ug paninda kay mukun-od man gud na siya (we have to sell the taho before it shrinks)," he furthered.
His slowest days are Fridays, where he earns at P300 to P400. Better days are on Saturdays, when he can get P500 to P600 for collecting his customer's payments.
Although he gets to see and meet a lot of people, he never really gets close to any of them, even his loyal customers. He's only familiar with the faces, not with the names.
"Magdali man gud ka ug apas sa imong schedule kay mudumdum man na ang imong mga suki (I move quickly on schedule, as loyal customers are waiting)," he explained.
His day ends at 4 pm. When he is lucky, he ends at 12 noon. He then returns to the factory where he gives a daily standard remittance of P250. The rest is the profit.
"Mao nang maninguha jud ka nga makakwarta kay mahalinan man ka o dili, P250 gyud ang makuha sa imong kita (you have to work hard because your daily remittance is P250, regardless of sales.)"
He then rests after walking around to be ready for the next day. When he ends at 12 noon, he spends the free hours helping his wife.
Asked if he ever gets bored or tires with his work and these slippery accidents in the rain, he answered:
"Ang mutan-aw sa among trabaho, makahunahuna na laay siya, duol sa disgrasya, kapoy. Mga tamad ra na sila, kay kung buot hunahunaon, wa man gyuy trabaho nga dili kapoy. Dili man gyud ta makakwarta kun magpuyo lang ta. Dili gud na muduol nimo (Those who say that this kind of work is boring, dangerous or tiring are lazy. One has to move around to look for his money. The work will not seek you out.)"
With this kind of perseverance, look how much gold this Midas has got. His gold does not amount to material substance, but rather, on loads of wisdom.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
- Latest
- Trending
Trending
Latest
Trending
Recommended
June 28, 2026 - 12:00am
19 hours ago
1 day ago
June 26, 2026 - 12:00am