Waway drives people around in his red pedicab. He rents it from a pedicab operator for P35.00/day.
He was introduced by a landlord when we moved in to the compound. I was wary of him because he was so skinny, dark and he smelled. He looked like a pot-smoking hobo in pedicab. He still does.
I took this picture a year ago
for a personal project. He was very self-conscious when I asked to take his
picture. My husband and I just got back from a morning appointment and we were
in a hurry to get back home. It was a very hot, glaring day.
Before
getting off the tricycle I asked my husband if it was appropriate for me to be taking Waway’s
picture. We were a few meters away from the compound and I could see Waway lazing in his pedicad parked at the gate. He said I should take
Waway’s picture. It may be the only picture I’d take of him. When we got off,
there were no tenants around.
“’Way, I’d
take your picture.”
“Now?” He straightened his body, surprised.
“Yes, now.”
“Okay.”
He failed at faking confidence. 10 seconds it took to adjust
my camera.
The midday
sun was too bright and for split second i thought of cancelling it.
If people
without homes in first world countries live in their cars, Waway lives in his
pedicab, or at least that’s what most people said about him. They said he was from Aklan. They said he came to Iloilo in the 90's. He doesn't bathe. He wears the same set of
clothes every single day, until they're not fit to be worn anymore. He smokes
menthol cigarettes and never drives right after eating, also, when there is a
Pacquiao fight. He never seems to get sick. He uses a tattered cap to protect his head.
We have a
handful of caps that the boys at home do not use. And clothes that Waway could
use. But I don’t think he wants people to feel sorry for him.
One weekend afternoon, arriving from art class, I told
him I already have a print of his photo. He just smiled and said, “Do I look
handsome?”
“Of course,
you do.”
And he went
to pick up a hailing passenger.
