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Struggling to make ends meet, Lorraine Imperio traded in a pair of Nike slip-ons for a fully dressed chicken on an online bartering site, one of many that have emerged during virus shutdowns in the Philippines.
With millions stripped of their jobs and many forced to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Filipinos have flocked to Facebook groups to exchange their belongings, including kitchen appliances, children’s toys, and designer handbags, primarily for food.
“It’s so difficult these days. You don’t know where you’ll get the money to pay your grocery bills,” said Imperio, a mother of two whose husband works part-time at a donut shop in Manila.
His hours have been drastically reduced due to the pandemic and now he only earns about 9,000 pesos ($ 185) a month, half of which is used to pay the rent for the family’s apartment.
Online bartering groups have provided a lifeline to the Imperio and other Filipinos affected by the months-long virus restrictions that began in March and have plunged the economy into a deep recession.
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At least 98 groups, some with tens of thousands of members, are operating across the archipelago, according to an AFP tally.
Almost all of them started during the pandemic, as many Filipinos turned to the old business practice to feed their families.
Google search volume in the Philippines for the keywords “barter food” soared 300 percent in May from April, iPrice Group found in a recent study, as blockades squeezed family budgets and made travel difficult. .
Their analysis of 85 popular Facebook bartering groups, with more than two million members in total, found that food and other groceries were among the most sought after items.
People post photos and specs of the products they want to trade in, indicate what they want in return, and then negotiate through the comment section.
After successfully exchanging no longer needed baby bottles, Empire traded in a baby jacket and Ralph Lauren hoodie for 13 pounds of rice.
Struggling to make ends meet, Lorraine Imperio traded in a pair of Nike slip-ons for an entire dressed chicken on an online bartering site, one of many that have surfaced during the coronavirus lockdowns in the Philippines. [Maria Tan/AFP]
While the Nike slip-ons were traded in for a chicken, a second pair has had no buyers after three weeks.
“Old items are more difficult to sell,” said the 28-year-old. “With bartering, it is easier to turn them into food.”
Changing to survive
Jocelle Batapa Sigue launched Bacolod Barter Community four months ago out of the frustration of not being able to shop and a desire to help others.
Her husband had the family’s only quarantine travel pass, which people were required to carry when leaving their homes during the lockdown.
“It’s hard for me to get what I want when I tell my husband to buy it,” said Segu, who is a lawyer in the central city of Bacolod.
The group has more than 230,000 members and more are joining every day, he said.
It continues to estimate that thousands of items, from shampoo and birthday cakes to cell phones and eyeliner, change hands on its site daily.
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“Without the pandemic, I don’t think the barter community would be popular,” he said.
An estimated 5.2 million Filipino families experienced “hunger due to lack of food” at least once in the previous three months, the highest in nearly six years, a survey conducted in early July by pollster Social showed Weather Stations.
But it’s not just about cash-strapped people trading their belongings.
Others are taking the opportunity to dispose of goods they no longer need after quarantine measures disrupted normal life.
Chona de Vega, 57, traded in her hair straightener and electric kettle for a bag of groceries and now plans to ditch her straightener.
“It doesn’t work for me,” said De Vega, who lives in Manila and spends most of her time at home due to travel restrictions.
Charles Ramírez, who runs a 14,000-member barter site in the capital, said a “large percentage” of his group lives in poverty and mostly asks for food.
“People are realizing that even though they don’t have money, they have accumulated a lot of material things (that they can trade),” said Ramírez, who created his group in May after losing his job as a grocery wholesaler.
“It’s a depressing feeling, of course, having to let go of the things you’ve accumulated just to survive.”
