Netizens are having a good laugh over the Tanduay Ice and various ‘pulutan’ placed on a ‘pabitin’ for a joint birthday party celebrated at Brgy. Gumian, Infanta Quezon.

L.A. Ruanto shared a photo of the unique pabitin, joking that of all the pabitins he had ever attended, this is the first time that he would really try his best to get some of the items – no matter what it takes!

The photo drew laughs from netizens as the pabitin had several bottles of Tanduay Ice of different colors and flavors, various pulutan such as roasted peanuts and chicharon, and even cooking items like bottles of vinegars and soy sauce. Have you ever seen anything like this pabitin?

This pabitin is definitely for adults only; though there are also packs of junk food that the kids might actually like to get as well. Obviously, it was geared for a much older group; though the pabitin is a popular game for children during birthday parties.

Considering that Ruanto is the Vice Mayor at the Municipal Government of Infanta, Quezon, many could just imagine him pushing everyone out of the way, to jokingly grab as many bottles as he can. LOL.

But while Ruanto appears to be excited over trying to get his hands on the Tanduay Ice on that pabitin, a lot of netizens were actually worried about what happened next. After all, Tanduay Ice bottles are made of glass – imagine just what might happen if those bottles drop to the ground or are squeezed by the people who would try to get as many as they can!

Some wise netizens said they would rather not join the pabitin game if the prizes are like this, as it might only get them hurt. Ouch. Would you do it?

What’s a Pabitin?

A pabitin is a popular Pinoy game during birthday parties and other fun parties for kids. Food, toys, and various stuff are placed on strings and placed on slats of wood, often bamboo. The pabitin is controlled by a rope to make it move down to the participants but moved up and out of their reach again. The game is fun.

It has long been a tradition in the Philippines for ‘ninongs’ and ‘ninangs’ to give gifts to their ‘inaanaks’ (godchildren) for Christmas and other special occasions, particularly on birthdays. But it has also been a long-standing joke that ‘ninongs’ and ‘ninangs’ hide from their ‘inaanaks’ during these occasions because they can’t give a gift.

One ‘ninang’ recently went viral for finding the perfect ‘life hack’ to not having money to give her ‘inaanaks’ – by drawing paper money that she plans to distribute to them this Christmas. LOL.

We aren’t so sure whether she is joking or not, but netizen MiMiHaizelle Joie Osaraga spent a lot of time making the drawings of the paper money, with bills ranging from Php20 to Php1,000!

Photo credit: MiMiHaizelle Joie Osaraga / Facebook

She even made the money look ‘close’ to the originals by copying features like the heroes on each bill, the appearance of the markings that show the bills’ value, and the increasing size of each bill’s serial numbers.

Of course, no ‘inaanak’ would be tricked into thinking these paper money bills are for real, but Osaraga had a rather important explanation for them.

“Mga inaanak pasensya na muna kayo eto lang na kayanan ni ninang wla crisis tayo kaya drawing nalang muna mahalaga nageffort si ninang magdrawing love kau ni ninang. Wag kayong malungkot ganyan din pera ko,” she posted with some laughing emojis and a peace sign.

A lot of netizens had a good laugh over the post, saying that this gave them an idea of what to do this Christmas! Instead of hiding from their godchildren, they would give them paper money, instead. Uh-oh…

Photo credit: Rosas Da Yanna / Facebook

But it turned out the drawing was originally done by netizen Rosas Da Yanna who posted the picture in September after jokingly asking friends whether they want to borrow some money from her.

What are Godchildren?

Godchildren are related to godparents after the latter stand as their second parents during a Christian baptism. While many see godparents as those who give gifts to their children, the real role of godparents is to be the second parents of their godchildren, guiding them in life.

A poor scavenger who only had her dogs as her treasures recently went viral for taking these precious pets along as she roams the city to look for recyclable trash. Netizens expressed love over the photo, saying that this old lady truly loves her pets.

On Facebook page Marikina News (the original), netizen Joyce Garban shared a photo of Nanay Marina Galiya as she pushes her makeshift bicycle cart filled with sacks and boxes of trash she collected around the city.

With that much stuff on her sidecar, Nanay Marina was having a difficult time pushing the vehicle along, but she plods on. Closely following Nanay Marina are two of her favorite pets, her dogs who loyally accompany her wherever she goes.

According to Joyce, she asked Nanay Marina why she brings the dogs along and was told that the old lady feels that the dogs would be lonely if they are left in the house.

When asked about her situation, Nanay Marina said that she’s alright but Joyce feels that it would be better if the old lady could find help to improve how she collects the trash she has to bring to the junk  shop. A cart she could push would have been better because this one offered her very limited view of the road.

Photo credit: Marikina News (the original) / Joyce Garban 

Joyce hopes that in sharing Nanay Marina’s story, the old scavenger could find the help she needed. Perhaps some netizens might be able to give the old lady a cart or possibly the mayor could provide her with another form of livelihood. At her age, it is difficult for her to walk so far to find trash that she could bring to the junk shop.

God bless, Nanay Marina.

What is a Junk Shop?

A junk shop is a shop that sells secondhand goods. In the Philippines, however, this is also the shop that accepts recyclable materials from scavengers. Often, the scavengers are paid by kilogram of trash they are able to collect.