Worker from Masbate and 16 others spent holidays in Iloilo City after being stuck
ILOILO CITY – A worker from Masbate named Allan Lachica has been stuck for almost a week at the Ceres bus terminal in Jaro.
On Facebook, a certain Maxine Louise Feranil shared her encounter with Lachica. According to her, she met him at the terminal while asking for his assistance to guide her as she parked her car. When she gave him 50 pesos, Allan said that it was too big for him to receive. Instead, he asked if she had anything smaller since he would only use it to buy rice for his friends. When Maxine told him that she had no change left, Allan thanked her and cried.
Allan went on to share that he and 16 others have been stuck in Iloilo for six (6) days now. Apparently, they spent their Christmas, particularly Noche Buena, in the Ceres bus terminal waiting for an update from the contractor with whom they’ve worked for five (5) months.
Unfortunately, the company did not compensate them for their job. During the day, they would walk around asking people for change to buy food. When asked for a contact number for his family, he said he doesn’t have one since they sold their photos so that they could cross from Negros to Iloilo.
Allan shared that he has seven (7) children waiting for him. Every day before twilight, they transfer to Ceres Terminal in Tagbak where they will sleep on the floor with hungry stomachs, just to wake up again the next day, worrying about what to do in an unfamiliar city.
According to Maxine, Allan doesn’t speak Hiligaynon because he’s Bisaya, but he communicates in Tagalog so people can understand him. Maxine said Allan is polite, not rude, and not aggressive.
As per Iloilo Metropolitan Times, Maxine gave him extra money; however, it wouldn’t last a day. In her post, the uploader said that no one should experience such hardships, especially during the holidays. In the comment section of her post, netizens called the attention of the local government and civic groups to help Allan and his fellow workers.