Withstanding the 2018 UP Shopping Center fire and barred streets during the pandemic, 46-year-old vendor, Nena Castillo shall face yet another hurdle, this time brought by a commercialized UP.
Like the sweet corn she sells, Nena welcomes each customer with an inviting warmth. When approached for an interview, without hesitation, she agreed to share her experience as a UP vendor. Reminiscing the days of yore, Nena sees UP not just as another means of capital but as her home.
Nearing the age of 50, Nena has only known UP. She helped her father, Pedro Kumprado, sell fishballs around campus as a child. Now with her own family, she has built a small sweet corn kiosk with her husband.
The Castillo family has long resided in the UP campus relying on hungry students roaming the then bustling UP Shopping Center. Granted a permit by UP, they were freely able to sustain themselves by creating a family business. However, after the fire that displaced the UP Shopping Center vendors, the Castillo kiosk was relocated to Ylanan Street.
“Dati pag may event diyan sa Bahay ng Alumni, nakakapagtinda kami diyan, kahit paano nakakasingit…sa ngayon talaga pinagbabawal [na],” she said.
Secluded is what Nena would use to describe the strictly designated areas assigned to them by UP. Aside from Area 2, spaces for students and vendors are decreasing on the campus, including their kiosk at Ylanan. As commercialization sinks its roots into campus territory, vendors are left struggling to make ends meet.
“Mabubulok po kami kapag itinago kami kung saang-saang lugar,” she said. Without the financial backing that well-known establishments have, Nena emphasized the unfair division of areas for vendors. They would be relocated away from places where they attracted too much attention from customers as part of UP’s decongestion effort.
Overcoming hurdles, Samahang Manininda sa U.P. Campus, Inc., which Nena is a member of, worked hand in hand with other sectors of the UP community to grant proper worker’s rights and protect businesses like the Castillo’s. Through the collective effort of maninindas and other sectors, they continue to fervently push against privatization asserting their authority as a part of UP’s culture and history.
“Sana po manatili ang mga lehitimong manininda ng UP. Sana po ay mabigyan ng karapatan na maayos na pwesto.” she said. As the season of giving nears, may their hopes not be discarded like husks of corn they tirelessly reap. ●
