Examining the lived experiences of food peddlers in Iloilo City in the time of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the social, political, and economic conditions of the Filipinos. For food peddlers in Iloilo City, whose businesses thrive in densely populated areas, the onset and continuation of the pandemic negatively affected their livelihood due to the restrictions and lockdowns. To better understand the situation of food peddlers in Iloilo City, this paper documents the lived experiences of food peddlers during the pandemic. The study utilized Key Informant Interviews to gather the following data: occupational changes in relation to the city’s quarantine status, daily sustenance, and provision of pertinent support from government and non-government organizations which were further analyzed using Colaizzi’s Seven Step Descriptive Phenomenological Approach. The study showed that the food peddlers in Iloilo City have similar challenges and coping strategies during COVID-19. Food peddlers face decreasing income resulting to the difficulty in sustaining their livelihood and providing for the various needs of the family, health risks, and insufficiency of support from government. They then resort to pangutang (borrowing) and taking on sideline jobs to cope with the challenges. The study concludes that many of the food peddler’s struggles are caused by their monetary problems which were worsened by the pandemic. A sustainable livelihood program is thus recommended to alleviate the lives of the food peddlers to sustain their needs with or without crisis.