The SM Hunt

A security guard watching our every step, sweat dripping down our faces and our minds and bodies craving for rest. At a first glance, you may infer that we are going through a problem, but not that kind of problem you’re thinking right now. It’s not about breaking the law or anything. This was just about our group chasing SM employees. But to completely understand what we are trying to do, let me tell you first what lead to this activity.

Last week, our Fil 40 professor assigned group projects. Each designed to interview and target people who have gone or may be going  through rough patches and how they are dealing with it, specifically we are told to interview SM employees, comfort women and juveniles. Our group was assigned to interview SM employees about their life working for Henry Sy. My group mates and I created guide questions, planned the execution of the interview and agreed to meet in SM North that Saturday to carry on with the activity.

It was Saturday morning and all of us were there. We had papers, pens, two cameras, one tripod and one goal: to listen and hear what SM employees have to say. We were all set and ready to mingle. We decided to first start asking employees working in the supermarket. We approached a bagger and asked, “Kuya, pwede ka bang makausap nang saglit lang? Meron kasi sana kaming mga tanong tungkol sa pagtratrabaho mo dito sa SM. Ok lang ba?”He was shy and hesitant to answer at first. He then smiled and said, “Sorry, bawal kasi. Nagtratrabaho ako.” We replied, “Kuya, di pwede ka bang iinterview mamaya sa break mo?” He then stepped back and said, “Ummmm, may gagawin kasi ako sa break ko. Sorry!” He then left in a hurry. We then approached a customer service assistant and asked the same thing. But like the bagger, she too said that she was busy and apologized after. We asked 3 more people and all of them said no.

To our dismay, we went out of the supermarket and searched for other employees. And we thought of janitors so we went to comfort rooms. We went from one floor to the next to find a janitor. We couldn’t find anyone in the janitor’s room nor in the succeeding comfort rooms we went to. We wanted to look for other SM employees until we luckily found one in the ladies’ comfort room at the 3^rd level. We asked her the same thing. She said, “Sige, saglit lang ha” We then asked her if we could record this interview. She replied, “Basta wag yan lalabas sa TV ha, “We then said, “Oo naman ate, this is confidential. Sa atin lang ito” She then said yes and we started with the interview.

 We introduced ourselves to her. We told her that we were UP students conducting an interview for a requirement in one of our subjects in UP. We then greeted her and asked her how she was doing. We asked her about her children, her family and her status as a janitor.  Something intriguing during the interview, people passing by would always constantly look at us with curiosity as if we were celebrities but still we continued on with the interview. Then eventually we asked for more in depth questions about employment and problems she is currently facing. She first was hesitant to open up to us but eventually she expressed her concerns regarding the labor contractualization and minimum wage and how this impacts her family and herself as well.  We were so happy because she was able to vocalize herself. We then gave her a simple token for the interview. 

We were so grateful because we found one person wiling to engage in an interview and also to talk about concerns regarding the SM system. However, we were still looking for one person to interview so we decided to go back to the supermarket and try again our luck. We went to the back where employees enter and exit. But this time, we decided that only two people would go and ask since we thought that our failure of getting people to say yes was connected to the idea that a group of people can rattle them and make them hesitant. So I and my friend volunteered while others were at a distance.

My friend and I saw somebody went out, we carefully approached and asked her if she could answer some of our questions. But then we heard a loud yell, saying “Hooooy”. It was a security guard signaling us to get out. We stopped and went away. But as persistent as we were, we still went looking for someone a little further from the gate and out of the sight of the security guard. It was almost 30 minutes but no one entered nor leave the establishment.

So here we are sweating, perspiring and evading a security guard. We really wanted to give up and go home and continue on tomorrow until we saw a person leave. We calmly approached her and asked if she can answer a few of our questions. Like others, she was so shy and hesitant but I think our good looks and sweet charm made her say yes. The interview went smoothly like the first one. But we were so happy and astonished because she really was knowledgeable about the issue of labor contractualization and infringement benefits of employees. She really had striking comments, reactions and opinions on the SM system. After the interview, we thanked her and even hugged her and gave her a simple token. 

We went back to our group with all smiles and shouted, “Successss!” We ended the day with a prayer and a group hug and went our separate ways. This day was certainly a memorable one for me. This was my first time to conduct an informal interview as a UP student. All the sweat and fatigue were just small prices to pay for having an interaction like that. It was precious and a life changing one, my view on the whole world really changed.  Even though, we only had 5 to 10 minutes with them. I got a glimpse to be on the shoes of another person. UP makes you do crazy things but for a legitimate reason, just like chasing and begging SM employees. 

By : Benedict Guinto 
(Narration)

Sources (Photos):

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5v_bRqkr73gu8NzUeAGeGchueSVDYibYLCG0MxyyTd-TiwQtzpIR09s9oY03uJDU-vVlx8BU9YdxJEux0vNR_rdTQInaLcu-qd1qh0Eg4Hp8uFiKxqKHNcMwazuijBEXedq9GhqEwbDiH/s1600/SM+North+EDSA+-+North+Pole+%252848%2529.JPG