Away from home

Most overseas foreign workers are absent for the entire holidays.

Jack Esteban, a seaman for 10 years, is currently navigating the Indian Ocean aboard a cargo ship with his contract ending May next year. He said that their crew, mostly Filipinos, will still celebrate inside their floating workstations.

Because of the amount of time being in a ship isolated in the middle of the vast ocean, Esteban reiterated the importance of camaraderie among crewmates, which makes celebrating Christmas and New Year bearable.

"Being a seaman is enjoyable, but it depends on who will be working onboard. It could be hard to socialize with them at first, but it depends on your personality. As long as there's camaraderie, we could be able to spark a friendship within the crew," he said.

Through technology, Esteban said they are still able to communicate with their loved ones regularly but to make up for lost time, they usually go out of town whenever they return home.

"Constant communication is something that should not be lost on us, especially since her birthday is also in December. My wife also tends to wait for fare promos for our out-of-town and international trips. This is how we get to make up for the times we're not together on holidays," he explained.

On the streets

Informal workers also try to earn for the holidays, including Ramil, a transport barker in Malabon City. He gets collections and tips from passengers apart from what he receives from drivers.

Holding a slightly worn shoebox with a "Merry Christmas" greeting, Ramil said they hope to earn extra to bring home to their respective families.He said that they are doing this to increase their earnings on their barking jobs.

"We hope that we could earn more, depending on whether they could give us something or depending on the number of passengers we could call," Ramil said.

He explained the other burden of being a barker in the area – having to deal with 'buwayas' or jeepney drivers who are "stealing" passengers from other routes who pass by their terminal

Earning Php. 200 on regular days, Ramil said that he wants to make use of their earnings on Christmas to bring food to the table and gifts for the family.

A new schedule

Meanwhile, Bernadette Torres' Christmas duty will be different, as she'll be working through the day as opposed to the past 10 years of working overnight during the Holidays.

Working in the Business Process Outsourcing in what she describes as a "security guard, human resources officer and accounting officer at the same time," Torres explained that she had to deal with the idea of working on holidays and greeting customers while her family has been resting from the celebrations.

However, Torres has been working from home since the Covid-19 Pandemic, making her available at home for the holidays. With her new schedule, she believes that she could be much more available for the holidays with her family.

"Previously, my work schedule was from the evening up to the early morning. This will be the first time that I'll be working on Christmas with this schedule," she explained.

Torres said that she usually requests a one to two-week leave after the holidays and returns home to their province to spend time with her family and take some rest. She also has to work during her mother's birthday, which falls three days after Christmas..

"What I do is that, using my 13th month pay, I remember giving her a big television set. Last year, using my leave, we went out swimming," Torres recalled.