While much of the country was tuned in to the President’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA), ice cream vendor Robert Monterde found a different reason to be thankful on Monday — a spike in sales thanks to the early morning crowd of protesters and rallyists.

Monterde, who usually sells his ice cream in the area of Philcoa along Commonwealth Avenue near the Elliptical Road, told the Daily Tribune that unlike an ordinary day, his ice cream cart was half empty before noontime Monday.

"Marami ang nakabili agad. Mga kasama sa rally, kaya paubos na rin halos ang tinda ko (Many people bought right away—mostly those who joined the rally—so my goods are almost sold out)," he told DAILY TRIBUNE.

"Buti may SoNA, kung di, ang simpleng araw ng Lunes na ganito eh aabutin na ako ng hapon di pa ubos nang ganito ang ice cream ko (Good thing there’s a SoNA—if there wasn’t, on an ordinary Monday like this, it would’ve taken me until the afternoon and my ice cream still wouldn’t be sold out like this)," Monterde explained.

He pointed out that he does not care about or even know what the SoNA is all about. He stressed in Filipino that "Pinoys" like him are concerned about their survival.

"Kailangan naming buhayin ang aming mga sarili, ang aming mga pamilya at pag-aralin ang aming mga anak, para di danasin ang hirap na aming dinaranas (We need to sustain ourselves, support our families, and send our children to school—so they won’t have to go through the hardship we’re experiencing now)," the ice cream cart vendor said.

He, however, boasted that with his perseverance and hard work, he now has three ice cream carts. He hired his two jobless kumpares and taught them how to vend their stuff.

"At least, marangal ang aming pamumuhay, at hanap-buhay, wala kaming tinatapakang kapwa Filipino, o ninanakawan (At least our way of living and livelihood is honest—we don’t step on our fellow Filipinos or steal from anyone)," Monterde pointed out.