I did not originally plan to become a news writer or a member of the media. Instead, I dreamt of becoming a successful businessman or holding a high-ranking government position.

My mother is a person with a disability who has been a single mother since my father died when I was an infant.

She faced the daily challenges of poverty and discrimination due to her physical condition while raising my older brother and me.

To survive, we sold sweepstakes tickets and newspapers on the sidewalks of Baguio. My mother endured harsh weather, from the sun’s extreme heat to the cold Baguio rains. We often returned home as late as midnight after a full day of selling.

Our lives as vendors were made more difficult by city policies against ambulant vendors. We were treated as eyesores and seen as a disappointment to the city’s image as a famous tourist destination.

One day, while my mother was at our post, the police and barangay auxiliaries arrived and began seizing newspapers. They threw the papers into a patrol vehicle. My mother, who could not stand quickly, pleaded with them to stop because we would have to pay for any confiscated items.

She crawled to the back of the vehicle and held on to the rear as if to dear life, knowing we would have nothing to eat if the newspapers were taken. The officers could not pull her away, so they put her inside the vehicle and took her to the station. My brother and I could only cry as we followed them.

Series of pain

At the station, we found her still clutching the newspapers. A sympathetic officer eventually released the items to us.

That experience taught my brother and me to fight for our lives. Even though we struggled to find a better path, we were guided by our mother’s resilience and determination.