As long as you’re a good person, something will happen to someone who is so beautiful and also sells trash.  You know what people are going through is terrible and I hope we appreciate them and I hope we can appreciate our lives more. But Kuya Elmer is the one who still smiles despite the hardships of his life, the hardships of his situation.

And I saw that even when there was no fish left, he still smiled because I don’t know what a strong person he is. The fact that he didn’t know me before , I just made coffee. He didn’t hesitate. He actually invited me into his house.  This is his hardship.  And then what’s really mine is the house.  He doesn’t have a house. I really think about his six children.

She still has a 4 month old baby living there.   How pitiful! His only dream is to have the vote so he can have a livelihood.  And when we asked how much the vote was, it was 100,000.  So I want to thank you, brother Elmer, for letting me try it and showing me what you do every day, fishing, and ah, I saw how difficult it is, brother, it’s really difficult being a sailor because we can’t tell if it’s really a one-hit wonder and then it’s a mayo.

But is that true, brother?  Even if you don’t have anything, you still smile.  Oh, of course you’re not sad, you’re just having fun.  Oh, why did you give me coffee earlier? Mine is that I just can’t be liked by them, when someone asks for help I can’t be liked by anyone.  Is that all?  What exactly is your province?  Mindanao, please.  Mindanao.

When was the last time you returned to Mindanao?   You have n’t been home since your parents were gone.  Two. What is the biggest savings you have made ?  Last time I saved 500. That’s a lot for me.  I want to say that you are a very good person.  Oh, thank you very much.  Ah, this is one of the things I will treasure for the rest of my life.

The experience you gave me.  What you taught me.  And I asked you, what is your dream?  That’s it, let’s go.  I have a gift of Php1,000. Thank you, brother.  Thank you, thank you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I would like to thank you for your help and for giving me my long-held dream, which I spent 25 years trying to find a living just so I could buy my own livelihood for my family.  That’s all.

Buy some boots.  When will you buy?  Ah, maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to go around our neighborhood to see where the poetry comes from.  I’m looking for an aroma.  I’ll show you what I gave away as leftovers to buy food for a living.  I know that, brother, and I know that.  Yes.  And then you know. I promise you that you will see what you have given me, and my dream is that this day will come.

Brother, you’re making me cry.  Of course, if I can’t buy it without you, because after 25 years of trying to save up, I can’t buy something like this. If I see this much money, I’ll spend it with my whole heart so that I can have a nice, comfortable place for my children to be happy, even if it’s a mattress.  Yes.

Because of course you can see our bike is just a patchwork.  I hope, Lord, that my sister gave this to me.  Thank you. Thank you, brother.  Thank you.  Thank you. I really feel like we really came together .  The Lord is right, brother.  Thank you, sister Abana.  Thank you, my colleagues, and whoever is my sister’s colleague, thank you all.

This is my dream, to be able to hold onto this and buy a living for my family.  Thank you .  Hello.  10,100.  Thank you. Their food is okay.  I wanted to treat them and I was so touched when they told me about their first time eating at a restaurant.  Even for my brother Bito, who is 61 years old, this is his first time seeing their smiles, and his heart is filled with joy.

Eh yeah yeah… Oh, I need to see it. Okay, I need to see it live in person. This is how it goes. Eh yeah yeah… There. And then you sway your hips like this. Just like this. -Oh, there we have it. -Just do it like this. Yes! Something happened to your father. -That changed your family’s life, right? -Yes. My father and I used to eat bananas for breakfast.

And then we’ll have sweet potatoes for lunch. That used to be our only food. That used to be our lives in the mountain. I am getting emotional. Because I can’t hold off my emotions when my family is involved. Oh, my God. But it’s okay. Lord, please give me just one month to come out of poverty. So I can help my father, nephews, and nieces out of poverty.

I only asked for one month. But the Lord generously blessed me. He has already blessed me for more than a year. The Lord blessed me so much. Elias! -Hi! -Hello! -Nice to meet you. -Hi, nice to meet you. Are you the wife of Elias? Hello. -Hello, nice to meet you. -Hello. You’re still young. -Oh my! -Yes, I’m just 25 years old.

You were born in the new millennium. -Right? -Yes. In 2000. Yes, 2000. Wow! You are still very young. Your story is amazing, isn’t it? Technically, you started in 2021, right? Yes, in 2021. -And you became viral in 2024. -Mhmm. And then it continued from then on. Many beautiful things happened in your life after that.

Yes. But you also went through a lot during childhood. -Are you really from North Cotabato? -Mhmm, I’m really from North Cotabato. You were born and raised there. What do your mother and father do for a living? My father was just a farmer. And my mother was also just a farmer. Farmers. Not “just” because without farmers we would have nothing to eat.

-Right? -That’s true. My father planted something, and that is why I can eat now. That’s true. And they are the living proof that when you sow You will reap. That’s right. But something happened to your father. -That changed the life of your family. -Mhmm. -Right? -Yes. That time when he shot his own eye. Because during that time, my father was hunting.

-He was hunting… -So he really owns a gun? He has a makeshift gun. But the bullet he uses are small lead pieces. Mhmm. And when he shot the bird, it didn’t go off. So, he took a look at the gun. And then it went off even if he didn’t pull the trigger. That’s why he shot his own eye. After that, he went home.

And I was still young that time. I was just 4 years old that time. But I could never forget it because his one eye was completely damaged. There was blood all over his body. How was he brought to the hospital? My uncles gathered bamboo sticks. They set up a hammock between the bamboo sticks. And they let my father get on it.

The hospital was far away from our house. -Oh no. -Yes. The nearest hospital that time was in Davao. And there was no hospital in Kidapawan yet that time. Hospitals are far away from us. And my father stayed at the hospital for 3 months. And we sold all of our properties. We sold all of our animals. And during that time, my mom thought of working abroad.

She told us, “I’ll work abroad so we can get out of this poverty.” Because we have nothing left. And the doctor advised my father not to work for 2 years. And when my mother went to work abroad, it took several months for her to send us money. So, my father needed to go back to work because we only eat bananas for breakfast during that time.

And then we eat sweet potatoes for lunch. That’s all we eat. We eat rice about six times a week. Just six times. And it’s not much. We turn it into porridge. So we can eat as much. And after eating, we drink water. That’s our life in the mountain. It’s making me cry. Because when it comes to family I can’t hold off my feelings.

Oh, my God. But it’s okay. Because if you look back to when you were 5 or 6 years old those are the memories that a child can never forget. Yes. Because now that you are already 25 years old that you are already in a good state in life compared to when you were 5 or 6 years old that’s when it makes you emotional.

-It’s like, “I have come so far already.” -So far. -Compared to, “We find it hard to find food every day.” -Yes. -So, your meals in a week didn’t have any viand? -No, nothing. My father and I just used salt as our viand that time. Salt and soy sauce. And if there is oil available, we mix it in. Oil, soy sauce and salt.

So our rice will taste good. But if you look back to that moment, does it make you cry? For sure. Because that was a very difficult time for us. That was the most difficult time of our lives. -A time in your life that you were really struggling. -We struggled so much that time. -And I was still young that time.

-And do you know why it makes you cry? Your mother was not around. That’s true. My mother was not around and it’s hard to grow up without a mother. Whenever I leave the house and go to the other house I can see a complete family. Their family is complete. And when they have a party, they looked so happy. -Their mother and father were there. -Yes.

They are all complete during New Year and Christmas. And it makes me question, “Why is my mother not here? Why won’t she come home?” Since it’s Christmas now, I hope she can also come home so that our Christmas and New Year will be complete too. My mother has been gone for 17 years, leaving our family incomplete for Christmas and New Year’s.

-17 years? -Yes. -17 years since your mom left you. -Yes. And you didn’t celebrate Christmas with her. -Your birthday. -Yes, my birthday. New Year She wasn’t around. Even your graduation? Yes even my graduation. Even during your studies. She wasn’t around. And you didn’t have— -Nothing. We didn’t have… -Communication.

We cannot contact her because we didn’t have a phone in the mountain. No electricity. Gas lamp was our only source of light in the farm. And you also don’t know what your mom was going through. -Yes, we also don’t know her stituation there. -You don’t know her situation. So you had to start working at a young age.

I started working when I was young. If our neighbor needed some help planting rubber tree, banana tree or anything they needed in the mountain, I do those. At 5, 6 years old? Yes. You already did that? Yes but it wasn’t that hard since I was still really young that time. Our neighbor told me, “Just do whatever you can do and I will still pay you for it.

” “So that you can have money to buy food.” How much do you earn from that? Just 150 pesos. And when I get to school I’m the only one who didn’t have food for recess. And during recess, all of my classmates were eating. I was the only one who wasn’t eating. And all of their clothes were all nice, and mine wasn’t.

During lunch, I don’t eat with them because all of their lunches were delicious and mine was just corn with salt. So, if I saw a tree, I’d climb up and eat on top of it. So that they won’t see my lunch. That was my life. To be honest, I didn’t want to study anymore. I would prioritize working instead so that I can always buy food.

But there was a time where our neighbor gave us jobs the sun was scorching hot that day while I was working and then I suddenly collapsed. When I woke up, I realized that I really needed to finish my studies because I don’t want to grow old doing that forever. And I told myself that I need to persevere. So that I can help my father out of poverty as well.

-And also my- -You did great because you graduated in Criminology. Yes, I graduated in Criminology. But I wasn’t able to pursue it as work because -Because you were brought to a different path. -Yes, and during that time… -Of your life. -Yes. Because during that time, I was about to review for the board exam and the review center was already paid but my heart and mind told me not to do it since I cannot pass the exam anyway.

-Ah. -That’s why I didn’t go through with it. Or maybe something tells you that your destiny will be different. That you will do a Philippine and World Tour instead. That is your destiny to pursue. But imagine that? Your life story is something we only watch in movies and TV shows. -Yes. -But that was your life as a child.

But you know? That made you stronger. That prepared you for where you are right now. Yes but even if life was hard back then, I didn’t stop praying. I even told God that “Lord, give me just one month to help my family out of poverty.” “So that I can also help my father, nephews and nieces out of poverty.

” I only asked for one month. But the Lord generously blessed me with so much. I have been blessed for more than a year now. The Lord has been giving me so much blessings. He really listens to our prayers, right? Yes. And always have self-confidence. Yes and hardwork. And one of your answered prayers was for your mother to return home.

Yes. After 17 years of working. I told her, “Maybe you can come home already because I can already provide for you.” “You have sacrificed enough for us. I’ll be the one to provide for you now.” That’s why I told her to come home and I sent her money. This is for your ticket, just come home, and I’ll be okay.

Our family will finally be complete. I’ll be okay. How was your first encounter with your mother? -When I saw her… -After 17 years! -You were 5 years old the last time you saw her. -Yes. When I saw my mother, I cried so hard. I was very happy. I said, “This is it. My family is complete.” This thing you do, performing on stage with a lot of fans was this your dream? No.

My dream is to work only. I also didn’t expect for this to happen. It just did. So, your dream was just for your life to get better. That was it. And what you are doing now was not something you thought you could do before? No. -I didn’t see it. -So, how did you end up with Kalumad Band? Because I just really like to dance.

Just doing silly dances. Where did you get your graceful dance moves? I just saw it from Blakdyak. Where did you watch Blakdyak? Because you didn’t have electricity at home, right? We didn’t. But in our town, there is a computer shop. When I put a peso coin, because it only costs one peso and when I went to YouTube, the first video I saw was Blakdyak.

When he was singing “Modelong Charing” Ah, the that goes, “Ang di ko masabi…” Yes. -That was… -“Na ako’y isang…” -Is that it? -Yes, it is. -That was it, “Darna!” -Ah, that’s the first video you saw. -“Darna!” -That’s where I first saw it. And I was like, “Wow, this person is amazing. He’s a man but he can dance gracefully.

” -Then? -And after seeing that I came home to the mountain and while I was walking home, I tried doing it. -I was dancing. -Oh, I need to see that. Elias, you have to show me how you danced while walking home. -It goes like this. -Oh, let’s see. On your way home. -While walking… -“Ang di ko masabi…” -Just like this. -Okay. There we go.

-Oh. -That’s it. -That’s what I did. -You were copying him? Yes, I was imitating Blakdyak. When I went back to school, there was an audition. -Oh? -And then -I was… -What was the audition for? Audition for singing. And since I always dance, why not try singing this time? So when you auditioned, what song did you sing? I sang an April Boys’ song.