At eleven years, Antonio Rommel T. Bagabaldo, well known as 'Manong Taho' used to buy his favorite snack food taho every morning.
Now at 47, Manong Taho still eats his favorite snack food. But the difference? He is now roaming inside and outside the Aklan State University-Main Campus in Banga, Aklan to sell taho.
As the clock ticks at 4 in the morning, with the cries of roasters, and stomps of the pedal, he goes to the wholesaler of taho in his barangay, Bakhaw Norte, Kalibo, to get the product that he will sell for the day.
On weekdays, along with the students hurrying to enter the campus, Manong Taho is also hastily riding his bicycle to get to his usual place- under the shade of an acacia tree near the university's circular lawn.
His hot, sweet, and savory classic Filipino Taho is made out of fresh soft tofu, arnibal, and sago pearls, made his customers won’t miss every morning to start their day.
On ordinary days without classes, he also sells taho in barrios as he claims that there is no resting or day off for him as a vendor. "Wa abi ako naila nga gasayang it oras, gusto ko hay dire-diretso ro kita (I don't want to waste time, I want to earn money as possible," said.
In his daily venture, he earns approximately Php 3,000 which made him upgrade his bike to an E-Bike, a bicycle equipped with an electric bike motor to assist him when he is pedaling.
"Mabahoe gid kakon nga bulig nga naipundar ko rayang E-Bike, maugan eun para kakon magbyahe halin sa amon hasta sa Banga (This E-Bike is such a big help, it makes me easy to bring my products from my place (Bachaw Norte) to Banga," he said.
He offers soya milk for Php 25.00, ready-to-cook, tokwa for Php 65.00, and the best-selling of all the products that made him known, the taho which is available in 2 varieties; the Php 10.00 and Php 20.00.
He is a husband and also a father of two, and this taho business helped them to finance their needs.
In an interview, he says that being a taho vendor has always been a job he is very used to and he likes to do the most.
"Daya eon abi ang nakasanayan nga trabaho hay dati pa hay hilig ko eot a nga magbaligya, nag umpisa ako sa ice buko, magnolia, ag dayang taho (Before selling taho, I had already tried selling ice buko and some Magnolia products)," he said.
This taho business helped him finance and survive his studies in high school and his two-year course in college which is computer secretarial.
Having a return to the campus after two-year hiatus of the pandemic is truly a big thing for him. "Kat pandemya, matumal gid a nga mayad ro pagpangita, kaya kara nga uwa eun hay nag amat-amat eun it baskog ang kita (During pandemic, my earnings got low. And now that it was lifted, my eanings have increased," he said.
According to him in his previous years of being a vendor, the success of his business operation inside the campus is through the help of the former campus directors. And just like before, our present campus director, Mr. Michael T. Ibisate, has also helped him in having this opportunity back.
Manong Taho is undeniably hardworking and open to all customers as it is easy for students to approach him and ask some requests about what they buy.
When asked about his future plans for his business, he stated that he has plan to build his very own “tahuan” from the income he generates. In this tahuan, he said that he will be more hands-on with what he sells as he will also be the one that will cook, prepare, and peddle.
"Rayang March 10, sa pang ap-at nga beses, gaadto ako sa eskuylahan sang unga para magpa-feeding program it akong taho (This coming March 10th, for the 4th time, I will conduct a free feeding program in my kid's school)," he said.
"Raya hay promisa ko kato sang unga nga pumanaw eun nga iparanas ko ro sa mga inunga kung mauno kanami ro lasa it akong taho (This was what I promised to my late child to let other children experience how good the taste of my taho is," he added.
Manong Taho is just one of the local vendors that continues to remind us of the importance of celebrating the existence of the traditional snacks we always loved.
Their contributions to society are visible and are something to commend, not just in the aspects of the economy. It is indeed because of them that we get to relive the beauty of the old times while this being beneficial to them as well. They are just like the modern heroes we dubbed.
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