Prejudice.

Perhaps everyone traveling to the Philippines knows Anunas Barangay as a slum. I had been thinking about exploring this place, and an opportunity arose, so I explored it with a friend. Of course, my friend waited in the car nearby, and as I was about to explore alone, I asked a random person for a guide because I didn't speak the language, and they agreed. As I looked around, I asked how much the rent was in a place like this, and they said 5,000-10,000 pesos. I was shocked – I had seen on YouTube that it was around 2,000-3,000 pesos a month...

Still in disbelief, I looked around and saw something that looked like a luxury condo tucked away in a corner. Half-skeptical, I asked again how much the rent was in a place like this. The woman who guided me asked some people who seemed to be residents of the condo, and they said fifteen pesos. I was confused whether it was 15,000 or 50,000, but I hid my expression and pretended to understand.

After looking around and leaving, I tried to give the guide a tip, but she strongly refused. I asked about her job, and she said she worked in the kitchen at a KTV. After thanking her and parting ways, I was surprised because it was so different from my expectations. I thought it was on the same level as the Abacan River, but different classes of people live there, and if the rent is this high, I wondered how ordinary people, like those working at the Healing Hotel who earn 15,000 pesos a month, manage to live.

The more I dug into it, the more I realized it was deeper and more complex than I thought, and it wasn't easy.