How a dish made from food waste reflects urban poverty in the Philippines: Video
In the urban slums of Tondo, Manila, with over 630,000 people, a dish known as "pagpag" reflects the ongoing reality of extreme poverty in parts of the Philippines.
The term "pagpag" means "to shake off dirt" in Tagalog and refers to leftover food—usually meat scraps—retrieved from fast-food bins or landfills. These scraps are then cleaned, recooked, and resold at a low price to people who lack other options.
One eatery serving pagpag has recently drawn attention from international visitors and online viewers.
On Tuesday, December 2, footage captured the owner, Dennifer Hueves, carefully washing buckets of salvaged chicken meat. She described the process used to make the food edible.
"So that it's clean, I rinsed it twice with water, then the third time I soaked and rinsed it with hot water," Hueves explained.
After washing, she chops the meat, adds seasonings and other ingredients, and deep-fries it.
The dish originated from extreme poverty in the 1960s, when the country was plagued by a debt crisis and severe underemployment, forcing many people to migrate to cities in search of employment. These communities began using leftover scraps of protein from various sources, which later turned into pagpag.
For many in Tondo, pagpag, which costs about 34 cents ($0.34), is the most affordable compared to other food choices out there.
"Pagpag costs only 20 pesos, while a vegetable dish out there costs 30–50 pesos; that's why we're saving money when we eat pagpag," resident Nenita Zamora told Viory.
The dish gained wider attention when travel influencer Baozou Brother, who has over 6.5 million followers on social media, posted a video of himself trying pagpag.
His video sparked an online discussion about food safety and poverty. He struggled with the dish, claiming that while the flavour was "acceptable", the psychological barrier of swallowing it was difficult to overcome.
One resident defended the dish, stating, "I believe that pagpag is safe because of the way it was cleaned, rinsed and cooked. I can say that the bacteria were diminished when it was soaked in hot water and cooked to prevent any stomach problems."
However, the National Anti-Poverty Commission has issued warnings against the consumption of pagpag due to the potential health risks. The agency cited diseases such as hepatitis A, typhoid, diarrhoea, and cholera, along with general malnutrition concerns.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
