Manila Bulletin
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From 'lugawan' to coffee shop: A transwoman's struggle to earn more
Philippines
National
From 'lugawan' to coffee shop: A transwoman's struggle to earn more
From 'lugawan' to coffee shop: A transwoman's struggle to earn more
Published Jan 31, 2026 03:46 pm
PANDI, Bulacan—Life drastically changed for Venus Hermosa when her father
was abducted and killed during the war on drugs in 2017. She was just 12
years old at that time.
Three years after and with the family increasingly finding it difficult to make
ends meet, Venus had to start working to be able to support her studies, and
she found work at a “lugawan” or a shop that sells Filipino-style porridge.
"Kasi nahihirapan na po talaga si nanay [na buhayin kami] (Our mother was
already having a hard time supporting us)," she told Manila Bulletin when
asked why she decided to get a job at an early age.
When her father, a jeepney mechanic, was still alive, she said, he never
failed to provide financial support for his family’s daily needs, as well as for
the children's education.
AT YOUR SERVICE - Venus Hermosa at her new job as barista at a coffee shop in Pandi, Bulacan. Inset photo is her late father who was an alleged victim of the previous administration's war on illegal drugs.
But after his death, Venus said, she was left to fend for herself, just like her
three siblings did for themselves.
Casualty of the deadly campaign against drugs
Venus was actually born as Darence Castillo, before she committed to a
change in gender at an early age.
Now 20, Venus rues that she had been among the collateral victims of
former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s deadly campaign against drugs.
While she did not totally discount the possibility that her father might have
really been engaged in activities involving illegal drugs, Venus still could not
get over how her father had been so supportive of her – from her education
to even her gender preference.
"Siya pa nga po bumibili ng palda ko eh (He was the one even buying skirts
for me)," she recalled.
On Jan. 17, 2017, Venus heard her mother and her father talking about
moving to Cebu as they already feared for the latter's life. That time, drug
suspects were killed almost every day, either by police during operations or
by other criminals who had their own version of justice. They were called
victims of extrajudicial killings.
A day later, her father received a call and was asked to go to a nearby
barangay to supposedly repair a damaged vehicle. But upon his arrival, he
was immediately taken into a van and abducted. Venus' family tried to
report the incident to the police but nothing happened—a helplessness
similarly felt by families of drug war victims.
On Jan. 19, 2017, her family received information that a body was found
dumped at a nearby waterway.
They went, and saw it was his father's 6-foot-2 frame—bruised, with gunshot
wounds to the head and body, with obvious signs of torture.
Who did it? Who stole their father away from them? Until now they do not
know.
From ‘lugawan’ to coffee shop
Venus finally decided to stop studying after finishing Grade 12.
She said she could no longer afford a college degree from earning only P400
a day, a wage even lower than the provincial rate set by the government.
She hopped from ‘lugawan’ to another. Her usual hours of duty were from 7
p.m. to 7 a.m., the peak hours for customers, especially in Bulacan.
When there were no customers, she would lay down on a mat she set-up on
the oily floor of the non-air conditioned shop to get some rest.
She thought selling rice porridge was the only job she would qualify for
without any tertiary education.
But one midnight in mid-2025, a coffee shop owner, her regular customer at
the ‘lugawan’, asked if she wanted to apply as a barista, an opportunity she
never expected she would be offered.
Her pleasing personality, her kind of customer service and the manner she
dressed, which were not typical for the more austere confines of a ‘lugawan’,
made her more than qualified for the job.
She now looks back and notes that the position offered her was usually
opened only to college graduates in Manila.
"Pressure po yung naramdaman ko. Kasi hindi mo naman inexpect, biglaannalang, na parang puro lugaw lang hinahawakan ko dati (I felt a bit of
pressure because it wasn't expected and it came as a surprise. Before that, I
was just used to serving congee)," she said.
She knew working at a coffee shop was still far from her dream of becoming
a flight attendant. But her career shift boosted her confidence that she can
aspire for more.
"Parang mas tumaas na tingin ko sa sarili ko dahil nakatungtong na ako sa
ganitong stage ng trabaho na maganda, okay okay. Maganda sa pandinig ng
tao (I started looking at myself with high regard because I was able to get
this kind of job)," she said.
Her cousin had reminded her that without education, it would still be hard to
land a professional job, which she admits. But she keeps dreaming.
"Sabi ko, ayaw ko mamatay si nanay na wala pa akong nararating sa buhay.
Basta may sipag at tiyaga ka, kahit walang napag-aralan, kaya naman po (I
told myself I don't want to see my mother die without my not achieving
anything. I said to myself that as long as you keep persevering, although
you do not have any education, you can still make it)," she said.
Today, Venus earns more. From serving ‘lugaw’, she now serves coffee, in a
workplace she finds "more comfortable in".