Roberto Napa, 35, known as Dondon, is from Leyte. He works with Danilo Labo Jr. otherwise known as J.R., 21, from Cauayan, Isabela. Their shop, Jeff Barbers is owned by Dondon’s brother-in-law. Dondon stopped schooling to work and help his siblings go to school. JR and Dondon pay 2,500 peso rent and split the 40 pesos charge 50/50 with the owner. Dondon started cutting hair two years ago and is self taught. He used to be a supermarket sales associate and also worked at Megamall as a sales clerk. He finished a two-year computer programming course. He used to earn 30,000 pesos a month as a machine operator at a Snowbear candy factory but was never made permanent due to contractualization. He now supports his wife and three kids, ages 8, 4 and 5 months. He attends to 10 to 22 customers a day. On the other hand, JR was taught by his mother seven years ago and he later shared his know-how with his two younger brothers to cut hair. J.R. is the second of 9 children. J.R. narrates a time when he asked a friend, who has no cutting experience, to help cut the hair of another walk-in. The customer had no idea what was going on as J.R.’s fake barber friend was doing an acceptable shearing. So in the middle of the job, J.R. took over the haircut and finished it. J.R. laughed out loud when he recalled the incident.
