A delivery guy working at Pizza Hut has become an internet sensation after it was reported that he’s been using his own money to buy food for homeless people in Quezon City.
Raina Ominga, a bakery owner, wrote about the delivery guy in her Facebook post on Sunday.
“This pizza guy has been buying bulk assorted bread from our bakery for the past few days. So our inner curiosity ends up [with] us asking him if Pizza Hut is giving away those pieces of bread,” she wrote in English and Filipino.
“He told us that he saves all of the tips that he gets from his deliveries which he uses to buy bread. Then he gives them away to the people he sees on the streets. We were stunned!”
“And that, my friend, is how we encounter Christ this Easter Sunday,” she added in her now-viral post, which has been shared almost 83,000 times since it appeared.
Read: Sweet! Teacher goes viral for buying food for delivery guy
In a follow-up post, Ominga identified the delivery guy as Raymond Papellero, who works at Pizza Hut’s Araneta Center, Cubao branch in Quezon City. Coconuts Manila interviewed Papellero today over the phone, who said that he started giving away free food to homeless families on Friday when he saw how dire their situation has become.
“They could be found around Araneta Center, and I think I see more of them as the days go by,” the 34-year-old delivery man said. “There are no shoppers who could give food to them [because of the Luzon lockdown]. Even some of them who don’t even look like beggars are asking for food.”
Papellero thought of combining both of his salary and tips, and half of the amount was used to buy at least 300 pieces of bread each day. Pepellero then gives four pieces to each person he sees on the streets.
“I saw myself in them because when I was a child in Cebu, and my parents were in Manila working, we were often left hungry,” he said. “When I give them food they end up crying. They even tell me that their last meal was the night before I spoke to them. I know that what I am giving is not enough but at least they could survive for a few hours. I hope someone else could give them [food, too].”
He said he has been interviewed by several reporters since he became internet-famous and has even received a commendation from his bosses at Pizza Hut.
“I’m doing this to help people and I’m not expecting anything in return. God will take care of me,” he said.
Have you heard of people who have been helping their communities during the pandemic? Tell us by leaving a comment below or tweeting to @CoconutsManila.
