By Alyanna Gabas & Yra Suarin
1, 11, 1. A Total of 13—a number Ate Peanut Girl would always remember.
One mother, eleven siblings, and one child.
That was the weight she carried, the number of lives she had to sustain through her hard work. In well-worn clothes and with bags in hand, Ate Belle—Peanut Girl—walks through Dumaguete city smiling.
But behind her radiant grin and red lipstick is a story of unbreakable resilience, a mother’s devotion, and the sacrifices of a woman who has built a life, one pack of peanuts at a time.
Faces of Ate Belle
Her journey through the streets mirrors the many roles she’s taken over the years.
She was previously known as “Lumpia Girl,” “Budbud Girl,” “Biko Girl,” “Maja Girl,” and “Balut Girl,” constantly changing titles with the seasons of her life. But now, she is proudly “Peanut Girl.”
From early morning markets to the late-night streets of Escaño, her life revolved around boiling, frying, packing, and selling.
Her work starts as early as 5 a.m., cooking and preparing her goods in a tiny place she rented below the Brgy. Calindagan Bridge.
During the day, she could be found selling champorado, boiled plantains, and peanuts in the city’s downtown area.
At night, she became an icon of Escaño, walking through the streets with her plastic container of salted, boiled, and raw peanuts, offering to anyone looking for small comfort.
She makes ends meet with her peanut profit, dividing both her money and time to sustain her family.
13
For Belle, the number 13 is more than just a number—it is a symbol of responsibility.
Growing up in the nearby town of Sibulan, Belle took on the responsibility of being the family’s breadwinner for her 10 younger siblings.
She was only 13 when her father passed away, leaving her mother—a housemaid—to raise them alone. Without hesitation, Belle stepped up, putting aside her own education to ensure her siblings could have one. While they sat in classrooms, she was out on the streets, learning life the hard way.
Never having the chance to pursue formal schooling, she taught herself through videos and observation, gaining the knowledge she needed to survive, and selling what she could.
At 47 years old, Belle has spent most of her life providing, sacrificing, and hustling to ensure that those she loves do not go hungry.
She was blessed with a child at 25, and like any parent, she dreamed of a better future for her daughter. But dreams come with a cost.
As a single mother, she did what she could—selling lumpia, maja blanca, peanuts, balut, banana cue— to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, and send her child to school.
Despite the hardships she faced as a single mother with no stable income, Belle made a sacrifice that most would think twice about.
“Akong gibaligya akong balay para makahuman akong anak ug high school,” Belle said.
(I sold my house so my daughter could finish highschool.)
A Mother’s Dream
Despite the hardships, Belle never lost sight of her dream—to see her child graduate.
Her daughter, now a tourism student at Negros Oriental State University (NORSU), is set to graduate this June, and is currently having her internship at Siquijor.
When she attended her child’s pinning ceremony, it was the first time she had stepped inside a university campus, the first time she had seen a stage up close.
“Niana jud ko, ‘I wish maka-graduate ra akong anak sa college ug maka-kita ko niya sa stage,’” she whispered in prayer.
(I told myself, “I just wish my child can graduate from college and that I can see her on that stage.”)
Her tears that day were not just tears of joy—they were the culmination of years of toil, of sacrifices made in the name of love.
For Belle, success was never measured in wealth, but in seeing her child step forward into a brighter future.
More Than Just Peanuts
Choosing to walk her path alone, without a partner, believing that her love for her child is enough; and to her, it is.
Her story is not one of tragedy but of triumph.
Ate Belle is more than a vendor; she is a staple of Escaño, a friend to many, a beacon of warmth and kindness. She is known not just for her peanuts but for her laughter, her energy, and her unwavering spirit.
Hers is a story of a woman who, with nothing but her hands and her will, built a life for herself and her family.
She is proof that love is not just spoken—it is cooked, packed, and sold in small plastic bags, shared one pack of peanuts at a time.And as long as there are streets to walk and peanuts to sell, Ate Peanut Girl will be there—smiling, hustling, and proving that a mother’s love knows no bounds.
