By Genno Gabriel Rabaya
Beware of the prolonged stares. Beware of the random likes on your story. Beware of the Dumaguete food web—they’re hungry and waiting for their next victim.
A small and humble home to thousands of young adults who continue to express their identities, Dumaguete City owns its fair share of deep connections and familiar faces. A person you meet at a party somehow becomes your P.E. classmate. A familiar face randomly pops up on your Facebook feed, or a person you shared an intimate night with also ends up with a friend of a friend two days after. And then you realize how the food web revealed itself, intertwined with one another. And now you’re stuck in it.
You see, the food web in this city isn’t like any other. It’s much more dangerous. People often talk about the reputation cities like Cebu or Quezon have, yet Dumaguete has an incredible feat of its own. Don’t get fooled by its slower pace, the hunters are equally (or if not, much more) vicious.
Stories often get passed around quicker than one thinks. And here’s the first danger of the food web: your secrets aren’t safe. It is much safer to assume that your friend’s former roommate’s ex’s cousin might have heard about you. Be sure to keep your secrets close to your chest, you might just end up bleeding in front of a shark.
Another shared (and extremely unfortunate) experience among those caught in it is unknowingly becoming the kontrabida in someone’s story. Do some background checks on those you meet, did they actually break up or were they just on a break? Do they have a history of being incredibly fickle in their personal commitments? Guard your hearts, you’re going to need it.
As humorous as it sounds, the food web’s danger might become much more real than you think. If you are in too deep, you might genuinely risk your mental and physical being. Never forget to put your health and safety first—it’s better to end up being the only one who chooses you.
At the end of the day, having fun is not shameful. As adults who have autonomy over your decisions, you permit yourself to enter these situations in spite of its risks and benefits. You may get hurt, and that is okay. It’s not like the food web’s reputation was only disclosed yesterday. However, it is your responsibility to be responsible for yourself.
But the real question remains: Is getting into the food web really worth it?
