Online barter community an instant hit amid COVID crisis

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

What used to be an old method of trading is making a comeback in the internet, just in time when Ilonggos are looking for ways to cope with the economic effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

“Iloilo Barter Community”, an online barter community, became an instant hit with Ilonggos barely a week after it was created.

The community, which was founded by a group of friends who are mostly businesswomen, serves as an online platform to exchange, trade, declutter, and search for anything that they need without spending money.

According to Ces Mabilog, one of the co-founders, the online community was patterned from an online barter community in Bacolod.

The founders Charity Delmo, Hec Angeles, Ces Mabilog, Gerthrode Mabilog, and Noreen Bautista, who are mostly businesswomen based in Bacolod, saw the need to create an alternative platform where Ilonggos can trade and exchange anything under the sun sans shelling out money amid the crisis.

As the pandemic has shut down business establishments and with workers losing their jobs, Mabilog said they wanted to create a fun cashless community to reconnect Ilonggos and help one another amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are also members of the Bacolod Barter Community. We thought of bringing the same community here in Iloilo. Some of us nawad-an ubra and income sa pandemic so ang objective is to help people by bartering nga indi ka na magpagwa sang cash. At the same time, you can declutter and trade items that may not be useful for you for other basic necessities,” she told Daily Guardian in a phone interview.

The online barter community now has 21,000 members as of Thursday, and counting.

The sky is the limit for items that the members can barter with one another – unused jewelries to second-hand gadgets, collector’s items, vegetable products, make-up, baby stuff, books, furniture, seafood.

Mabilog said one member even offered to barter a Ford Fiesta sedan in exchange for a farm lot while others offered or sought basic necessities.

“There was one member who was in need of diapers for her bedridden mother. The deal was successful and at the same time inspiring because we can see how the community connected the Ilonggos who are really in need,” she said.

Even the most unimaginable barter of highly-priced jewelries for vegetables and charcoal to a flat iron in exchange for a pedicure service took place through the Iloilo Barter Community.

The virtual community united Ilonggos from all walks of life, according to Mabilog. No one is rich and poor. Everyone is welcome, she added.

“Amo na namian ang community na wala ang rich and poor. Pati mga socialites didto can see their Chef Pauline Gorriceta and Chef Miguel Cordova, even famous Ilonggo designers, Jet Salcedo and Ram Silva,” she said.

To ensure that the online community is protected from scammers and frauds, Mabilog said the admins created a set of house rules for members.

For new members, a questionnaire is being asked by the administrators particularly asking if he/she is based in Iloilo and is willing to abide by the rules.

Each post will need an approval from the administrators.

A member may post items that he/she want to trade, indicating the items’ descriptions, estimated worth, and preferred item that he/she want to receive in exchange.

Members of the group can offer items in the comment section and once a choice has been made, a deal is stated in the comment section which deems the transaction complete.

To ensure transparency, Mabilog said members are prohibited from exchanging direct or private messages until the deal is closed in the comment section.

“We noticed in the Bacolod Barter Community some of them nagadirekta PM and ang tendency indi na siya cashless kay kon wala na inugtrade ang party, maoffer siya to buy so maguba ang essence of bartering. At the same time, mas clear and transparent if the deal is done in the comment section,” she said.

Posts should be edited with #DoneDeal or #DealClosed once the barter is complete.

The group also prohibits the use of foul or vulgar language; live animal barter; and hazardous and illegal items.

Due to the overwhelming response of the public, Mabilog said the community has grown to other small affiliates or barter communities in the towns of Sara, Miag-ao, Antique, Estancia, and Lambunao in Iloilo province up to Aklan.

For Mabilog, the group is a reminder of how unity and “bayanihan spirit” are both needed in the time of pandemic.

But even after the pandemic, Mabilog is hopeful that the online barter community will continue to thrive in connecting and reuniting Ilonggos.