Mga sis, I think safety pin is a good tool. Para sa mga dikit ng dikit, use safety pin at lalayo sila at magugulat na may tumutusok. Pero since marami kang gamit, you can easily hide it. Lalayo sila.
During my younger days, nagc commute din ako. Pero sanay ako mabilis maglakad kasi nga praning ako. Lagi din ako nagdadasal that He continue to protect me and my family from harm. Kasi iyan ang kinakatakutan ko sa manila talaga. call it OA, syempre mas worse yung mapatay ka or something, pero kahit papano very traumatic parin if ever maka encounter ka ng manyak.
First and only time ko maka encounter nito was during my 2nd yr college. Sinwerte ako high school grade school ko e school bus, at first yr college ko was a breeze. Pero nung 2nd yr, yung dinadaanan ko papuntang jeepney stop, e may lalaki na nakatayo lang sa kanto. Di ko na maalala sinabi nya pero something to the effect of "gusto mo makita ang t*t* ko". Being naive, natakot ako, I ran towards the jeepney stop, di naman na sumunod.
The following day, takot ako lumabas, wala naman. Pero 2nd time I saw again, sa tapat nako ng street lumakad para umiwas. Naiwasan ko naman. Pero naiinis ako sa sarili ko bakit hindi ako lumaban, I guess I was too young then. Around that time, napilitan ako ilabas ang sasakyan, on my own, 18yo, kahit hindi pako hasa sa pagdrive. Wala akong choice. I just maintained my speed at 40kph, wala akong pakialam, kesa naman ma subject ako sa harrassment ulit. Hanggang sa nasanay narin magdrive sa Manila traffic, at least, iwas na sa mga ganyang encounters.
Then during my 20s/30s na, minsan nagc-commute parin ako. Pero short distances lang like within Ortigas or Makati. Wala naman na issue. Kapag pupunta naman ako ng divisoria or quiapo, I make sure I wear rubber shoes, jeans, tshirt, ponytail and cap --- ready makipagtakbuhan or rambulan. I also change my watch to the plastic one (pero umaandar haha) and my celfone to the old nokia (but working). So when I take the jeep, I make sure I look at all the passengers and whoever is looking at me, I make sure they will have a scary glance from me too. haha Yes, I look creepy na parang crook, but I don't care, for me, better na ako katakutan kesa ako matakot sa kanila.
Hay those were the days. For me ngayon, napaka stressful na nya kaya ayoko na bumalik dyan, if may chance talaga. I am now staying abroad at dito, may posters and rules para umiwas sa harrassment. And authorities encourage them to be reported immediately, tapos talagang pinaparusahan nila ang mga salarin.
Pagdating naman sa office setting, one time my friend told me di daw ako palangiti. I guess I just acquired that habit na hindi approachable. That way, iwas din ako sa mga dumidikit na guys/officemates. Kasi for me, hindi ako comfortable e, so anong magagawa ko. Siguro maliban nalang kung crush ko yung tao, puede ako magsmile at makipag conversation. Pero yun lang naman. In any public place or even kakilala (friend na guy or officemate) at hindi mo naman BF, no no talaga ang touch and I always keep my personal space, may distance din. This may not totally eliminate the possibility of being harrassed, pero kahit papano puede ma-mininmize.
