We have a lot of maintenance medicine),” Lola Vergie said.Īs someone who launched Digital Life Asia to promote technology for good, I was deeply touched by this documentary. Of course, old people like us always need medicine. May maintenance kami, andami (That can be used to buy our medicine. Kaming mga matatanda, puro gamot na lang. “ Kahit papaano, pambili namin ng gamot, siyempre. “ Kasi, kahit konti kumikita kami (Because even if it’s just a little, we are still earning from playing),” Lolo Silverio said. “‘ Yun ang ano namin, panalangin namin sa Panginoon, na sana huwag mawala (That’s what we are praying for to the Lord, that it won’t go away),” Lola Vergie added. “ Sana huwag mawala yung Axie (We hope that Axie won’t go away),” he said. He said that playing Axie Infinity is his only form of entertainment, sharing that sometimes he is able to finish 100 games a day. While I am in the store, I’m playing),” said Lolo Silverio.

That’s why from four in the morning to 10 in the evening, I’m just there selling and watching over our store. Habang nandoon ako sa tindahan, naglalaro ako (As long as I live, I will just watch over our store because you cannot go outside.

Kaya alas kuwatro nang madaling-araw hanggang alas diyes ng gabi, nagtitinda diyan. “ Habang nabubuhay ako, bantay na lang ako sa tindahan, kasi bawal lumabas, e. They are part of the most vulnerable members of the population to COVID-19, and so are the ones who have been unable to even go outside the house. We already know that millennials and Gen Z love blockchain and cryptocurrency, but it is deeply moving to see these senior citizens embracing the future and refusing to give up despite the enormous challenges they face. While the stories of the different players featured in this documentary are all inspiring, it is the tale of Lolo Silverio and Lola Vergie that resonates the most. Emfarsis and its client Yield Guild Games, a gaming guild that brings players together to earn via blockchain-based economies, produced this documentary. Leah Callon-Butler, who wrote about this incredible phenomenon last year for the cryptocurrency media platform CoinDesk, interviewed Lolo Silverio, Lola Vergie, and other members of that community in the “Tricycle Capital of the Philippines” for the new documentary “Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines”.Ĭallon-Butler is the director of Emfarsis, a consulting firm focused on the role of technology in advancing economic development in Asia. Way better than just earning experience points in other games, right? Senior citizens embracing the future You can then use a cryptocurrency wallet to convert your digital wealth to real-world Philippine pesos. This allows you to keep on adventuring and winning battles, and earning SLP. Simply put, when you win battles in Axie Infinity, you are rewarded with Small Love Potion (SLP) tokens, and you can use these SLP digital assets to breed the digital pets known as Axies. While gaming is a way of life for many Filipinos, particularly mobile gaming, Axie Infinity is different because it allows them to play-to-earn. This Pokémon-like game enables players to collect, raise, and battle fantasy creatures.

Lolo Silverio and Lola Vergie belong to a small community in Cabanatuan that has been playing the non-fungible token ( NFT) game Axie Infinity. They are not statistics, but people who have had their lives upturned and must now scramble to find a way to survive. News articles and daily tallies of COVID-19 cases hardly tell the full story of what’s actually happening on the ground, and how this pandemic has been devastating to the 111 million people who call the Philippines their home. From Php2,500-Php3,000 (US$50-60) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, this elderly couple in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija - a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines - was now alarmingly earning only Php150 (US$3), or, if they were really lucky, Php250-Php300 (US$5-6).

Axie infinity documentary philippines