Lola Vergie at Lolo Silverio: Walang Pinipiling Edad ang Play-to-Earn

For the English version of the article, go straight here.

Sa isang bayan sa Nueva Ecija, maraming mga Pilipino ang kumita ng sapat sa kanilang pangangailangan dahil sa paglalaro ng NFT game na Axie Infinity. Bumisita si Leah Callon-Butler, columnist sa crypto news site na Coindesk at director ng Emfarsis, kasama si Nathan Smale, principal consultant ng Emfarsis, sa Cabanatuan upang makita ang mga Pilipinong nagbago ang buhay ng dahil sa “Play-to-Earn.”

Dito sa pang-anim na parte ng “Play-to-Earn Profiles,” aking ininterview sina Lola Vergie at Lolo Silverio, na may posibilidad na pinakamatandang Axie Infinity players sa bansa, maging sa buong mundo. SIla ay nainterview din sa documentary na pinamagatang: “Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines” na produced ng Yield Guild Games kasama ang Delphi Digital at dinirek ng Emfarsis.

Ito ang kanilang Kwentong #SalamatAxie at #PlayToEarn.

Tagalog: Panayam kina Lola Vergie and Lolo Silverio

Sinong mag aakala na pati sina Lolo at Lola na may edad na 65 at 74 years old ay mahuhumaling sa paglalaro ng play-to-earn game na Axie Infinity?

Sina Lola Vergie at Lolo Silverio ay may sari-sari store. Ito ang pangunahing pinagkukunan nila ng kabuhayan. Nang dumating ang pandemic halos wala na itong kinikita at hindi na nito natutustusan ang pang araw-araw nilang pangangailangan, masaya silang nadiskubre ang Axie Infinity.

Paano niyo na-discover ang Axie Infinity at sinong nag-introduce nito sa inyo?

Nang magpunta si Lola Vergie sa bahay ng kanyang anak, napansin niya na masaya silang naglalaro ng game sa kani-kanilang mobile phones. Na-curious si Lola Vergie kaya naman agad niyang inusisa ang game na ito. 

Paliwanag ng kanyang anak, isa itong play-to-earn game at lahat ng mapapanalunan nila sa game ay may katumbas na halaga sa piso. Tinanong siya ng kanyang anak kung gusto niya ito subukan at agad din naman siyang pumayag.  

Ang kanyang anak ang tumulong sa kanya na  bumili ng Axie team at nag-install sa phone niya.  

Paano kayo natutong maglaro? 

“Ang aking apo na si Arjane ang nagturo sa akin maglaro ng Axie. Puro talo ako sa game, ang tagal din bago ako naka 100 Smooth Love Potion (SLP) sa isang araw. Hindi ko alam kung paano laruin ang game na ito basta lang pindot ako ng pindot.

Nakakaaliw din naman itong laruin kaya kinumbinsi ko ang aking asawa na maglaro na din. Siya ang bantay sa tindahan, alas-kwatro pa lamang ay bukas na kami, madalang naman ang mga bumibili kaya naiinip din sya. Sabi ko maglaro na din sya, kikita na sya, malilibang pa sa maghapon,” dagdag pa ni Lola Vergie.

Ilang buwan din bago maintindihan ni Lolo Silverio ang game. Pero ang nakakatuwa mas magaling na siya ngayon maglaro kesa kay Lola Vergie.

Tinatapos lamang ni Lola Vergie ang adventure mode ng kanyang account at pagkatapos nito ay ipinapalaro na kay Lolo Silverio ang battle arena.

Gaano na kayo katagal naglalaro ng Axie Infinity?

Sina Lolo at Lola ay may walong buwan na naglalaro ng Axie Infinity. Nagsimula sila maglaro noong September 2020. Nang mga panahon na iyon ang palitan pa lamang ng SLP ay nasa 0.64 centavos. 

Sino-sino pa ang mga na-introduce nyo sa Axie Infinity? 

Pagkatapos bilhan ni Lola Vergie si Lolo Silverio binilhan din niya ng sariling Axie team ang kanilang apo na si Arjane. 

Naikwento na din ni Lola Vergie ang Axie sa kanyang mga kapitbahay, sikat siya sa mga tricycle driver doon marami na sa kanila ang naglalaro ng Axie dahil sa kanya. 

Paano binago ng Axie Infinity ang inyong buhay? 

“Ang tanging pinagkukuhanan lamang namin ng pang gastos sa araw-araw ay itong aming sari-sari store. Nang dahil sa pandemya kung dati ay kumikita kami ng Php 2500 – Php 3000 sa isang araw ngayon ay nasa Php 150 na lang, swerte na kung aabot sa Php 300.

Ang mga anak ko ay may kani-kanila ng pamilya at ngayon ay hirap din sa pera. Ang anak ko sa Canada ay nawalan ng trabaho, ang asawa naman nya ay tatlong beses na lamang sa isang linggo pinapapasok sa pinagta-trabahuhan niya. Nag re-renta lamang sila ng bahay doon, kulang pa ang kinikita nila pambayad ng upa at ng pangtustos nila sa araw-araw. Sabi ko sa anak ko pag malaki ang kikitain ko ngayong buwan ng Mayo ay papadalhan ko sila, dagdag pa ni Lola Vergie.  

Sa ngayon, may naipon  ng 25,000 SLP sina Lola Vergie at Lolo Silverio. Maari na nila ito i-convert sa cryptocurrency at gawing piso.  Sa Coingecko ang palitan ng SLP sa piso ay nasa Php 5.66, aabutin ang value ng SLP nila ng Php 141,500.00 pero maari pa itong lumaki o bumaba depende sa palitan ng SLP. Ang perang kinikita nila sa Axie Infinity ay ipinambibili nila ng kanilang mga maintenance medicines at ng pagkain sa araw-araw.  Binabalak nilang mag asawa na ibigay ang malaking parte ng kanilang kikitain ngayong buwan ng Mayo sa kanilang mga anak.

“Sa ngayon ang Axie ang aming pinagkukunan ng aming kabuhayan. Naka-depende na kami dito. Ang panalangin ko lang ay sana huwag mawala ang Axie,” dagdag pa ni Lola Vergie. 

Ang play-to-earn game na Axie Infinity ay naging malaking bahagi na ng buhay ng libo-libong mga taong naglalaro nito. Ang istorya nina Lola Silverio at Lola Vergie ay patunay lamang na ang larong Axie Infinity ay walang pinipiling edad. Ito ay available sa lahat ng gustong matuto at yakapin ang konsepto ng makabagong teknolohiya! 

English: Interview with Lola Vergie and Lola Silverio: Play to Earn is for Everyone

In one rural area in the Philippines, an entire community has earned a living from playing the blockchain game called Axie Infinity. Leah Callon-Butler, columnist for major crypto news publication Coindesk and director of consultancy firm Emfarsis, together with Emfarsis’ principal consultant Nathan Smale travelled to Cabanatuan to meet the very people whose lives have changed because of “Play-to-Earn.”

In the sixth article in our “Play-to-Earn Profiles” series, I interviewed Lola Vergie and Lolo Silverio. They also appeared in the documentary: Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines” produced by Yield Guild Games in collaboration with Delphi Digital and directed by Emfarsis. 

What are Lolo and Lola up to these days? This is their #PlayToEarn and #ThanksAxie story.

Who would have thought that a 65-year-old Lola and a 74-year-old Lolo in Cabanatuan City, would be interested in the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity?

The long-time couple, Lola Vergie and Lolo Silverio run a small sari-sari store. The earnings from their little store are their primary source of income. 

However, when the pandemic hit the Philippines, their store struggled to supplement their basic needs, including food and medicine.

Thanks to Axie Infinity, Lolo and Lola’s necessities are now covered!

How did you discover Axie Infinity? Who introduced you to the game?

“When I went to my son’s place, I got curious seeing them excitedly playing on their mobile phones. I immediately asked what makes them busy and excited at the same time.

My son then explained that it’s a play-to-earn game. I got very interested as he told me that they earn money every time they win. He also offered that if I  want to try it, he can help me set things up,” explained Lola Vergie.

His son bought him his first Axie team and installed the app on her mobile phone.

How did you learn to play?

Lola Vergie further revealed that her granddaughter Arjane taught her how to play the game. “It took a lot of losses before I got an average of 100 Smooth Love Potion (SLP) every day. I don’t know how the game works, I just keep on pressing the cards on the screen,”  Lola Vergie said.
Lolo Silverio has been manning their sari-sari store from 4am to 10pm, since there’s barely a handful of customers who will come to buy something, Lolo Silverio is getting bored.

Lola Vergie asked Lolo if he wants an Axie team for himself. She also told him that apart from the fact that it can help them financially, the game is also a good source of entertainment. And that it would give him something else to do while waiting for customers.

Although it took months for Lolo Silverio to learn and understand the game, he has become more efficient in playing the game than Lola Vergie especially in the battle arena.

“When I’m done playing in the adventure mode I let him play my battle arena,” added Lola Vergie.

How long have you been playing now?

Lola and Lolo have been playing Axie Infinity for almost 8 months now, they started playing in September 2020. During that time the exchange rate of SLP to Philippine peso was only 0.64 centavos.

Have you introduced other players to the game?

After Lola Vergie bought her husband his own team, she also bought one for Arjane, their granddaughter who is staying with them. 

Lola Vergie shares about Axie Infinity to her neighbors. Now, she’s very popular with the tricycle drivers in their village. Most of them are hooked on playing Axie because of her.

How did playing Axie Infinity change your life?

“Our only source of income is our little sari-sari store. Before the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was implemented, our sari-sari store was earning between Php 2500 to Php 3000 everyday. At present, we are only getting Php 150 on the daily average. We are lucky if we get Php 300,” Lola Vergie shared. 

She went on saying that their children who now have their own families also suffered from tremendous income loss. “My daughter in Canada was laid off from work and her husband reports for work three times a week only. Her husband’s salary barely covers the costs of rent and their day to day needs.  I told her when I get my payout from Axie this May, I can send her some money,” added Lola Vergie.

As of this writing Lola Vergie and Lolo Silverio already accumulated more than 25,000 virtual currency or SLP. They can convert this into cryptocurrency and then convert to peso. Assuming the exchange rate of SLP to Peso is P5.66 in Coingecko, they can get as much as Php 141,500.00, but that’s a rough estimate, it could be lower or higher in the next few hours or days.

The money they are earning from playing Axie Infinity buys their maintenance drugs for both Lolo and Lola. Also, it provides food on their table. The admirable couple looks forward to sharing their earnings this month to their children.

“Axie has been our primary source of income. Currently, We are depending on this play-to-earn game—Axie Infinity. We are praying that Axie won’t go away, ” said Lola Vergie.

The play-to-earn Axie Infinity is becoming a significant part of the lives of people who play it.The money that the players earn from the game is becoming a  life-saver for many, especially those thousands of people who  lost their jobs because of the pandemic. 

The story of Lolo Vergie and Lolo Silverio only proves that the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity is for everyone. It is available to people of all ages who are willing to learn and welcome the new technology in their lives.

This article is published on BitPinas: Lola Vergie at Lolo Silverio: Walang Pinipiling Edad ang Play-to-Earn