by Peter La. Julian
PDI Northern Luzon Bureau
LUNA, LA UNION- Wearning a wide-brrimmed straw hat to protect herself from the noonday sun, Nenita Guzman, 39, sorts the smooth pebbles into a mound and then pours them into a five-gallon container.
The best of Guzman's stones will be sold for P25. She has been picking the pebbles from the beach since early morning. At sunset, she expects to collect P100 worth of good pebbles, which a buyer will pay for on the spot, and in cash.
Nearby, Arlene Madriaga, 41, hAS Just filled a sack with flat white stones that she and her husband have been gathering since daybreak. On a lucky day, the Madriagas can gather P180 worth of good stones.
A few feet away, Francisco Geron, 56, is resting. Geron, a stone picker for most of his life, has already collected three cans of black pebbles, which sells for P15 each can.
The three are among the hundreds of villagers of this coastal town who gather the famous Luna decorative stones used in the construction of homes and swimming pools.
The stones are sold in La Union , neaby provinces and even Metro Manila. Except for the pea-sized ones, known as "washouts ", the stones are also exported in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hawaii.
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