Even in death, Felipe Natanio could not escape the shackles of poverty. Natanio, who was more popularly known as "Mang Pandoy", died on Sunday due to complications from tuberculosis. He was 73.

His daughter, Lynn, said her family has yet to get a death certificate for Mang Pandoy since they have no money for a proper burial.

"To anyone who knows my father, please come and help us so we can give him a decent burial," Lynn told radio dzMM.

Clad in a faded violet shirt, Mang Pandoy was laid in an ordinary wooden coffin inside their shanty in Quezon City.

Lynn said Mang Pandoy's life hardly changed even after receiving media attention at the start of the Ramos administration.

Mang Pandoy's name became synonymous with the Filipino poor after he told sociologist Randy David that he was willing to be shot by an adventure-seeking gun owner just to earn P100,000 cash for his family.

President Fidel Ramos later referred to him in a State of the Nation Address and promised to give him and other poor Filipinos a better life.

Mang Pandoy was given his own short-lived television show “Tambayan ni Mang Pandoy” in the government-run station Channel 4.

After the show was cancelled, he returned to his old work, earning P50 ($1) a day selling vegetables.