MIDAS MAKES CLEAN MONEY FROM DIRTY PARTS

Retired marine engineer Vicente Rentura has a business to build and a family to rebuild. That is the dual challenge that is inspiring him to work double time to make his pair of dreams come true. Formerly a top dollar earner when he was still working on board international cargo ships, Vic fell into hard times. One problem came after the other, and eventually his family fell apart, leaving him all alone to survive on his own.
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Driven by the will power to earn a living and to put his life back in order, Vic started gathering discarded washing machines and assorted parts from garbage dumps and junk shops in his neighborhood and with his skills, he re-assembled these into working machines, and sold these to nearby communities. Although he made some decent money from his machine sales, he could barely meet his needs, after he had to pay for the rental of the repair tools he was using.
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Listening to the local radio one day, he learned about a public service program that provides livelihood and employment assistance to jobless and needy people like him. Putting together the remnants of his earnings to pay for his fare, he went to see me for assistance, in my capacity as a radio program host and Chairman of Philippine Charity Assistance Network (PHILSCAN).
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Using my radio program and web log, I issued a call to my radio listeners and website visitors to help Vic. Working together with me to make a plan for his business to work, Vic has submitted a list of the power tools that he needs to acquire, in order to save money from the payment of rentals. Vic has also started scouting for an affordable location for the repair shop that he plans to open.
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Responding to my appeals, Ms. Karlyn Cloma of the local Tulong Agad sa Kapwa Association has offered to buy some of the tools for Vic, but he still needs more help for his working capital, to buy old washing machines and to pay for his shop rental. PHILSCAN is now looking for a possible source of micro-lending for him, looking at both local government and private sources.
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Dr. Dave Catbagan is a lender of sorts, but he is lending live animals and not money, being a veterinarian and not a banker. The business of banking might have been invented elsewhere, but in the Philippines the practice of lending live animals to friends, relatives and neighbors to help them with their livelihood is an age old tradition. Just like in the business of banking, the monies returned to the lender (the depositor) are not the same paper bills that were deposited, because it is the offspring of the borrowed animals that are returned in payment, and without interest, mind you.
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Taking advantage of this long accepted practice, the national government in the Philippines has embarked on an official animal lending program under the supervision of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an agency under the Department of Agriculture (DA). Being the Director of BAI, it is the job of Dave to keep track of the live inventory, and to take back the live payments so that in turn, these could go to other borrowers.
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In search of financing sources for prospective animal husbandry entrepreneurs, PHILSCAN found the opportunity to approach BAI, to work out possible areas of cooperation. To the delight of the would be entrepreneurs, Dave immediately committed to me a regular supply of live animals for lending to pre-screened applicants, helping each other as well in conducting business seminars in animal raising.
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In order to ensure the business success of the beneficiaries who would be receiving the live animals, I have accepted the offer of Dr. Allan Racela, a former schoolmate of Dave at the UP College of Veterinary Medicine to provide free veterinary services to them. Already a successful real estate businessman by now, Alan has agreed to resume his veterinary practice for this cause. Towards this end, Allan has also convinced Dr. Andy Tuazon to join him, another veterinarian classmate at UP.
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Three livelihood pioneers have recently accepted invitations to be interviewed at “Gulong ng Kabuhayan”, my prime time radio program. The show is also simulcast live in the Internet at www.rmn.com.ph and is also heard in the US East Coast via Pinoy Radio, New York time. It is the only daily prime time program that is focused on livelihood and employment, that is broadcasting from a major network.
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Leading the list of interviewees is Department of Agriculture Secretary Domingo “Ding” Panganiban, who was a Career Undersecretary prior to his promotion. Ding is widely known in the agriculture and livelihood circles as a no-nonsense executive who pushed agricultural productivity along with livelihood development. As Agriculture Secretary, he supervises several attached agencies, including QUEDANCOR and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), two of the existing development partners of PHILSCAN.
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Also to be interviewed is Ricky Reyes, founder of the famous chain of beauty parlors, and a known endorser of top of the line beauty products. Aside from being successful in his beauty business, Ricky is also known for his deep involvement in the livelihood movement, characterized by his willingness to train young aspiring upstarts in beauty and grooming related skills. Aside from that, he is also a major provider of livelihood to the many employees of his beauty chain.
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Also to be interviewed is Dodie Villareal, relatively unknown to many, but who is actually one of the early pioneers in the business of professionalizing small businesses by taking them into the commercial mainstream. Dodie was the Product Coordinator assigned by the defunct Bliss Marketing Corporation (Blissmark) to service Mama Sita’s Food Products, then a fledging start up business when Blissmark took it under its wings. I was the Assistant Vice President and Group Product Manager of Blissmark during that time.
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I invited Dodie because I want to “call to active duty” my old team at Blissmark, who were all pirated from the marketing departments of leading private sector companies, most of whom were from San Miguel Corporation, my former employer. Structurally, Blissmark was a private corporation but it was actually 100% owned by the government. Our mission was to develop and market products from livelihood projects, in the process upgrading these products into top of the line items that could compete with the products coming from the private sector. Among our clients, it seems that only Mama Sita’s, Virginia Farms and 3M Mangoes have survived the test of time. I hope to deploy my team again to help new beneficiaries this time.

“PHILIPPINE CHARITY ASSISTANCE NETWORK”

Due to the growing demand for public assistance that is being generated by my radio program, newspaper columns and internet discussion groups, I have decided to establish the Philippine Charity Assistance Network (PHILSCAN), with the end in view of making it the umbrella organization for several charitable projects that would include a Food Bank, a Job Bank, a Seedling Bank and a Book Bank. It is for this reason that I saw the need for an office in a mall location. As of today, we are finalizing talks with a mall in a strategic Metro Manila location, to make this plan a reality.
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As a strategy to support PHILSCAN, I am also organizing the GOOD SAMARITAN MISSION (GSM), an association of businessmen and professionals, and SELF HELP ALLIANCE FOR REVENUE ENHANCEMENT (SHARE), an association of students and out of school youth. By mobilizing these two new groups, I hope to create a seamless supply chain made up of volunteers and donors, backed up by an international network of supporters among my colleagues in the Foreign Service and the foreign-based members of my internet discussion groups.
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Through the active involvement of GSM members, I hope to sustain a constant “supply” of volunteer doctors, dentists, lawyers and accountants for our year-round Medical Clinic, Dental Clinic, Legal Clinic and Credit Clinic, which I hope would become regular components of the PHILSCAN office that we are going to put up in a mall location. As you already know, there are many medical missions that come and go once a year, but in our case, we hope to sustain a year round charity clinic, having already received many commitments of support from here and abroad.
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Through the goodness of the Lord, GSM has been blessed with many benevolent patrons, one of whom is Mr. Raffy Garcia, President of MEGA COMPUTERS, Inc. MEGA is the contractor and service provider of the computer systems that are being used by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Through the kindness of Mr. Garcia, he has agreed to co-locate with our mall location, so that we could also service our clients with their requirements for NBI clearances and LTO licenses, both of which are livelihood related. I am in the process of inviting more GSM members, and inquiries are welcome.
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I know that it may sound too ambitious to organize eight projects, but for practical reasons, we are not going to do everything at the same time. Since we are just relying on the kindness and generosity of our donors and volunteers, we will set up these projects as the resources come in. Through the combination of a Food Bank, a Job Bank, a Seedling Bank and a Book Bank, along with a Medical Clinic, a Dental Clinic, a Legal Clinic and a Credit Clinic plus the NBI and LTO services, we hope to be drawing large crowds on a daily basis in our mall location.
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Although we know that we are going to be swamped with many people every day in our mall location, we are going to make sure that we will have crowd control measures, and we are going to do that through a “number coding” system. SAMA KA will provide free goods and services to its members, as well as discounted products courtesy of its private, corporate and government donors from here and abroad. Membership is free but an Automatic Tulong Machine (ATM) card is required to avail of the freebies. As we have planned it, members should only go to the mall location on their designated service days, in order to avoid overcrowding.
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Naturally, and as a routine practice, I am going to announce our mall location in my radio program every day, thus promoting it also as an attractive destination for shoppers. Needless to say, I am also going to promote the location in my newspaper columns, as well as in my internet forums.
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I think that it is not a coincidence that I met our first Food Bank partner this week, in the person of Mrs. Karlyn Cloma. She is the founder and chairperson of Tulong Agad sa Kapwa Foundation. Her foundation has been implementing feeding programs for many years now. They have also been helping poor women in putting up livelihood projects. Aside from agreeing with me that a Food Bank is needed in order to sustain their feeding programs year round, she also agreed to receive referrals from SAMA KA, for them to help women applicants in their livelihood needs. I have referred to her four women who need sewing machines. I am sure it is not a mere coincidence too, but the slogan of her foundation is “SAMA KA”. I say that God is with us in what we are doing.
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I am happy to report that PHILSCAN has recently established a tie-up with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) for the latter to conduct livelihood training seminars in cooperation with PHILSCAN, on topics covering animal raising subjects pertaining to pigs, cattle, goats chicken, ducks and other poultry products. BAI Director Dr. Dave Cabatbat assured me that his agency is willing and ready to conduct these seminars at any time, with as many modules as needed, in any location and accommodating as many participants as possible.
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We contacted BAI after QUEDANCOR President Nelson Buenaflor gave us the clarification that his agency only provides for the financing, while other agencies such as BAI and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) are the ones responsible for the training component. Hopefully, I could contact my friend Director Malcolm Sarmiento this week, so that we could complete the subject matters for the needed seminars. Along with loans for transportation businesses (jeep, taxi, van and tricycle), animal raising projects are very popular among the listeners of my radio show “Gulong ng Kabuhayan”. We are going to announce the schedules of these seminars as soon as we finalize the dates and venues.
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Earlier on, PHILSCAN has worked out a tie-up with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), for them to provide the counseling (consulting) services to our livelihood beneficiaries. With the entry of BAI and BFAR into the picture, we are only lacking two other components (namely marketing and packaging), having already addressed the financing, training and counseling components. As of now, noted marketing experts Tommy Lopez and Tony Gatmaitan have already volunteered their services, but in addition to them, I am hoping to work out an institutional arrangement, hopefully with the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA).
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Among other small business components, packaging is perhaps the most neglected aspect, and this is really a sad reality considering that nowadays, even fruits and vegetables (and raw meats) have to be well packaged in order to compete in the marketplace. Just like in big business, the products of small producers must be packaged well in order for them to sell more.

PAVING THE WAY FOR DONATIONS

Cesar Torres wrote: “Of course we need to join for the sake of our nation and especially those who are dying of hunger and malnutrition. But if possible, since you are the one who is deep into this issue already, can we please work together with the others who are already involved in livelihood? Aren’t there many groups involved? Peng of Davao, said that let us not be "metas metas". Let us remember the lesson of the metastasizing cancer cells which ultimately kill the body. Let us take heart from the very humble but oh so wise example of the “Walis Tingting”, a product of our “Tree of Life”, the coconut. I pledge $100, redeemable in one year for the miscellaneous expenses associated with this initiative”.
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Taking a cue from what Cesar said, there is really a need to integrate all the initiatives in the Philippines that are related to livelihood, coming from both the private sector and the government side. Before moving on any further however, I would like to stress two important points. My first point is that “livelihood” as we understand it today should be elevated to the higher plane of “small business”, because that is what it should be. Based on the popular notion, “livelihood” is generally understood to mean only the “backyard” type of activities that would only produce meager incomes for the daily needs of the owners, but never enough to produce higher value added that would enable them to graduate out of the poverty line.
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My second point is that businesses (both big and small) have several “business processes” that includes not just financing, but also includes manufacturing, positioning, marketing, branding and packaging, going all the way to accounting and counseling. The common mistake of organizations involved in livelihood is to provide only one aspect, usually the financing part, while neglecting the other components. Looking at this in another way, all businesses are inherently part of “supply chains” that should be managed in an integrated manner. This is where integration should happen. I thank Cesar for his donation, and for opening the door for others.
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Antonina “Tonette” Binsol (www.tpmovers.org) of Tokyo wrote: “What is your model of a food bank and what kind of networks or channels should you have to make it work? I read about Japan Food Bank too”. She is a member of the very active “Tulong Pinoy” Yahoo Group (tulong-pinoy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com). Their mission is to support needy Filipinos by making use of information and communication technology in building partnership and empowerment-sharing with individuals and organizations, and by informing and mobilizing Filipinos all over the world in order for them to take an active role in poverty alleviation. Their vision is to see that every Filipino is poverty-free, educated, enterprising and productive; living in dignity, peace and in the Bayanihan spirit.
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Poverty and charity have always been around since the beginning of time, but more often than not, these two “forces” do not always meet on a regular and systematic basis. Although it could be said that poverty is caused by the scarcity of economic and material resources, it could also be said that where there is a scarcity in one place (in one household for instance), there could also be abundance in another place (in another country for instance). When I shared this analysis with my banker friend Col. Carly Divinagracia, he said that this is actually a “logistical challenge”, and he is right, because there is really a big opportunity for poverty and charity to “meet”, in such a way that the latter could “meet” the needs of the former.
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To answer the question of Tonette, I am going to base our local food bank on the American and Canadian models, wherein the food bank would be a place where companies could donate their products that they would not, or could not market, for one reason or another. More often than not, these are products that are nearing the expiration date, but are still in good condition. For the sake of good order and sound management, the local food bank will be for “members only”, but everyone could actually join. An Automatic Tulong Machine (ATM) card will be required to avail of all the freebies.
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SAMA-KABUHAYAN (SAMA-KA) will soon provide free goods and services to its members, as well as discounted products courtesy of its private, corporate and government donors from here and abroad. Aside from a food bank, we are also going to have a job bank, a book bank and a seedling bank. The association invites small entrepreneurs, cottage industries and self-help cooperatives to join its marketing program by consigning their products to a distribution network that will be catering to private, corporate and government buyers here and abroad.
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Henry Salac wrote: I have been a radio commentator at DXVP here in Zamboanga City for three years now. I am also a columnist for Zamboanga Weekly. I would like very much to attend the media forum and training program of Alyansya ng May Kapansanang Pinoy (AKAP-PINOY) Federation of People with Disabilities (PWDs) Federation on July 26 to 29 at the Pearl Hotel in Metro Manila. I have been afflicted with an orthopedic disability in my bones since birth, affecting my right leg and my hands, and that is why I have a difficulty in walking. Capt. Oscar Taleon, the President of AKAP-PINOY has offered me free board and lodging plus inland transport over there, but I need a means of transportation to go there. The plane fare is 2021 pesos while the boat fare is 1950 both one way only. I hope that through you, my dream of attending the forum and training would come true, and I would consider it a big favor of you could help me go there.
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There are about four million PWDs in this country with one form of disability or the other. While the disability of Henry may not be unique, he is one of a small community of PWDs who are determined to practice their professions as broadcasters and journalists, notwithstanding their condition. Capt. Taleon was a Navy officer (a PMA graduate) before he was forced to leave the service due to blindness. We are together in the Philippine Blind Union (PBU) where I am a Director and where he is the President. He had gladly opened an extra slot for Henry when I asked him, but unfortunately he could no longer provide for a transportation budget.
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In an effort to help Henry, I have sought the assistance of my fellow broadcasters and journalists, and I hope that one of them would come through. I will also try approaching the airlines and the shipping lines, but how I wish that the government would have a fund for the purpose of leveling the playing field for PWDs who would like to practice in their chosen professions. We have a long way to go as far as this goal is concerned, and I wonder how we are going to start.
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Internet users from here and abroad could listen to DZXL radio programs on real-time by logging on to www.rmn.com.ph please check the website for program schedules. My radio program provides free assistance to small business owners and job applicants. The discussion is 100% developmental and is 100% non-political, and is focused on livelihood and employment.

A FOOD BANK IN THE PHILIPPINES

Everyone is invited to join “Sama-Kabuhayan”, a Yahoo discussion group about livelihood and social responsibility initiatives. I am the moderator of this group. To join, send an email to sama-ka-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Internet users from here and abroad could now listen to DZXL radio programs on real-time by logging on to www.rmn.com.ph. Please check the website for program schedules. "Gulong ng Kabuhayan " is the only daily prime time radio program in the Philippines that is focused on livelihood and social responsibility initiatives. The show provides free assistance for small business owners and job applicants. The discussion is 100% developmental and is 100% non-political.
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Just in case you miss an issue of this column in your local newspaper, you can visit the web log version at http://Ka_Iking.blogspot.com/. National Government Agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), People’s Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) and Social Responsibility Programs (SRPs) are invited to use "Gulong” and “Ka_Iking_Libre” as media channels to publicize their livelihood and social responsibility initiatives.
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There is no denying the fact that there are already many organizations that are trying to help with livelihood in many ways. Despite the abundance of “activities” however, all those trying to help seem to be going their own separate ways, with none of them able to achieve complete and integrated results. It may sound ambitious, but that is precisely what is needed now, to integrate actions so that actual poverty reduction could happen, and not just partial poverty alleviation.
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Based on my own experience in the livelihood movement, many aspiring entrepreneurs who are trying to put up small businesses actually fail because they are forced to “eat” their own capital as they try to survive not just the business world, but also the challenges of life as a whole. Just being realistic about it, the temptation is really very strong for them to resist. It is for this reason why a more comprehensive approach to livelihood should also include a food supply program, so that the temptation could be avoided.
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Every now and then, we hear about soup kitchens and feeding programs in this country, but more often than not, these are just occasional and hardly ever sustained. As a result of my inquiries with my foreign contacts, I found out that a “food pantry” is place where the hungry could eat for free, while a “food bank” is a place or organization that supports and supplies the pantries. This may not be an earthshaking discovery, but now I know the reason why the food pantries have not been sustained, and that is because there is no “food bank” that is “feeding” them.
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As the saying goes, “it is better to teach a man how to fish, instead of giving him fish”. While this saying might still be true, there is a need to look at the practical side of it, that it is difficult for a man to fish, if he has a hungry stomach. I think that having a “food bank” is an idea whose time has come in the Philippines. I have started working towards this direction, and I am now looking for a site that could be used for this project, preferably a free location in a mall that has lots of vacant places. Let’s go for it!
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SAMA-KABUHAYAN (SAMA-KA) met its first “Angel” this week in the person of Mr. Cesar Campos, who revealed his charitable side only by accident, as we were discussing a business proposition. It turns out that Cesar is the Vice-Chairman of the Philippine Institute for the Deaf (PID). He is also Chairman of the Makati City Rotary Club’s “Teaching the Deaf to Speak” committee. Just my luck, it turned out that the other officers of PID (Chairman of the Board Cynthia Mamon, immediate Past Chairman Dr. Ofelia Carague and Treasurer Carol Esguerra-Smith) are also my friends. Cesar recalled that he picked up the advocacy when he was still an officer of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT).
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If my memory serves me right, I assigned a foreign consultant to work with PID when I was still the Program Director of the Transfer of Knowledge Thru Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN), a joint project of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). At that time, the prime mover at PID was Ms. Julie Esguerra, but Cesar said she is now in the States, married to an American, but still active in getting resources from over for the PID. Just in case you don’t know Carol, she was a top IT executive here before she got married and moved to the States. When she was here, we worked together as volunteer consultants for the COMELEC’s automation project (still a dream up to now).
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Cesar was reading a copy of KNB-007 when I came into his office. With that in hand, he confirmed that People with Disabilities (PWDs) are really discriminated against in the Philippines. Citing some figures, he said that there are about four million PWDs in the country, with varying forms of disabilities. That’s about 5% of our population, and that’s really a lot. As I see it now, if the discrimination against PWDs in the workplace could not be stopped, the better alternative perhaps is to help them put up their own livelihood, with assistance in training, financing, marketing among others.
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CHED CAN NOT BE REACHED: My letter to Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Dr. Carlito S. Puno (DPA) requesting assistance for Mr. Louie Crisostomo, a job applicant who is a polio victim from Tarlac did not reach him, because his published email address is over the quota. Take note that the email address is not even his; probably it belongs to his secretary or some minor subordinate. Is the public really defenseless about this kind of negligence? Before the internet came along, it was easy for government officials to throw away letters from the public, not unless these are sent as registered mail. It seems that nowadays, all it takes for a government official to avoid more work is to publish a “dead” email address, and that is enough to “protect” them from the “demands” of the public. If Puno does not read his email, I hope he reads newspapers, so that this “demand” for public service will reach his attention.
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TWO DEAF EARS: My letters to Secretary of Health Dr. Fransisco Doque and Secretary of Social Work and Development Esperanza Cabral did not bounce, but nonetheless I did not hear from any of them after more than one week of waiting. I wrote Doque and Cabral requesting assistance for Mr. Diosdado Taguran, a security guard from Cotabato who needs help with medication for his tuberculosis illness. If members of the mass media are snubbed this way by members of the Cabinet, how much more for the ordinary people who are directly asking for their assistance? Could these two officials offer the alibi that they do not open their email themselves? I do not think that is an acceptable reason, considering that they should have staffers who should do it for them.
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SOCIALIZED HOUSING: Marc Dizon wrote to say that the “completely knocked down" type of low-cost housing design as I proposed is a viable idea. He has a company that is currently also in the same line of thinking and he would like to volunteer his services. His company is involved in pre-fabricated steel and has made several socialized housing projects already.
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FOOD BANK: Antonina “Tonette” Binsol of Tokyo wrote to ask if I have already started the Food Bank Project. The answer is no, but I have already pinpointed a location in a Makati mall that would be ideal for the purpose. Meanwhile, I already have commitments from a Canadian source that would bring in the goods as soon as we are ready to receive them. I am also talking to some Bureau of Customs officials who have agreed in principle to assist the project, as part of their corporate responsibility program. Tonette might also be interested to know that I am also in touch with Food Bank Japan, and I am hoping to get some assistance from them too. Those who are interested in this project might want to help out by looking for an alternative location, in the event that we could not get free space from the said mall. She also asked whether I have a “channel” in Tokyo. The answer I also no, but I am hoping to get the support of my former boss, Ambassador Domingo Siazon who is posted there now. I would of course welcome any other assistance that she could bring in.
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SHIPPING PROBLEMS: Irma Omila Butao of California wrote “Your food
bank suggestion is very nice. I have an offer for the needy of Butuan
City. Do you know of a way I could donate clothes and shoes and books to our needy Butuanons? I have a garage full and I could get more but I have no money or means to send it over there. Could you research for me a government agency which could perhaps facilitate transporting such materials to the needy there? The last time I went home after 33 years of absence, I saw shoeless and half naked dirty kids trying to block our entrance to our ride. Through the food bank we could also distribute clothes, shoes, toys, books, basket balls, blankets and some kitchen utensils. It is so easy for me to call our charity truck over here in California, to pick up these goods and write it off for tax deduction but I want a child or a hardworking mom to have it instead”. I thank God for people like Irma and Tonette. Coming from two parts of the world, they have a common goal, and that is to help the poor people in their homeland. I will see what I can do about the shipping problems, and I would also welcome any assistance for this.