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.