Former OFW In Saudi Arabia Now Earns Twice More With Her Home-Based Business

A former OFW who worked for 14 years as a midwife at the Saudi Arabia Naval Base Hospital now earns more than twice her original income as an OFW when she established a modern birthing home in her hometown in General Santos City.

Dolores Batchanicha put to good use the advanced training she received from the British midwives while working in that Naval Base Hospital in Saudi, on top of her previous local midwifery experience at a local hospital in Davao City to make a difference in their province by offering them modern pregnancy-related services.

She received further technical and financial assistance and business skills from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the referral of her colleagues in the Integrated Midwives’ Association of the Philippines (IMAP).

Her modern birthing home facility is a better alternative to the traditional “hilot” or home-assisted birthing by traditional attendants. Established in early 2006 in Calumpang, General Santos City, the modern birthing facility has already earned the accreditation of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and it is also one of the recipients of the PhilHealth Awards for Excellence in Health Services last year 2010.

Dolores Batchanicha was also honored by USAID for such an accomplishment during the celebration of the International Women’s Day held recently. She is not only earning more than twice as much what she used to earn working abroad, but more importantly she is now reunited with her family and regaining those precious moments she missed for the last 14 years.

All these she gained by her humble creativity in making the modern health care for mothers accessible to her local community. May this be an encouragement to our OFWs to save as much money while working abroad, rather than buying all those modern conveniences and excellent food around, and learn as much modern techniques of your trade, and later come home to our beloved beautiful country to put up your own businesses here.

There are a lot of business opportunities awaiting for you here, just identify specific needs of the community, local and foreign, and you will surely reap financial rewards. OFWs can even realize their huge economic influence by grouping together and pooling their resources to come up with several businesses and services like what is being incubated and propounded here, such as:

1) Setting up an OFW BANK financed through the financial contributions as investments of the OFWs to this bank. Common shares will be issued to the contributing OFWs. Go to this page for suggestions on how to fund the project.

2) Putting up Retirement Village(s) for foreign retirees, owned and operated by OFWs and the fees shall be in Dollars, Euros, Yen similar to what they pay in their home countries. The facility shall be applied for PEZA (Philippine Export Zone Authority) accreditation being export-oriented services. Tax exemptions can be availed for the first 5 years if this project is accredited with the BOI (Board of Investments) because it is part of the Investment Priority Plan (IPP) of the Government. The IPP for 2011 will be published soon.

This project can also enjoy free marketing and promotion abroad if this is accredited by the PRA (Philippine Retirement Authority) because this is one of the sunrise industries that is being vigorously encouraged by the Philippine Government. These privileges are now being enjoyed by foreign investors, why should not we take advantage of these tax privileges too! In fact, they are now scheduling the first ever Philippine Retirement & Healthcare Summit in collaboration with the Philippine Retirement Authority and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) and the American, Japanese & Korean Chambers of Commerce in the country.

3) Organize OFWs into several cooperatives to be involved in real estate development where other OFW members will be its own clients, be operated as a cooperative and be accredited under the CDA (Cooperative Development Authority) to enjoy full tax exemption as a cooperative.

Spend some time browsing the government websites through the links provided above to know of the awesome privileges that are open to you being a Filipino businessman. Foreign investors are also enjoying the said privileges.

You may not be able to do it by yourself, unlike Dolores Batchanicha, but we can pool together our talents and resources and become even more competitive. That is what the spirit of EDSA is for.

You will surely earn more than you would think of by simply addressing the needs of our countrymen, because people will always be willing to pay you when you have addressed their needs. And I tell you, the market is so huge, and also the local employment we can generate.

The country needs you!

Local Job Vacancies our OFWs From Libya Can Fill In

Here’s one good news for OFWs returning from Libya. Labor officials at home advised the returning OWFs from Libya to keep their mobile phones on for possible job offers at home as there are over 6,000 job vacancies for Philippine-based US firms and local mining companies that Filipino skilled and professional workers can readily fill in.

Labor officials said the profiles and job records of our returning OFWs gathered by the Labor Department will be turned over for possible job matching to more than 30 Philippine-based companies in need for professional and highly-skilled and experienced workers.

The US Embassy will in fact hold a 3-day job fair on March 18-20, 2011 at SM North Edsa, also intended for this job matching. Other job vacancies for the mining industry such as field nurses, engineers, chemists, geologists, accountants, safety engineers and managers, riggers, electricians, welders, surveyors, research specialists, secretaries and construction workers were also identified during the Mining Industry Tripartite Council Forum last Wednesday.

The Labor Department will also solicit and identify more job vacancies during their meeting with the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCCI). This is part of the government’s reintegration program for returning OFWs not only from Libya but also for those who worked in other countries who wants to return home for good.

Our repatriated OFWs who stay home for good can also avail of the government’s financial grants and loans to start up a business of their own and grow them.

How To Rise and Come Out Stronger From The Libyan Crisis

Per latest reports, around 11,000 OFWs have been evacuated out of Libya while there are still about 34,000 Filipino workers who need to be evacuated to safer territories. The Philippine authorities and representatives in Libya and nearby states are hard pressed to move these number as quickly as possible inspite of the great risk that they have to go through because both the pro and anti Gaddafi forces are spread along these possible escape routes.

To be diplomatically correct, it is best to defer my personal comments about the embattled Libyan leader and how he managed the petroleum dollars which evidently did not become a blessing to his country and his people that's why they have this widespread revolt.

But by reflecting on this current event, it only underlines the necessity for our OFWs to save as much money during good times because you can never tell what would happen next, because who would have thought that Libya would go down in history with this bloody revolt. In fact from what I have gathered, some OFWs have stayed in Libya for more than 10 years and they raised their family there because they found that country to be safe and peaceful. But that was before.

Saving as much money as possible during good times will determine one's welfare and survival when the bad times come. Even the Book of Proverbs tell us to "Go to the ant and consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." (source: Prov 6:6-8, NIV 2011)

The storing of provisions in summer and gathering of food at harvest have become so natural to the ants. No need for any commander, supervisor or ruler or nagging wife to pressure them to save as much, they just did it naturally, day in and day out, considering the fact that the ants are creatures of little strength. But what made these ants do that? It's because they are wise in their ways.

Your wisdom, your mind will make you do that. When a person is convinced that saving money during good times will benefit him much more than spending that hard earned money because he deserves it anyway - that person will surely reap the rewards in due time in its perfect season of plentiful harvest.

The number of OFWs in Libya alone has reached around 45,000 or maybe more, and assuming that each one of them saved P5,000 a month for the last 12 months they would have collectively raised P2.7 Billion thereafter. That P2.7B is enough to put up a big bank like an OFW Bank. And that's only from the OFWs in Libya, and just imagine if the other OFWs will join them.

But this is now water under the bridge because the bad times have come. The laptops and sleek TV set and the nice and overpriced house back home and the branded shoes and jackets and sunglasses and pricey electronic gadgets of the kids won't matter anymore when one does not have a source of income anymore. Just turning on the arm's length wide LED TV set and the 2-door stainless refrigerator is an added expense because of the high cost of electricity.

But one should not feel condemned because it's not the end of the road for you. Don't worry if you are left out empty after the last harvest season, just remember that after the harvest season where the fields turn into golden yellow, there always comes the planting season!

During the planting season, what you see is mud everywhere and the terrain is gloomy and it's not enjoyable to walk around, and the rainwater on the ground becomes smelly and just dirty. Life, after losing some golden opportunity for growth, may have much semblance and may feel like the muddy ground after the harvest time when the sky looks dark and dim all day long with no sunshine at all for several months.

But realize my friend that the absence of the bright sunshine and the heavy rain is just perfect to redistribute the nutrients on the ground and fertilize again the farmlands and make it perfectly ready to receive and germinate the seeds to make them sprout and grow them to become your next bountiful harvest in due season.

Therefore, do not fret when God allowed you to miss the last harvest season because what comes next is the planting season for you. And whatever and however you plant will always determine your next harvest. whatever seed you invest into this muddy soil is the seed that will soon give you your next bountiful harvest.

So every season, be it sunshiny or rainy, is an opportunity for you. The planting season is your opportunity to invest. And that investment may not be necessarily setting aside some money, but maybe it's more about making a firm decision as to how much and in what way can you save money on your next opportunity. And that next opportunity is coming.

To those of you who are not directly affected by these recent crisis in the Middle East, don't wait for such turmoil to come before you make up your mind to save some amount and make it your seed money when the next investment opportunity comes.

Just imagine if 500,000 OFWs around the globe decide to save an average of P5,000 per month for 12 months. That one year effort will raise some P30 Billion! Just imagine the huge business that our OFWs can collectively put up with that amount!

Doing it for the next 5 years, our OFWs can raise some P150 Billion! That amount can already create a business empire employing thousands. Just assuming that the P150 Billion will earn at least 9% a year, that's P13.5 Billion annual income.

But if the OFWs won't make up their mind and pursue these things, these will remain a dream, an imagined business, an imaginary income, a potential job and income generator by the thousands. Without any purposeful action on the part of the OFWs, these dreams will remain just an untapped potential even 5 years from now.

And our children will be left condemning the government again for being unable to provide them the jobs they needed at home, and they will again be separated from their families to work abroad - thereby repeating your life's story again in theirs -- simply because we refused to do what is within our means during our our time.

But today is never too late. Tomorrow is still an open opportunity. Let's make up our mind while the opportunity is still great. Kelan pa ba tayo magsimulang kumilos? Kung nasa US$180/barrel na ang petroleum? Pag nagkataon, tig P3,500 na ang isang sakong bigas noon.

OWWA & POEA Boards Now Open For OFW Nominations

May mga magagandang balita po nayon para sa ating mga makabayang OFW! Sa wakas, our OWWA and POEA, for the first time, are now accepting nominations for OFWs or OFW representatives to become part of their respective Board of Trustees, in compliance with the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act.

At least 3 representatives of OFWs shall sit as part of the respective governing board of OWWA and POEA, and these representatives shall come from the land-based sector, sea-based sector, and the women OFW sector.

Suriin niyo land po ng maigi na hindi mga dummy ng mga politiko ang maiupo dahil baka gamitin lang po ang kanilang pwesto para maikampanya ang politiko overseas pagdating ng 2016! I encourage our OFWs na makialam po kayo dahil ginawa ang batas at hakbang na ito para lang po sa kapakanan ng OFWs at nawa maging ganoon nga po dapat ang maisakatuparan. I am not imputting anything on anybody here, I am just encouraging everyone to be wise, be vigilant and be cautious to ensure that indeed this time POEA and OWWA will indeed serve to promote, enhance and protect the welfare of the OFWs. Dahil dati inubos po halos ang $25 contribution po ninyo sa OWWA noong ginamit ng nakaraang nakaupo para pondohan ang libreng Philhealth na pinamudmod sa mga bayan-bayan upang maisulong ang kanyang kandidatura.

The Nominee must be at least 25 years old, able to read and write, and a real migrant worker at the time of nomination OR with at least 3 years actual experience as a migrant worker. Representatives for the 3 sectors may be nominated only by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) which have an outstanding history in the protection and promotion of the welfare of our OFWs.

To qualify, these nominating NGOs must be registered with the appropriate government agency and should be certified by that agency as "of good standing" and these NGOs must represent either the land-based, sea-based, and women sectors for at least 3 years prior to the submission of their nominee.

The OWWA and POEA shall separately come up with a final list of nominees, with 3 nominees for each sector (land-based, sea-based and women sectors) and the same shall be submitted to the President for consideration and the same shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation.

Once the names are published I encourage our OFWs to voice their opinions about the nominees through the President's website and other popular online discussion boards just to make sure that we are heard by the President, and he will be guided with his choice because the President will have to select and appoint 1 representative for each 3 sectors to become part of the governing boards of OWWA and POEA 30 days after the submission of the list of nominees. The appointed new members of the Boards shall have a term of 3 years, and will be eligible for reappointment for another 3 years if their records serves the OFWs.

So mga mahal kong mga makabayang OFWs I encourage you to actively participate in this process, bago po ito, and this is now your most opportune time to shine and be heard and be well-represented. Mabuhay po Kayo and God bless you!

For further reference, please see the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations here and also the related news. For further reference, please check the POEA and OWWA websites.

OFW Remittances Have Soared Past The $17B Mark As of Nov 2010 - BSP

The $17B OFW remittance from Jan-Nov 2010 is around P748-B! It's a very big amount infused to our local economy. (See Source).

If only our OFWs can make it a habit to save just one percent (1%) of whatever money they earn abroad, which is equivalent to P7.48B, they can very easily put up a big OFW BANK (commercial bank) just from their 1% savings! The minimum required cash capital to put up a commercial bank is only around P3-B compared to their 1% savings of P7.48B!

Halimbawa lang po: Kung ang karamihan ng OFW ay kumikita ng average of P30,000 a month, ang 1% savings po ay halagang P300 lamang o kaya P150 sa akinse at P150 sa katapusan. Mas malaki pa po ang ginagastos ng kanilang mga anak sa Pinas sa load ng celfon o kaya panglaro sa online games na iba ang nakikinabang, yung mga dati nang mayayamang malalaking negosyante. Bakit hindi po natin gamitin yun para sa inyong kapakanan this time which will bring long-term economic & financial benefits to you and your loved ones.

Pag 2% ng kanilang kinikita ay itatabi aba that's around P15-B in just one year. E ang BDO ang CASH ASSET po nila noong end of 2009 ay nasa P32 Billion lang po, ibig sabihin kung magtabi lang ang OFWs ng 4% ng kanilang kinita sa buong taon that's P30 Billion at katapat niyo na po kaagad ang BDO, sa isang taong pagtitipid lang po yan. E lalo na po pag ginawa nyo pong regular habit na yan taon-taon naku po mauungusan na po ninyo ang BDO. See http://www.bdo.com.ph/aboutus-... for reference.

Tunay na maging dakila ang mga OFW po natin kapag nagmamay-ari na po sila ng OFW BANK. Ganito po ang layunin ng mga kababayang OFW po natin na nagtutulungang paitaguyod ang pagtayo ng OFW BANK. Patuloy po nating itaguyod ang ganito pong layunin upang mapaangat ang kalagayan at kapakanan ng mga OFW. Mabuhay po kayo.

Maaaring may mga nagdududa po at nag-iisip na baka raket lang po ito, kaya yun po ang iniiwasan natin na maging kaisipan ng mga kababayan natin kaya po we don't encourage any collection or contribution of anything, we do everything voluntarily because I believe that if God has blessed this idea, God will use many people, events and circumstances to make this dream a reality.What we encourage here is for our OFWs to start make saving money a habit. 

Never dream for an OFW BANK if you cannot even learn to save just 1%, 2% or 5% of your income. It takes some kind of self-discipline and determination. Kailangan po minsan marunong tayong tumangging pondohan ang luho ng ating mga anak kung tayo po ay seryoso sa ating pagnanais na mapaunlad ang kanilang buhay at kinabukasan, at upang mas maagang makauwi "for good" ang ating OFWs.

Mabuhay po ang ating OFWs!

Recent Emails Received Through The OFW BANK Incubator Blog

Over the week, may mga natanggap po akong mga email sa pamamagitan po ng ating blogsite using the email address "makabayangpilipino143@yahoo.com", and let me publish them here to keep you abreast of these developments.

I have tried to "hide" their personal details to keep their privacy, unless they will advise me to the contrary. Their emails are as follows:

From DONVERCAS, an electrical/instrumentation instructor and Oil & Gas Operation/maintenance Consultant:

“I was deeply touched with the makabayan ideas of yours and I hope this will happen soonest the better to have OFWBank that all over the world OFW will contribute mabuhay ka makabayangpilipino.

To be exact 30 years na akong OFW and I had a lot of ideas want to share with as well for the benefit of mankind. Regards and thank you.”

From DARYL of qdvc.com:

“sali ako dyan when do we start”

From Michelle Stone of pho_art:

“Hi there!!! Just want to register to receive “newsletters” if possible…Thanks a lot & God bless!!!”

From Andy P. of a known bank in New Zealand:

“Manigong Bagong Taon sa iyo, sa iyong pamilya at sa wider community na iyong kinapapalooban!

I’ll focus on clarifying your requirements.  Basically, the site would be some sort of a forum/blog website with a touch of a social-media network engine (ala facebook).    Some of the system/applications that would be built unto the site resembles that of a “virtual bank” where members would make deposit and withdrawal so as to mimic the updates on their actual savings or pledged capitals.   All updates by its members are gathered real-time by the system and then publish the updates on a graphical form (something like a stakeholder report or financial statement).   I could see the big picture and we could come up with that kind of web application.   Though, there may be some technical limitations if hosted on a free site domain such as blogspot or twitter.   A work-around is to host the other applications in some other domain sites and integrate it via URL on the main forum site and blog site.   I’ve now started to integrate a forum unto a blog site in one of the free domains and hopefully be able to present it to you in the coming weeks.

As for my suggestions on the site building, we could also incorporate an auto-email subscription facility such that all members will be sent an email on regular updates, monthly report and forum topics.   This will somehow encourage the members to get involved in the process and promote the site to their friends and relatives.   The forum application could facilitate posting from its members either via online or via email since replying via email would be an easier way to voice their opinion.  In addition, we could promote the site further by adding facilities for integration unto the wider social media networks such as facebook, twitter, linkedin, Friendster, etc…  I think most of the OFWs would have an account on at least one of these social media channels.   Please let me know your thoughts on this.

As for the blog site, since you are teaching financial literacy, I would also suggest if
we could post topics about financial literacy.   This would help a lot of the OFWs and their families how to be good stewards of the blessings that they receive.  We could post practical tips on how to save money and reduce expenses in our daily life.   Those saving tips would somehow fast track their way to greater savings.    It’s good that you had already started posting some of the business ideas that the proposed “OFW Bank” could explore.   Financial literacy is a very sensitive topic and is not even included in the current Philippine educational system.   Maybe this topic would help our OFW kababayans to start thinking how they are currently managing their money in general and eventually realize that they should start doing something now and change for the better.

I have a number of idea on the business plan but I will have to reserve it for future discussions.    Ika nga eh, focus muna ako on the task-at-hand which is to build the website and the related applications and functionality on it.

Ako po ay nalulugod na malaman na kayo ay isang kapanalig sa pananampalataya.  Kami po ng aking maybahay ay Kristiyano ding katulad nyo.   Maganda ang simulain ng iyong ministeryo dyan sa atin at hangad ko ang tagumpay ng iyong mga activities at nawa ay patuloy na maging kalugod-lugod yaon sa harapan ng ating Panginoon. To God be the Glory! God Bless”

NOTE:

Mr. Andy P. has volunteered to help us in this effort by selflessly sharing us his expertise in banking and programming. Let’s keep him in our prayers.

Mr. Andy P., patuloy po kayong pagpalain ng Panginoon diyan sa inyong paghahanapbuhay sa New Zealand, at marami pong salamat sa inyong tulong at creative ideas, napupunan niyo po ang aking mga kakulangan at limitasyon.

All for the greater glory of God and the upliftment of the lives of our People! -- pilipino

From Chriz of Abu Dhabi, RE: http://www.aquaculture-israel.com/index.html...

“When I go home this February, my plan is to start up the business I told you I will first start with a simple one, when it thrives, I’l make sure it will prosper, just I’ve said while working here in the middle East, eto ang nagbukas sa atin na we can and we should do it, kahit di ka humingi ng tulong sa gobyerno if at first you could go underground do it first, please see attached pictures of my business plan.  I’ll be starting with lobster production as food.  See the idea here is first purchase breeders, one breeder can lay eggs from 100 up to 1000, from this brood stock you can produce more and eventually can generate lots of opportunities to venture,

1. Breeding

2. Food Production ( Fishball production – lobster as the main ingredient )

3. Carinderia which you can use the lobster as a special menu

4. Create employment

5. Technology transfer to other Filipino OFW’s who would want to join this business venture ( If you have friends who buys my idea please let me know because by February I’ll be getting first around 3 breeders which will be stocked for breeding in an aquarium, ones it lays eggs I’ll go on fish pond production,  I’ll also start a vermiculture venture (earthworms) which I will be using as food for the lobsters.

If we could form a group the better para mas malaki ung mahihiram natin, Nasa akin na lahat ng modules which I will be needing for this undertaking, just let me know if you happen to know some of your friends who may want to join us, lets create a special facebook account where we could chat and share ideas. Wala naman mawawala if we have the guts and determination to succeed and eventually go back to our beloved country to achieve our goals and that is to uplift oneself and help others.

http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/2435725/Australia+Red+Claw+Freshwater+Lobster

Maraming salamat and advance happy new year kabayang Nicholas.  There will be lots of opportunities with this project, it could invade exportation basta tama yung mga taong magtutulungan to push thru with this project. Happy New Year!!!”

NOTE:

For those of you who are interested to keep in touch with Chriz about his business ideas, feel free to contact him thru his email (c.rimando@epiuae.ae) -- pilipino

Save Money By Watching Out Your Spending Habit First!

The following article about saving money is a very sensitive topic and this is not for the faint of heart and onion skinned, more so when we touch about the common spending habit of most. At least I have warned you. But keep on reading as it might just also wake up your senses.

SAVING MONEY IS AN OLD IDEA

Saving money is not new to us because since the time when we were little kids our parents have already taught us how to save money. And now that we are grown ups and have become fathers and mothers to our kids, we have been urging our children to save money too.

But have we become good at saving money? If we are good at it, then how come we have not saved much? Well, one might argue that how can we save money if our income is very limited? 

SAVING MONEY....PANG-MAYAMAN LANG BA?

But do you know that saving money is not only for those who are earning much? In fact, saving money is more necessary for those who earn little! 

Ang pag-iimpok ng pera ay hindi para lamang sa mga may malaking kinikita. Kundi sa katunayan, mas lalong kinakailangan na mag-impok ang mga manggagawang mas kakaunti ang kinikita.

Ngunit paano? Papaanong makapag-impok ang isang manggagawang maliit ang kinikita, na kadalasan ay kulang pa ang kinikita kaysa kanyang mga gastusin at iba pang pangangailangan? 

CAN THE LOW-INCOME EARNER STILL SAVE MONEY?

Is saving money still possible for people with low income? For people whose income is not even enough to cover their expenses?
Is it possible and doable? Yes! But is it easy? No! It takes some amount of self discipline to be able to save money.

Saving money is very doable, but it is not easy. In fact some people who are well off in life still find it hard to save money. Most people are able to save something for a while but the habit of saving is not sustained and they end up spending again everything that they earn including their savings.

WATCH YOUR SPENDING HABIT

Each one has his own spending habit, at kadalasan ay ganito po ang nangyayari: Kahit malayo pa ang araw ng sahod, marami na tayong mga iniisip na bibilhin - mga bagay na paggagastusan. At may mga tao na hindi kinakayang maghintay pa ng akinse o katapusan ng buwan upang gumastos. 

Oo nga naman napakadaling ikaskas ang credit card sa payment counter sa mga mall, tinataon pa naman na may laging sale tuwing sahuran.

Those who are bent into doing this feel that they have the "right to spend" on anything that they like because anyway it is their money. 

WHAT IS YOUR SAVINGS HABIT?

Ang tao, ewan ko ba kung bakit habang may hawak na pera ay parang di mapakali at laging nag-iisip kung ano kaya ang kanyang bibilhin, marami siyang naaalalang mga kulang sa kanyang katawan at mga kulang na bagay sa bahay at hindi niya iniisip na magtipid at magtabi dahil parang hindi pa kinakailangan dahil madami pang hawak na pera.

Pag may hawak na pera kaagad naaalala ng tao na luma na pala ang kanyang sapatos at belt, na medyo matagal-tagal na siyang hindi nakapag-parlor at facial treatment, na kelangan nga pala niyang magpa-full body massage. O kaya naman naalala niya na medyo luma na ang kanyang TV set at LED na ang uso ngayon, o kaya ay kelangan na niyang mapalitan ang kanyang cellphone kasi touch screen na ang uso ngayon kahit kung tutuusin ay pareho namang gumagana pa ng maayos.

At may mga masasarap na pagkaing gusto pa niyang matikman sa mga kilalang restaurant kahit medyo may kamahalan, at least meron siyang maidagdag na mga photo sa Facebook.

Magsisimula lamang siyang mag-isip na magtipid kapag kakaunti na lamang ang natitirang hawak na pera. They will only start saving when there is almost nothing left to save. Majority of Filipinos follow this common money management formula:

                                             INCOME - EXPENSES = SAVINGS 

Common as it is but not necessarily ideal. The formula indicates that their priority is their expenses, not their savings - na sila ay makapagtatabi lamang kapag may natira pa sa budget pagkatapos ng mga gastusin. Medyo madami po kasing pinaggagastusan - load sa cellphone, online game ni Junior, at marami pang mga gastusin dahil pag may bagong electronic gadget ang anak ng kapitbahay ay gusto na rin makipantay ng mga anak kaya nagkakanda-kuba na ang mga magulang sa kaka-abroad masuportahan lamang ang luho ng mga bata, na para bang yun lamang ang natitirang paraan upang makabawi at mapunan nila ang pangungulila ng kanilang mga anak sa kanilang mga magulang.

THE COMMON ANTIDOTE

At ang nakikitang solusyon ay gumawa ng paraan upang tumaas ang kinikita o sahod para baka sakaling may matira at baka sakaling may maitabing halaga. But the problem is when their income goes up, their expenses also go up -- di na makatulog pag walang aircon pero dati solve na sa electric fan (naka number 2 o 3 nga lang); di na kontento sa free TV signal at gusto naka cable na kaya wala na tuloy panahon na mag-review ng lessons; ang mga anak ibang notebook na ang gusto at hindi na yung gawa sa papel, at nagagalit pa kapag di naka mobile broadband connection.

Ang anak na high school o kolehiyo ay ayaw nang mag-LRT dahil siksikan daw, gusto taxi na lang papunta sa school at pauwi. Sadyang mahirap nga makapag-ipon kapag ganoon ang kalagayan. That's why many OFWs cannot save much because even if they earn a lot, they and/or their family also spend a lot, that's why they end up with this sad situation. 

Their money chain looks like this: BIG INCOME minus BIG EXPENSES euqals NOTHING LEFT (DEFICIT sometimes). The solution? Find another job with a higher salary, abroad. Where else? And it has become an endless cycle.

IS THERE ANY HOPE?

Some people have tried this formula: BIG INCOME minus REDUCED EXPENSES equals SMALL SAVINGS. At least this formula is better than the first, but they still work hard to earn bigger income and they try to reduce the expenses to manageable levels: Tuwing sabado at linggo na lang ang online game ni Junior sa computer shop; taxi papunta ng school pero MRT na pauwi; bawas-bawasan ang tawag para makatipid sa load, etc.

Pero hanggang kelan kakayanin ang pagbabawas ng gastos o cost cutting? Dahil kadalasan pag napansin na medyo malaki na ng konti ang naiipon ay humihirit na naman ang kagustuhang gumastos. Kaya ang nangyayari pag may ipon na nauuso na ang big family reunion, bakasyon sa Boracay for 7 days, o kaya pasyal sa Hongkong para naman maiba...at malaman-laman mo na lang paubos na rin pala ang perang naitabi.

Ngunit may nakahanda tayong linya para diyan, at ganito kadalasan ang sinasabi: "At least masaya naman ang mga bata, iba na rin kasi yung makapunta rin sila ng ibang bansa." Then you end up having good memories and nice pictures na pang Facebook, and leave your family and work abroad again. 

May pagkakahawig ba ang kwento ng buhay mo sa mga inilarawan dito? Nais mo bang mabago ito? Do not get discouraged because you can change your current situation if you will just give some thought and some sense to the way you spend your money.

How? Well, watch for the next article. It might just help you. Suffice it to say that you can start saving money by watching out your spending habit first!

One might wonder why I am posting this article and if is has something to do with our effort for the establishment of an OFW BANK. It has some direct and indirect relation to that, because your future investments to that OFW BANK should come from your savings, and it is my great hope that this article and any other related succeeding articles might greatly help change our attitude and habits towards savings. 

You may send your ideas, suggestions and reactions by clicking HERE.

An Emotional Blog From A Son Whose Dad Is An OFW

I am posting here an exact copy of an emotional blog from a son whose Dad is an OFW who works in Libya, and I have also posted my 1 kilometer comment, long as it is but please read on because it might also help you guide your kids.

The name of the blogger-child is Jeffrey Francis who is very appreciative of what his Dad is doing for their sake, and he has this big question: "How can we repay them for their hard work?". I have tried to give him my thoughts below, through this article. Quoting now from Jeffrey Francis' blog:

"Parents......Our Real Inspiration  

 It was July 5 at 7:30 in the evening we go to the airport.....Our father will go back to Libya for another one year contract. All of us were sad because we will be missing him again. Almost everyday we go to church to ask God for his safe flight and for his good health......Thanks God because of internet we survived.....We cried but we have to sacrifice because it is for our own good, especially for us, his children, in order for us to finish our studies....

Parents......They serve as the life and inspiration of  the children like us, because they are the one who gives us tender love and care.. Not only that but they also give us enough protection. They comforts, gives advice and help us in times of problems and troubles. When you wake up in the morning the first person you can see is your parents... Your  mother cooking your breakfast, and your father preparing his self for his work. How thankful we are in their industriousness,but how we can repay them for those hardworks? Like us in this kind of age we have our own simple and little way on how we can thank them. They pursue all they can, for us to achieve our dreams.. Even though it's hard for them to spend their whole time in their work, but still it's also for us to have a good and a beautiful future when we grow up. It's much harder to those children who have a parents who is working abroad, those persons are called OFW.... Like us our father is an OFW it's hard for us specially when he is about to leave us.... Our father, every time he come home here in the Philippines, my sister always cry,not of sadness but because of happiness because he will be with us in another 45 days.. They don't feel the presence of tiredness just for us to have a better life.... Even it's only few days to spend our whole time with him,we still appreciate it because it's also for us.

Few days After he will be coming back again....And we will spend our whole time together!!!!"

Posted by Jeffrey Francis

And this is my comment for Jeffrey Francis:

"How thankful we are in their industriousness, but how we can repay them for those hardworks?"

A nice and deep question esp. from a kid like you dear Jeffrey Francis. Just came across your blog through your Dad's link.

I can genuinely feel what you feel every time your Dad leaves to work abroad because I was once in that situation too. My father was a geodetic surveyor ("was" because he is with the Lord now) working for a big logging company here and he would come home on early Saturday evenings and would leave home early Sunday afternoons after attending Church and would ride his bike to take him back to the logging forests again. You are even lucky because you got 45 days with your Dad, while I only had a few hours.

I also know how your Dad feels every time he says goodbye and leave you for another year of absence because of the nature of his work. But he does it, painful and hard as it is for both of you, because he loves you and he wants to ensure a better future for you.

Given that situation, how can you repay your Dad? and your Mom? Let me share something from my heart:

My parents used to tell me since when I was a kid (I'm the eldest) that they would do their best "kahit na gagapang pa daw sila kung kinakailangan" to be able to give me a good education and they would support me all the way but until I reach 21 years old. Why 21 yrs old? Because engineering takes 5 years to finish.

Ngunit sabi nila, I should study and do my best to learn life because they would stop all the support right after my 21st birthday and from there I will have to live life by my own - meaning I had to find my own living to support myself and never expect for any centavo from my parents anymore because they would need to re-channel their resources to my other siblings doing school.

I do did my best in school and in life, all with the help of God who is alive in my heart. And my parents made good of their word too!

So the best way that you can repay your parents, if I may suggest, is to study hard and do the best that you can; never waste your time hanging out with some "friends" in the mall playing online games, or killing time somewhere and sharing dirty jokes or something; don't bother sticking it out with peers who do not help you become your best and who do not help you succeed in life.

And on top of that, learn how to handle money. Don't spend all your allowance, regardless of how small or big it is. Just remember that every time you buy something, say a sandwich for P10, you are making that store owner richer by another P10 every time and you are making yourself poorer by P10 every time you part with that money.

So how about reversing the trend? Make yourself the "store owner"! How? Well, try it this way: Prepare at least 2 sandwiches before leaving for school, just as tasty or even better than the one sold in the school cafe. You can have one for your snacks (that means you are no longer buying so you have already spared your P10 allowance as savings), and you can sell the other sandwich to your friend for P10 (just make sure na mas masarap kaysa canteen para mapabili mo siya).

So everyday, you saved your P10 allowance and earned another P10. Too small an amount for a kid whose Dad is an OFW! Yes, but actually no! Let me help you see what I see:

If everyday you get P20 more adding on to your pocket, that's P100 per week or P400 per month or P4,800 in a year! And with that amount you can already put up a mobile cart selling fried peanuts that can give you daily average net income of P150 - P300. You can hire one of your tito or neighbor who is out of a job to do the frying and selling of peanuts (anyway sa gabi lang yun, between 5:30p to around 9:30pm).

So while you are saving P10 and making another P10 daily, you will also be making another P150 daily from you fried peanuts business. That peanut business will give you P54,750 in a year! Who among your classmates can have that in a year? And remember, that P54,750 is already equivalent to another 10 more mobile peanut stand.

So you see, kahit nasa elementary or high school ka pa lang ngayon Jeffrey Francis, you can do it! Just imagine if you already have 11 mobile fried peanuts carts scattered in several places na madaming tao, the 11 mobile carts will give you roughly P602,250 net income every year! And you will become the boss of 11 people already.

Assuming hanggang 11 units lang ang gusto mo, but 11 units giving you a total of P602,250 each year, after 5 years you will already have something like P3,011,250. So assuming that you are 13 years old now in 1st year high school then you will be a millionaire (with P1.2M) at 15 years old or 3rd year high school. You will make your parents proud of you. And remember, success is contagious. You will never know how you will influence other kids to try putting up their own business too!

And I tell you Jeffrey Francis, pag natuwa sa iyo ang Dad mo baka bigyan ka niya ng reward. I mean I did that to my kids. Every new year's eve, we count our blessings and check how much money they saved or earned for the whole past year, and then I double them. Pag ang naitabi ng mga anak ko ay P5,000 then I give them another P5,000. If one got just P1,500 then he will have another P1,500 from me. But if one has nothing, then he will also have nothing from me except for my love, my prayers and my guiding words of advice and encouragement for him to do better next time.

To me that's how you can repay your parents, on top of being the good and godly child that you are. That will make them enjoy their lives when they retire because they know that they do not have to look after your welfare always because you know how to live your life the best way possible.

So go ahead my child and be a young entrepreneur. Share me something about your success not too distant from now. God bless you."

Could It Be That..?

For so many years, the Philippines has been sending out skilled, talented, excellent and well-experienced workers and professionals to work abroad. For a long time, our kababayang OFWs have worked in different corners of the earth to be able to send home financial support for their families. Pero ganito lang po ba talaga ang tunay na layunin at dahilan kung bakit mayroon tayong milyon-milyong OFWs ngayon.

I can sense that there is more to it. Could it be that the real and bigger purpose is to gather the dollars, the euros, the dirhams, the rials, the yens, etc. of other nations and put up a big bank owned by OFWs with big foreign currency deposits? So that this big bank will become the source of sustenance for the future generations - the sons and daughters of OFWs? And that will be used by God to end your sufferings of working away from home, and be finally united with their family and put up profitable businesses here thereby increasing the gross national product of the country, and providing more job opportunities to Filipinos here on top of making money through their dividends from this big OFW BANK?

Could the OFW BANK the best way for you to end the routine of waking up very early on Monday mornings (against your will and physical strength) to report to work making somebody else rich while you are forced to be content with what you receive every 15th and 30th?

Please take time to view the following videos and these might just help you redirect your lives, your purpose for living, and your visions for your life - as it did to me.

Please don't miss the powerful message these videos bring to you.

Please don't procrastinate. Don't keep postponing your destiny.

Let me know how God and what God has spoken to you lately through this video?

Starting 2011 Right!

Happy New Year! With an expectant heart, let us welcome the new year 2011 knowing and believing full well that God is with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us, that He came to give us life and have it to the full.

Mga mahal kong kababayang OFWs baka hindi lang po ninyo alam na matagal na pong sinabi ng Panginoon ang plano Niya para sa atin, we may have become so busy working for a living and failed to get a life, but God said this to us, and I quote:

"¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. "

Talagang mayroong napakagandang plano ang Panginoon para po sa ating lahat - TO PROSPER YOU, TO GIVE YOU HOPE AN A FUTURE! If you want to check, go to Jeremiah 29:11-13 and see it for yourself.

There may be times in our lives that we are down and discouraged, and maybe a few of you are in that situation, pero huwag po kayong pumayag na panghinaan ng loob dahil dakila po sa lahat ang ating Panginoon. Let me quote here the strong encouraging words of the prophet Isaiah. He said in Isaiah 40:27-31:

"²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? ²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Get on with life! Get on with God! Remember that it is He, the LORD, who has given you the ability, the skill and the power to gather, produce and make wealth!

In order to make the season complete, and to help everyone who believes start the new year right, let me share to you this video below and it is up to you how to take advantage of it and how to maximize its benefits for your life today. You might just also see some of our kababayan OFWs working in Singapore right on this video.

May the good LORD bless us immeasureably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us! That is what is told us in Ephesians 3:20, in case this is your first time to hear about it.

Every New Year, a lot of people watch on TV about these popular astrologers and feng shui experts say about their predictions for the new year round as if they really know what will happen and what's in store for everyone!

I have posted here another article which might just help you realize your unreleased potential and your valuable destiny as a person. Please don't miss it because it might just change your life as it did mine. I am blessed to have given the opportunity to meet the guy in that video personally here in the Philippines, face to face, some 3 years ago and he unlocked my creative thinking, I was never the same person since then, God had used him to make me realize my true potentials. Watch those videos here.

You may send your reactions HERE.

OFW BANK Related Exchange of Ideas By Email

In my desire to be transparent to our kababayang OFWs, I have posted below some excerpts of the email exchanges between some of us here in reference to the setting up of an OFW BANK, with the indulgence of our kababayans who sent them.

From Andy P. of New Zealand:

“Ako po ay nalulugod at humahanga sa inyong adhikain na makapaglunsad ng isang banko na makakatulong sa ating mga kababayang Pilipino.  Nabasa ko po ang inyong website at nakita ko ang determinasyon ninyo na maisulong ang ideya ng OFW Bank.  Tama po kayo na marami na ang nagtangka pero wala pang nagtagumpay na makapagtayo ng isang matatawag na OFW Bank.   Hindi po ‘yun maaaring dahilan na dapat kayong umatras sa laban dahil lahat ng sumuong sa laban na ‘yan ay natatalo laman.   Dapat din po nating suriin ang mga kadahilanan kung bakit hindi sila nagtagumpay at kung ano ang kanilang motibasyon sa pagtatayo ng banko.  Sa kadahilanang marami ang kokontra o kaya e negatibo ang pananaw, doon mo makikita at makikilala na marami pa rin sa ating mga Pilipino ang hindi bukas sa mga ganyang ideya.  Maaring sa kadahilanan na maaaring likas o kaya ay hinubog ng panahon sa pagka-sadlak sa pamamahalang bulok at puno ng korupsyon.  Hindi natin maaalis sa kanila ‘yun.   Subalit ako’y natutuwa sa kadahilanang maraming mga Pilipino ang nagbigay ng komento sa inyong website at sa gmanews.tv ang bukas sa ideyang eto.  At ako ay kaisa ninyo sa adhikaing ito at handa po akong tumulong sa abot ng aking makakaya.   Isa din eto sa aking pinangarap na makapag-ambag sa ikakasulong ng pamilyang Pilipino.

Ako ay lubos na natuwa ng mabasa ko ang inyong ideya para sa isang “Foreign Retirees in the Philippines” type of business sa kadahilanang ganitong konsepto din ang aking pinag-iisipan nung andyan pa ako sa Pilipinas.  Nagsimula ang ideyang ‘yun ng makita ko ang nagdadamihang mga Koreano na nag-aaral diyan sa atin sa Pilipinas.  Habang nag-aaral yung kanilang mga anak or kamag-anak ay kasama nila yung kanilang mga retirees na kamag-anak.  Actually, marami na ding mga foreign nationals ang nakakita ng mga potentials na ‘yan at nagse-setup sila ng schools at mga communities as a business.   Nakakatuwang isipin that I’ve met someone with the same wave length ika nga…

On your idea of the real estate business, I’m all sold out in that idea as I’ve done it several times already with all of them generating positive results (hindi naman po sa pagmamayabang).  Ika nga, walang lugi sa real-estate basta tama ang iyong strategy at management.

Nabasa ko na kelangan nyo ng tulong sa inyong website.  Maari ko po kayong tulungan sa aspetong ‘yan kahit sa konting paraan.   Pwede po nating umpisahan sa content na muna then tsaka na lang po natin pagandahin yung design or aesthetics.   May naiisip na po ba kayong domain name na gusto nyong ipangalan para po sarili nyo na yung domain?…. Pwede pong http://www.ofwbankincubator.com... Pwede ko na pong sagutin yung domain registration… J… Sabihin nyo lang po kung ano po ang requirement ninyo… Maari po akong makatulong sa inyo sa larangan ng IT at kahit konti sa banking industry.g

Siyanga po pala, ako po si Andy P.   Kasalukuyan po akong nandito sa bansa ng New Zealand kasama ang aking buong pamilya (ang aking maybahay at apat na anak).  Magda-dalawang taon na rin kami dito pero maalab pa rin ang aming pagmamahal sa bayan at patuloy sa panalangin na sana ay umusad na ng tuluyan ang ating kalagayan at kahit paano ay maibsan ang exodus ng mga Pilipino....Ipagpatuloy nyo ang simulating ito.  Kaisa nyo po kami..   Mabuhay po kayo Makabayang Pilipino!”

My reply to Andy P. of New Zealand:

(Andy P. is working in a big bank in New Zealand)

“Finally I have company in you. Many liked this idea and it really went around so fast, a lot wants to see it done already but you are (one of) the first one who volunteered to help, and help big!…

And thank you for your offer to cover the cost of the domain. I will contact you when we get there, but at this point I want to make use of the free media po muna because people mostly are averse when you mention about (the cost of) operating a website domain.  And I will be consulting you about IT concerns for the website later. You just don't know how much you have inspired me today to pursue this dream.

It's nice to know that you are a banker, because I'm not, I only have some limited understanding about banking and finance because I am a civil engineer by profession and I'm into real estate too.

Kaya kung pwede po sana makiusap po ako sa inyo to help me, if you can be the watchful eye over my shoulders, so that whenever you see something in the website that is not perfectly aligned with the actual banking practice and principles please correct me po kaagad so I can also make things right.

Please bear with me if one of these days you will receive emails from me pleading for some of your inputs.”

From Andy P. of New Zealand:

“Looking at your grand idea of an OFW bank, the capitalization strategy and the business plan are pretty much aligned to how it’s being done in the real world with just some refinements required along the process.   Since this is more or less an initial draft or proto-type of the bigger things to come, refinements and changes will surely come its way.  Kahit na nga naka-blueprint na ‘yung plano eh binabago pa din and that should be alright.   I’ll be very glad to help in this refinement process and I don’t mind if you’ll be sending emails asking inputs on certain things where you think I could be of help.

I could relate well on what you’re trying to do maybe because we have the same academic orientation.   I’m also an engineer (computer eng’g) pero nalinya sa information technology at banking industry.  Medyo malawak ang banking business and most of them are covered under the commercial bank license; which is unlike thrift banks, rural banks or savings bank which had limited coverage.   I always liked the idea of thinking big, as in BIG.   Talagang mahirap kumawala sa “rat-race” kapag ang tao eh nandun pa din sa tinatawag nilang “scarcity mindset”.   It’s never wrong to think ‘rich’ and to dream big, basta palagi pa rin tayong nakaapak sa lupa at tumitingin sa tinatawag nilang ‘reality-check’.  

For example, even if there are 1.5M OFWs, sa marketing plan we would always consider the ‘take-up’ rate and acceleration.   Ika nga eh, meron kang 1.5M na population, pero ilang porsyento diyan ang sa 1^st stage eh sasali na kaagad, then sa 2^nd stage, then 3^rd…. Then yung period between those stages eh kelangan nating i-compute kung ano yung acceleration rate ng mga nagre-respond… Acceleration, meaning gaano katagal at gaano kadami ang sumasali sa loob ng panahon na ‘yun… At sa business plan, are you considering all the 3 stages as part of the initial capitalization (capital build-up) or yun lang 1^st stage…

Medyo madaming detalye, pero tuloy lang tayo dahil dadaanan din naman ‘yan habang nere-refine yung business plan.   Kasama ‘yan sa process.  Para din ‘yang building na habang ginagawa mo ‘yung plano eh marami pa ring binabago hanggang makuha mo yung tamang design, tatag at ganda na gusto nyo…”

My reply to Andy P. of New Zealand:

“Thanks for the inputs especially about your ideas about the take-up rate and acceleration rate. I am still in the process of looking for some hard statistical data on which to base my estimates so that the assumptions that will be drawn up will approximate the general reality…

…I want to help them see the big picture first, and help them prepare…, meaning be ready with their savings because their real commitment to this vision is by way of how soon they start to save something monthly so that when the call time is up they are ready with the capital to invest.

Personally, I would rather that we start with a smaller number, say a mere 1% of the 1.5M OFWs, because if this initial group of 15,000 OFWs will save P16,700 every month that's P3B in a year which is enough to put up an OFW Commercial Bank. And once this is up and making money, I think it will be a lot easier to get the others to join and invest.

But the disadvantage for the late comers is the higher value per share because whatever retained income after every year of operation gets added to the equity side, so pag nahuling sumali ang mga OFWs working as househelps in Hongkong for example mas mahal na po ang bili nila ng shares of stocks nila kaya mas preferred ko po sana na we can get a wider investor base.

Putting up the blogsite is really my contribution to sell the OFW Bank idea first to as many OFWs as possible at pag madami na po ang nagkagusto at sumusuporta po dito then that's the time na we go to the second phase of formal registration process, etc.

I want po sana to do a survey where they can create their own personal service accounts and indicate their pseudonyms, email address and how much capital can they commit say by end of 2011 at mag-appear sa website how much total amount is pledged by how many OFWs.

Then they can visit their virtual account in the site monthly and update how much money they have actually saved in their real savings accounts at mag-appear din po doon sa website ang total amount actually saved.

This will encourage others when they see in graphical form how much money is being pledged as investments to the OFW Bank and how many OFWs have committed. And on top of that they should also see how much money is ACTUALLY saved with running total per month versus what was pledged and how many OFWs who pledged to invest are actually saving.

Because with that we can really see if majority of those who support the idea of an OFW Bank are really into it heart, body and soul dahil karamihan po kasi ay madaling ma-excite na mangarap lalo na po pag nakaamoy ng magandang idea tulad nito ngunit pagdating sa actual ay wala pala.

Baka may maitulong po kayo kung paano po yun ma-incorporate sa website. That data will also guide me when to formally present this to GMA Network to help us gain more ground globally and also bring this up to the possible personalities who might be willing and whom we see can really help us to be part of our Board of Trustees and possible bank executives.

I cannot just go to them and just talk about this dream, they will ask for some facts. Pag meron akong hawak na ganoong data, I think it will be easier for us to convince them to help and support us.

It's good to know that VP Binay is also espousing the same dream of having an OFW Bank pero allergic po ako pag may government presence dahil parang ang maging dulo kaagad noon ay malulugi lang dahil kelan ba naging magaling magpatakbo ang mga Board of Directors na political appointees, at ang plano pa nila ay bibilhin na lang ang Postal Bank at yun ang maging start ng OFW Bank, ibig sabihin po ay gagamitin lang nila ang pera ng OFWs to buyout that ailing bank from government control pero government appointees ang magpapatakbo, naku delikado po yun at doon ako takot dahil sayang lang ang pera ng OFWs. Okey lang po sana kung kumikita yung banko na yun and government participation will just be limited to organizing and collecting the investment through a trust fund and invest this fund in Treasury Bills while the SEC & BSP approvals are being worked out, but the owners should be 100% OFWs.”

From jappet21 of UK:

“Magandang araw po! Bumisita din ako kanina lang (8:30am UK…, as i have mentioned may mga naka-usap na ko na mga kasama dito at karamihan nga positibo sa ideya. Di ko pa nai-papasa yung web link ng blogspot mo dahil nasa night shifts ako for this week. Hopefully tonight will not be very busy so i can sit down and email a few friends.
Nai-mention mo si bro Eddie v sa 'about' section mo- just curious, are you a born again christian? Hope you don't mind me asking, as the name bro Eddie v was as synonymous with 'born again' or 'JIL'!

Well, christian, Muslims, Hindu, or whatever your belief brother as long as you love Filipinos and the filipino mother land and deeply desire its soon to be 'freedom' from moral and financial bankcruptcy i have no question about it.

One thing i know, your words of encouragements on the gma7 thread were like words of angels that i long to hear for a long time, (as many to whom i spoke to about doing things for the sake of the Philippines were all mere patronizing and discouragements - who can blame them!) your encouragements and ideas of possibilities to make a better Philippines were like a flickering light in a distance inside a cold, damp, dark tunnel!
Mabuhay ka sir, and God bless us all.”

From Daniel Dacillo of Qatar:

“…Kung anuman ang maitutulong ko upang magtagumpay ang balak na OFW Bank, maaasahan ninyo na handa akong sumuporta. Ang kahirapan nga lang sa kalagayan ko at iba pang mga naandito sa Qatar ay ang pag-uwi dahil usually yearly lang kami nakakauwi sa atin, merong iba na mas malimit at least twice  a year na nakakatuwa din dahil siyempre mas malimit nilang makita ang mga pamilya nila kesa sa nakakarami dito sa amin.

Kayo higit sa lahat ang nakaaalam kung paano ang mga proseso ng ganitong bagay kaya siguro sa inyo mapupunta ang malaking kontribusyong pisikal at sakripisyo para matuloy ito…”

My reply to Andy P. of New Zealand:

“Salamat na nakatagpo po ako ng kapwa ko pong Pilipino na katulad ninyo na nangangarap at gumagawa ng mga paraan upang makatulong sa pag-unlad ng ating bayan.

Malaki ang tulong po ninyo sa pamamagitan ng inyong kasipagan sa paggawa dyan po sa ibang bansa, kahit na nga ang kapalit nito ay mabigat na sakripisyong mapalayo sa bayan at sa mga mahal sa buhay.

Ipagpatuloy po natin ang hangaring ito, at alam ko pong pagpapalain tayo ng Panginoon. Dama ko po ang kagandahang loob po ninyo at ang inyong pagiging makabayan. Nawa marami pa pong kababayan natin ang magkaroon ng ganito rin pong uri ng layunin.” 

From Chriz Rimando of Abu Dhabi:

“I share the same interest with you… start the OFW Bank rolling and Count me in.  mabuhay ka kabayan,  I share the same visions with you, you have all my support in your undertaking… My suggestion is have a thread showing the intentions of every OFW who would like to join our cause.”…

“I’ve already collated feasibility studies for Tilapia Raising, Goat raising and  Quail egg raising.  A viable business right now is food production, working here in Abu Dhabi, UAE encouraged me to go into food business production.”

(Chriz Rimando also plans to avail of the government’s P1B Loan Facility for OFWs and use the proceeds for profitable ventures together with like-minded OFWs that he is inviting to join him. You can reach him at Chrizvoltaire in Facebook and Multiply.com for more info.)

My reply to Chriz Rimando of Abu Dhabi:

“I Thanks for the email, it's good that you have that vision to put up food production ventures in the province when you come home. I have posted an edited portion of your email in the free website including your facebook &multiply account to spread the word and encourage those who are into food production to also go with you on a joint venture or coop basis.

May you find great success in that endeavor at sana mas marami pang mga kababayan nating OFWs ang magka lakas loob na pasukin ang mundo ng negosyo.”

You can also participate by sending us your reactions and suggestions or any ideas that can help promote the establishment of the OFW BANK through email by clicking HERE.

Binay Wants Plans for 'OFW Bank' revived - GMA News

Again, with the indulgence of www.gmanews.tv may I post herein in toto the said news article and pilipino's initial reaction and reservations, as follows:

Binay wants plans for 'OFW Bank' revived

12/22/2010 | 02:59 PM

To bring down the cost of sending money to the Philippines, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Wednesday he is pushing for the creation of an “OFW Bank."

Binay — also the Presidential Adviser on OFWs’ Concerns — wrote to President Benigno Aquino III pushing for the proposed bank as an “alternative yet viable" remittance institution here and abroad.

“The bank will provide fair competition towards the reduction or lowering of remittance or transaction costs and provide a productive outlet for our overseas Filipinos’ savings as bank investors and shareholders," he said in the letter posted on the Office of the Vice President’s website.

Binay said the move was in response to OFWs’ (overseas Filipino workers) clamor for an OFW Bank, as financial intermediaries and money brokers are presently charging exorbitant fees for money transfers.

Government financial institutions will initially fund and underwrite the bank, according to the Vice President said.

Eventually, investors and stockholders will own and control the OFW Bank, Binay said.

Money sent home by OFWs rose to $15.46 billion in the first 10 months of the year, up 7.9 percent from $14.23 billion in the same period last year, central bank data showed.

A chunk of the remittances came from the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, UK, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany, and Norway.

The idea for an OFW Bank was raised in 2006 as a way of consolidating the financial assets and operational capabilities of government institutions, like Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Philippine Postal Corp.

The project was supposed to create a financial institution for OFWs, one that is inexpensive and more focused toward its OFW-oriented direction and services. Because of the global recession, it was shelved.

Instead, LandBank and DBP launched separate remittance programs for the lucrative OFW market estimated by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration between eight million and 11.5 million land- and sea-based employees. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV

THE INITIAL REACTIONS AND APPREHENSIONS 

The clamor for an OFW Bank is now gaining grounds though each proposal differ in their approaches but the common general idea really is to help the OFWs, in fact there is this discussion site about this OFW Bank in http://ofwbankincubator.blogsp... and it might just be worth your while to drop by that site and check out the ideas being espoused there, and pitch in your ideas there too.

I support the Vice President's move along this line and I appreciate him for writing the President about this clamor for an OFW Bank that will be sensitive to the needs of the OFWs.

But I have reservations though about government hands directly involved in its operations because governments are not known to be efficient in running businesses like that, I mean PNB was losing money when it was run by the government. Quedancor was another sad story. And that involves government money at under COA audit pa yan.

Can the government bureaucrats change skin overnight and become efficient? Remember this will involve OFW money, how can you pin down government-appointed bank directors, officers and managers if they mismanage the OFW Bank owned by the OFWs? The Philippine Postal Bank is a good example of bad government-appointed managers (please don't misunderstand me, I'm not hitting PNoy nor VP Binay here).

How can you pin down the people responsible for such mess? May nakasuhan at nakulong na ba na mga tao na naging dahilan ng pagkalugi at pagbagsak ng QUEDANCOR? Ang pagkalugi ng SSS at GSIS? May naipakulong na ba? Yung OWWA Fund anong nangyari? Yung RSBS at Veteran's money? And then we use the money to bail out an ailing Postal Bank and make it an OFW Bank, common.

I don't want to be pessimistic but is there no political color here especially if some people are known to be gunning for 2016 elective positions? I mean Sen. Manny Villar also sponsored a Senate Bill for an OFW Bank with that same line where the Postal bank is involved. That was when he was gunning for the Presidency but he was quite about it since then because it's not useful for him now.

Sana ay maling-mali po ako sa aking mga sapantaha. Baka ang mangyayari pa niyan dadagsain yan ng loans ng mga politico na nakatulong "kuno" sa pagtatayo ng OFW Bank tapos wala ng bayaran pag natalo sa election. Ganoon po kasi ang nangyari sa QUEDANCOR. It started as a noble program to provide farmers and small businesses wider and easier access to capital for their small scale businesses.

Ang ginawa po ng mga likong politico ay nagtayo po sila ng maraming mga cooperatives, farmers group, samahang nayon businesses that appeared to be viable that's why those loans were approved and released to them, but the money was never really used to put up those businesses but were diverted to political ends.

Sabi nila kunwari ay magtatayo ng babuyan sa ganitong nayon ngunit ang pera ay napunta sa baboy na politico and this evil practice was duplicated by other politicos nationwide, nagkokoyahan sila ng ganung paraan paano makahiram ng pera para panggastos sa politika. Noong di sila nanalo walang habol sa kanila ang gobyerno dahil hindi naman sila ang nakapirma doon kundi yung mga business fronts nila na ang nakasalang doon ay mga pangalan ng mga maliliit na mga taga-nayon na nagtiwala sa kanila na maiahon ang kanilang pamumuhay sa "kagandahang kalooban ni congressman, ni mayor at ni governor. Walang mahabol na tao ang Quedancor kasi alangan naman pong ipakulong nila yung mga maliliit na magsasakang nakapirma po doon e hindi naman sila nakatanggap ng pera, and the matter will become politicized so the solution was to close down Quedancor dahil lugi daw po.

I don't want that same fate to happen with the OFW Bank. Again I might be grossly misunderstood here as either to pessimistic or because I want to hit or discredit somebody which are totally far from my intentions here. I am just giving you cautions and trying also to help others see the other side of the coin. It is for you to weigh the ideas and apprehensions I raised here and see for yourselves if I am just babbling some nonsense here. You might want to compare it with the ideas raised in http://ofwbankincubator.blogsp..., just check because it might help everyone in coming up with the best thesis.

The idea as presented in the news article above is good, it just needs some fine-tuning to ensure efficiency, transparency, responsibility, accountability, professionalism and ethical practice in running that bank.

How To Make The OFWs An Economic Powerhouse?

With economic power comes respect. How can we make our OFWs an economic powerhouse? Are we already content that the OFW money sent home has become part of the financial statistics often bannered on news headlines? Can we do more than being a statistical number?

There is a pending Senate Bill aimed at establishing an OFW Bank by collecting money through compulsory contributions from the OFWs through OWWA and use that money to buy and salvage the old, badly managed and losing Postal Bank that has bad assets and bad loans and other questionable liabilities based on the way I understand their 2009 financial report. 

And because it is through OWWA and a Senate Bill which becomes a Republic Act, then that implies that their proposed version of an OFW Bank will just be another government controlled and operated corporation run by government-appointed business managers who were not really known for efficient and profitable management of any government corporation! Tapos idadamay pa ang pera ng OFWs para pang-solve sa problema ng Postal Bank na owned, operated and managed ng government appointees din tapos pag nabili na ng OFWs government appointees din ulit ang magpapatakbo?

I don't subscribe to that idea. The senator may have the best intentions but I don't see the light there for the OFWs, masusunog lang ang pera nila. At ang delikado pa niyan, baka gawing bagsakan pa yan ng housing loans applications from low-cost housing na inaabunuhan ng developer ang pang-monthly amortization for the first year just to get off the 1-year buyback requirement and then no more payments for the succeeding years because di naman talaga pala totoong mga paying buyers yun in the first place, so the bank will be saddled with a huge non-performing loans just like what crippled the NHA program, the SSS/GSIS housing program and even PagIbig Fund housing program before.

And these non-performing loans and assets were sold palugi through the SPAV Law where these bad assets were sold at around 70% discount through SPAV. Ang nakinabang dito ay ang SPAV companies that were mostly owned by foreigners like Lehman Brothers noon, etc...nakinabang because after buying them at 70% discount they sell them back to the Filipinos at present market values!

Why buy an old bank with heavy liabilities (mostly non-performing) when in fact the OFWs can even put up an OFW Commercial Bank very easily in as far as
capitalization is concerned, if only the OFWs will realize that they are actually an economic powerhouse.

You see, based on recent OWWA figures, the documented OFWs in 2009 is already at 1.479M and that population is increasing at 14-15% a year so by simple extrapolation the 2010 figure is at least 1.686 million OFWs already and if everybody will just save P500 per month for just 4 months (say from January to April 2011) the OFWs can raise a total of P3.372 Billion capital which is much much more than enough to put up a big OFW COMMERCIAL BANK that is similar to these big commercial banks in the Philippines. The minimum cash capital requirement for a commercial bank per BSP rules is only P2.4B actually.

Ok I can almost hear people saying napakaliit naman noong P500, so let's make it P1,000 savings per month for 4 months that's P6.744B capitalization! And if that OFW Bank with that cash capital will just earn say 12% a year (which is napakaliit masyado if you compare that to industry average figures among commercial banks) then that gives you P809M more money every year.

What happens when the 1.686M OFWs save P1,000 per month from January to December 2011 that will raise some P20.232 Billion initial capitalization by December 2011, napakalaking bangko po ang kayang itayo ng OFWs with that money and that is a real threat to BPI, Metrobank, BDO, PNB, etc.

Why just P500 or P1,000 a month? Para kayang-kaya makasali ang mga maliliit na OFWs kahit yung pinakamababa ang sweldo para may pagkakataong lumaki ang bawat OFW. Of course I know the doctors and nurses and engineers and caregivers and physical therapists and scientists and field experts and other OFWs who receive bigger salaries will be content to save a mere P500 or P1,000 a month as their future investment to an OFW bank siyempre mas malaki yung kaya nilang itabi. 

So assuming that 30% of our OFWs are in that category and they will save say P5,000 a month instead, that gives us an additional potential capitalization of P24.278B and add that up to your original P20.232B that brings us to P24.3B capitalization by end of December 2011! 

Pag may ganun kalaking bangko pwede ka nang mamili ng mas maliliit na bangko na may maraming branch na kumikita ng maganda dahil pag ganun biglang dami na kaagad ng iyong branches na operational and making money na kaagad. Because it actually takes time to get the BSP approval for additional branches, di yan tulad ng sari-sari store na kung kelan at kung saan mo gustong magtayo ng branch ay pwede dahil sariling desisyon mo lang ang masusunod but with banking it's very different because it is a heavily regulated industry. 

If you are interested with this idea it might be worth your while to invite other OFWs to also check what you have learned from here and encourage them to contribute their ideas here. Some have already contributed a lot of ideas here, and even their apprehensions and doubts.

Malay natin professional banking executive ka pala dyan sa ibang bansa at gusto mo na sanang umuwi, this might be the best opportunity for you. Or if not, at least you can give some inputs on how to put up that OFW Bank. Initial inputs are published and can be viewed here too. At least I was able to show here that capitalization is not an issue. Katumbas lang po yan ng isang araw nyong merienda yan dyan.

Let's go for that OFW Commercial Bank! Mabuhay!

Minimum Capital Requirements & Stockholdings Structure For An OFW Commercial Bank

In relation to our collective efforts to set up an OFW BANK, please check the following guidelines set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on establishing of new banks and its branches, there are certain minimum requirements that must be met. Listed below are the minimum requirements in summary form, these are copied from the BSP official website (www.bsp.gov.ph).

1. REQUIRED MINIMUM CAPITAL 
    TYPE OF BANK                                                             REQUIRED CAPITAL (In Pesos)

    a. UNIVERSAL BANKS                                                                                4.95 Billion
    b. COMMERCIAL BANKS                                                                              2.4 Billion
    c. THRIFT BANKS
        - With Head Office w/in Metro Manila                                                      325 Million
        - With Head Office outside Metro Manila                                                    52 Million
    d. RURAL BANKS
        - Within Metro Manila                                                                               26 Million
        - Within the cities of Cebu and Davao                                                       13 Million
        - Within 1st, 2nd & 3rd class cities and 1st class municipalities                  6.5 Million
        - Within 4th, 5th & 6th class cities & 2nd, 3rd, 4th class municipalities      3.9 Million
        - Within 5th & 6th class municipalities                                                     2.6 Million

The OFW Bank that we envision is a Full Commercial Bank which minimum required capitalization is 2.4 Billion Pesos.

2. MINIMUM STOCK SUBSCRIPTION REQUIREMENTS  
At least 25% of the total authorized capital stock shall be subscribed by the subscribers or owners of the proposed bank, and at least 25% of the subscribed stocks shall be paid up, provided that in no case shall the paid-up capital be less than the minimum required capital stated above. 

In our case the total amount of paid-up capital should not be less than P2.4B it being a full commercial bank. The P2.4B is just the minimum, we can increase that whenever we see it fit and attuned to the needs of the market.

This amount does not include yet all the other necessary capital expenses to cover the cost of putting up our Head Office and necessary branches including the office furnitures & equipments, office supplies, communication platform, security, insurance and the necessary operating costs, which based on early estimates may reach a minimum of P600 Million. That amount brings up to at least P3B as our total initial capitalization which already includes the estimated operating and capital expenses. You may refer to the other articles in this site where some suggestions on how to setup the OFW Bank were laid out.

We need more suggestions and reactions from you. Initially, some ideas on how we can put up the P3B Fund for an OFW Bank were volunteered and these are discussed in another article in this site.

3. STOCKHOLDING LIMITS AND RESTRICTIONS TO FOREIGN OWNERSHIP 
The stockholdings of an individual, family, corporate or business group in any bank shall be subject to the following limits:

• Foreign Individuals & Corporations - Foreign individuals and non-bank corporations may own or control up to forty percent (40%) of the voting stock of a domestic bank provided that the aggregate foreign-voting stocks owned by the foreign individuals and non-bank corporations in a domestic bank does not exceed forty percent (40%) of the outstanding voting stock of the bank. The percentage of the voting stock in a bank shall be determined by the citizenship of the individual stockholders in that bank.

• Filipino Individuals & Corporations - There shall be no aggregate ceiling on the ownership of Filipino individuals and corporations owning voting stocks in a domestic bank, meaning, a domestic bank can be 100% Filipino owned. A Filipino individual and a domestic non-bank corporation may each own up to forty percent (40%) of the voting stock of a domestic bank.

• Citizenship of a Stockholder-Corporation - The citizenship of the corporation which is a stockholder of a domestic bank shall follow the citizenship of the controlling stockholders of the corporation, irrespective of the place of incorporation. The term "controlling stockholders" refers to individuals holding more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting stock of the corporation.

We should have no problem with this requirement because anyway we do not intend to enter into any partnership with foreign investors since the idea really is to make it OFW owned.

4. ALLOWED OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF BANK

• COMMERCIAL BANKS - At least sixty percent (60%) of the voting stock of any commercial bank must be owned by Filipino citizens and/or Filipino corporations.

• THRIFT BANKS - For thrift banks, at least forty percent (40%) of its voting stocks should be owned by Filipino citizens and/or Filipino corporations. I do not totally get the idea of this provision as it seems to give some exception to the 60/40 ownership limit. Maybe this explains why thrift banks or savings banks which are foreign-owned and controlled are now mushrooming in Metro Manila like for example the Citi Savings Bank, HSBC Savings Bank, GE Savings Bank, etc. 

• RURAL BANKS - Subject to the provisions of Section 4 of R.A. No. 7353, an Act providing for the creation, organization and operation of Rural banks, and for other purposes, all of the capital stock of any rural bank should be fully owned and held, directly or indirectly, by Filipino citizens or corporations, associations or cooperatives qualified under Philippine Laws to own and hold such capital stock.

Please refer to www.cda.gov.ph for the rules and regulations implementing certain provisions of the new Philippine Cooperative Law of 2008 (R.A. No. 9520), including the special provisions of the new Cooperative Law.

Let us continue to enjoin others to know about where we are heading and help them be part of this dream of having our own OFW Bank.