Philippines Books

How You Can Get In On The Growing Dairy Industry In The Philippines!

Dairy produce is taken for granted by most of us; at least until we come to the Philippines! I remember my first trip here in the eighties, I craved a milkshake and a decent ham and cheese sandwich! You could order both from Room Service at the 1 star doss house I was staying at in Manila, but the milk was made from powder and the bread was sugar infested Filipino bread, with strange purple ham and high temperature cheese!

Nearly twenty years later the situation has changed considerably. While you can still get the same bread, ham, cheese and powdered milk, you can also buy a much wider range of quality dairy produce in just about any supermarket. Note the location is the “super” market, not the “native”, “local” or any other kind of market. Dairy products are imported, new to the diet and thus more expensive than the average item on sale at the “merchado” or local market. 

Currently, the Philippines is about only 2% self sufficient in dairy production. The National Dairy Authority is aiming at increasing that to 5% this year with an innovative program called “Palit Baka”, more about that later. Imports of milk from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Europe in various forms set the economy back nearly US$400 million in 2003. As the acceptance of dairy products grows in the A,B and even C classes, we can expect to see that figure grow.

One thing I have always found intriguing is the total absence of goat’s milk and goat’s cheeses. Given every spare plot of dirt has a ruminant or three grazing away and the market rarely has “Kambing” for sale (usually just a hind quarter, co where does the rest of the beast go?), how come nobody milks them and sells the milk or makes cheese or yoghurt?

I turned to the Asawa for guidance and she simply shrugged and said that no Filipino would buy goat’s milk or cheese. No reason, they just wouldn’t. I have learnt not to argue with her too much, especially on matters like this. Still, it seems pretty strange to me, especially when there are some great goat’s milk cheeses to be had and surely fresh goat’s milk is better than nothing at all in the calcium stakes?

But back to the baka, or cows. The NDA website is full of fascinating information and really should be visited. These people are making a very definite effort to improve the health and diet of the average Filipino. They are determined to bring fresh milk and dairy produce within the grasp of just about everybody.

The Palit Baka program basically has farmers borrowing cows and keeping them for a period of a few years. (They can also buy selected animals and at P70,000 each, it might be worth investigating if your in-laws have a few spare plots of grassy land around their house). During this time the breeding program the NDA sponsors is monitored and new cross breeds are developed that can survive the tropical climate. All milk produced that is not consumed by the farmer is sold to the local dairy center and much of it goes back to the poor of the community through subsidised feeding programs for malnourished children. 

Some of the milk of course ends up in the supermarkets and here in Cebu I can buy fresh milk for about the same as “fresh milk”, ie; UHT long life milk. My Asawa calls the UHT (ultra heat treated) milk “fresh milk” as opposed to powdered milk. Growing up in the province they never had (and her parents still never have) UHT “fresh milk”. Powdered milk was the best they could afford and that wasn’t as often as it should have been. Real fresh milk is a novelty and yet slowly she is getting more used to having it around. I find that you really need to finish the fresh milk off in a day or two, whereas back in Australia, even at the height of summer, fresh milk would last three or four days if refrigerated. Even using the same refrigeration practices, local fresh milk turns a little sour within 48 hours of opening.

If you see a bottle of Cebu Fresh Milk in the dairy department of your Gaisano, SM, Robinson’s, Fooda or Rustan’s supermarket, buy it! Help this fledgling industry get off the ground and help improve the diet of the average Filipino. The more real fresh milk that is produced and sold, the more chance there is that dairy products will become more affordable and more available to everybody in this country.

New Trends In New Business Opportunities!

Last month saw a Franchise Expo at Ayala Mall, hosted by Franchise Agents RK Franchise Consultancy. Rudolf Kotik, the founder of RK wasn’t there, but his Visayan representative Buddy Villasis was. Buddy is an intelligent, personable professional who was very open and forthcoming about the Consultancy and the franchise opportunities they managed and offered to potential franchisees here in Cebu. They have business opportunities going from a little more than US$1000 up to major investments in big name franchises.

I looked at the franchises on offer and noticed how there is a growing number of coffee shop opportunities. To me this proves there is a spreading trend to enjoy what is really a bloody expensive drink when you realise most cappuccino’s and latte’s start around P50 and go up from there! The Coffee Beanery, Indulgence Coffee, The Java Man, and a couple more are all on offer.

Food franchises do take up the majority of those offered but there were also educational and consultancy type franchises offered, as well as service oriented businesses such as massage studios. Wraps!, Rai-Rai-Kan, Kookels’, Ice Castles and others handled the food section. PC Quick Buys were there for computers, House of Praise for religious CDs and lots of other brands on show.

My favourite food franchise that was on offer is Dunkin’ Donuts. Me and the Anonymous Bear both love the Bavarians! We could buy into a franchise in Mindanao somewhere, but sadly everything on Cebu is taken! With Dunkin’ Donuts you can’t just buy a cart or kiosk or open a store, you need to buy the are or regional master franchise and then run things in the region, including setting up your own bakery. Big Money!

Out of all the 20 or so booths on display and the 70 or more franchises RK manage my favourite was the Kuryente Electrical Shop franchise. This is a nice looking concept that really should be looked into further because you could own a shop from around US$10,000 that will do well because light bulbs blow! What I couldn’t believe is they don’t have either a web site or an email address! Now that could be an opening for an intrepid web designer to leap in and make some money. If you want to know more, I would suggest you contact Buddy and ask him about Kuryente, I really think it just might take off! Otherwise, call Daisy Rafal on 0927 916 0565 and ask why they haven’t got a web site in this day and age!

It didn’t take too long to check out the entire expo, but what I saw was promising. There are much larger trade shows I Manila, but it was good to see someone trying something here in Cebu. I would suggest anyone with the intention of getting into a small business, either for themselves, their Asawa or an inlaw, contact Buddy and tell him you heard it here first!

A Few (More) Thoughts On The Importance Of The Expat Exercise Plan.

I had a term or two playing tennis at school although most of the time was spent watching the girls and very little time actually learning to play tennis. In fact, we avoided the coach as he was a known “Chester”. Chester the child molester. Of course in those days we didn’t know we were supposed to be traumatised about it, we just ragged this old fairy mercilessly and played hookey and blackmailed him into signing our attendance sheets.

Somewhere along the line I must have learnt something because when I went to play for the first time in decades, I could actually hit the ball. And return it over the net and within the lines! Amazing! Not only that I could serve! Within a few chukkas or rubbers or whatever you call these games with the weird scoring, I was enjoying myself immensely. Then the heat hit me.

You need to drink lots of water. You need at least one change of shirt and a towel. You need to start playing about 5.30am like we do! Even then, by 6 or 7 I’m sweating like a rapist and I need to refill the fluid levels regularly. The sign on the wall states that playing regularly “Adds Years to your Life”. I have to agree, playing just a few games in the heat and already I feel about 86! But I love it!

I play at a court in a back block in Minglanilla. The old retired San Miguel executive who owns the court is 78 and still spry. He was pushing the roller to smooth out the court when I first saw him. We usually renew the chalk lines with this ladder like frame and a chalk dispenser, then have a bit of a hit around before starting play.

Manong will play if we are down a player for doubles, but if you come by yourself he’ll probably just get the ball thrower machine out. For P10 you get 100 balls fired at you, great exercise by itself and cheap! The rental of the court for two hours only costs P20 each and so its great value.

Back in 1984, Manong retired from his job with the Coca Cola division of SMB Corporation. He had started tennis when he was 35 because he was out of shape and smoked too much. Gentle reminders are panted on the wall at the back of the court to play tennis regularly and not to smoke. He can still run around alright but his eyes are going and seeing the ball is getting to be difficult.

With nearly as many years to go as I have already lived before I catch up with Manong, I hope I can maintain my new found enjoyment for tennis. I should as I have invested over P549 in the best tennis stick technology the Gaisano House of Fake Rolexes and Empty Shelves Supermarket can offer! I couldn’t see the point spending ten times that when it wouldn’t make me ten times the tennis player. Besides, it really is just for fun!

Taking A Look At The Cost Of A Pregnancy

Last month we took a peek at how much it costs to leave this mortal coil. This month we’ll start at the beginning and discuss bringing a new Filipino into the world. I have only been responsible for one new mouth to feed in this burgeoning land, but I have done my research and it is interesting how the costs and what you get for your peso varies from place to place. I can’t comment on Manila, although I have been led to believe the situation is pretty similar and prices fairly consistent.

So, you and the Asawa are about to enjoy the blessed event, you’re in the family way, she has a bun in the oven or, as they say in Visayan, she is Buntis! Well done but now you have to suffer the mood swings of the first trimester, the incredible urges of the second trimester and the dragged out interminable length of the third trimester! Personally I wouldn’t want to suffer through that again and I remind the Asawa of this whenever the subject arises. Since she is a Filipina and we only have two kids (I inherited a lovely daughter) this subject does arise often. She also thinks I would have an illegitimate child with another woman providing it is son! As far fetched as that sounds to us foreigners, it is perfectly reasonable to a Filipina.

If you think you are too old to become a Daddy (again perhaps), then stay away from the Philippines. I know men who have fathered at the age of 73 and men hitting retirement age at 65 and being a new parent at the same time is not at all a rare occurrence here. Some might argue how fair that is for the child, will they ever really know their father? Who knows? People are living longer these days and if having a child with a woman 30 or 40 years your junior keeps you feeling young, who is to say what is and isn’t right? 

What is important is that if you have the child, make sure you look after the poor little tyke! That care starts as soon as you know the Asawa is pregnant. Women are funny creatures and I haven’t all the answers but I have learnt that what might seem trivial to us mere males is of vital significance to a pregnant Filipina. Keep in mind they may be sensitive and insecure to begin with and all of a sudden they are burdened with bringing a new life into the world. She wouldn’t be the first woman to wonder if you are going to stick around until and then after the big day! Some reassurance, no matter how trite and banal it might sound to your male ears, just might make all the difference.

Remember women go through some major hormonal swings when pregnant, it is a big deal after all. You really have to give them a lot of leeway and put up with a great deal of BS, for want of a more apt term! Not just the regular female pregnant BS, but the stuff that has her wearing black bra and panties to keep the Onggu’s away, or stuffing leaves in the window sills and pinning black patches onto her clothing. I must admit the Juju works as we didn’t get one Onggu coming around wanting to rip into the foetus! Some of these Onggu’s actually cut themselves in half and fly away into the night, then crash through the roof and drop onto the sleeping mum to be and devour the baby! Not worth the risk! Get the black knickers and keep them handy!

You also need to keep away from old women down the market. Many of these crones are actually Onggu’s themselves and love to disrupt the pregnancy by touching the swelling belly. They cluck and make cooing noises but in reality they are sucking the vitality out of the unborn! Don’t let it happen and make sure she has her Anting Anting pinned to her black bra!

Now, should you make it to the big day, you will have had to attend a pre-natal every month. Or maybe not! Some women can’t afford it or don’t want the expense, others will rely on the Barangay Quack Doctor or local midwife. Personally I have a lot of faith in these midwives. They have seen just about everything there is to see when it comes to Ob-Gyn work! Forget Stanford Medical School or wherever, these old hags have been in the front line for generations.

Our local Quack successfully turned our baby when it was threatening a breech presentation and the rather expensive, US trained Ob-Gyn specialist in Cebu was too scared to risk trying this. Of course I was left in ignorant bliss about what was happening to my child or maybe I would have stuck my fat foreigner face in where it turned out not to be needed.

Now at first we wanted the local doctor in the province to handle the pre-natal and delivery but she refused. It seems us foreigners have a reputation of complaining about everything and not finding local standards up to snuff. Actually, for a rural practise I have always felt Dr Dublin runs a pretty tight ship up there in Daanbantayan. Anyway, we had already cancelled our Cebu Doctors’ Hospital Specialist after the breech presentation fiasco and we didn’t think we’d make it down to Cebu in time anyway. Or else we would have to hang around in a hotel there for a week racking up the bills. Plus when I told the Asawa she could spend whatever she saved on some nice jewellery she was quite happy to look for something cheaper than the P25,000 (starting price and providing here were no complications) Cebu Doctor’s were charging. If she needs a caesarean and quite often the wives of foreigners do, that will set you back at least P50,000 or so at Chung Hua or Cebu Doctors’.

There are packages in Cebu at the Cebu Maternity Hospital from about P10,000 and this includes all the pre-natal check ups, ultra sounds and so on. A friend of ours insisted his wife have their child there as it was a maternity hospital and not a hospital full of sick people. If you have seen your average Filipino hospital you would understand his point. Basic hygiene is ignored as money for cleaners and maintenance is pocketed by the administrators and nursing staff are too proud of their professional status to clean walls and windows. Or do much else other than stand around and chat!

My sister in law had a P10,000 package deal at the Vellez Hospital but when she had complications and later, tragically died, the limitations of the “package” became evident. We could not move her to a private, aircon room because then we would have to pay for the doctor’s visits. Even though the room was right next to the public one she had been in for days! The rigid adherence to ridiculous “hospital policy” amidst emergency situations and surrounded by a total lack of professionalism really does make us foreigners wild. Perhaps Dr Dublin knew a thing or two I didn’t?

In the end we spent around P12,000 and had the baby delivered at Medellin Base Hospital. We had to buy our own delivery kit for the doctor and her team to use in the delivery room! This cost a few thousand but the local drug stores know what’s on the list and stock everything. Make sure you insist on pain killers for the wife for before and after delivery, the word epidural was unknown to the midwife! The doctor had heard of the term but since few of her patients could afford such luxury, she never wrote a script for it!

Be there and make sure you know what is supposed to happen because not all of the staff may know much about nursing, first aid, basic health and hygiene etc. Just because they graduated nursing school doesn’t mean much in my experience. I studied my US Army Special Forces Medical Handbook, an absolute must for any Expat! When the nurse brought my newborn daughter to me, I knew enough to know she had fluid on the lung and needed to be drained and ventilated. I turned her over and fluid poured out of her! Frightening.

My oldest daughter was born at home with just my father in law assisting. It thankfully went without a hitch as the midwife was delayed and of course, it was virtually free. However, although babies have been born since Adam was a lad, maybe I’m too much of a modern day wimp. Pay the money and get the best medical care for your wife and new born that you can afford. And be thankful you can afford it.

NOTE: This Investment Scheme report was originally published in April 2005 and then followed up in November 2005. The scheme is still going strong, paying the dividends and interest and making money for all involved! You can learn more by visiting Dave Whittal’s Blog: http://hi-interest.blogspot.com/ Tell Dave Perry sent you!

And here is the update from the Investor himself. I have taken the liberty, at his request, to omit specific amounts of money, that are not relevant to the basic news value of the update and of course are the personal details of the Investor. I would like to thank the Investor for his candor in sharing this detail with us so we can all better decide whether this is a viable option for our own investment and retirement plans.

I am well pleased with the deposits in Bank of East Asia  (who arranged to pay into my account with EastWestBank for the Car Loan repayments) and Pilipino Rural Bank (who credit my ATM Account with Land Bank, with withdrawals at HSBC and BPI ATM’s also).

So much so that having received a Pension Lump Sum from 2 of my 3 Pension Providers, I wanted to avail of another 6 year deposit, like I did with PRB.  Trouble is that scheme was closed at PRB and only available in Bacolod.  Marhlan & Nestor of Legacy Group managed to speak to the chairman, and this is what they reported back to me:-

Good news!!! Luckily, the Chairman of Legacy Group has just recently advised this morning to grant the 1 year advance interest of 20%, plus monthly crediting of interest on 6 years CTD for the following banks: PCRB, Rural Bank of Carmen, PRB, and BEA. This will be effective however until the end of October (Oct.31′ 05). This means that after October 31, only Nation Bank Bacolod will be allowed to grant this offer.

So I am closely watching the GBP-USD Exchange Rate to see if it climbs since this seems to directly affect the GBP-PHP Rate (almost exactly GBP->USD->PHP) http://www.dailyfx.com/FinanceChart.html?symbol=GBP/USD is a good free ‘Tool’ to see how the Exchange rate changes during the day.  It has climbed to a peak of 1.778, which is where it was 08:00 on 21^st, and on 7^th October early in the day,  and on 24^th September.  However at 22:00 on 21^st October it was up at 1.8125, or better still 5th Sept when it was 1.8501  – why could my funds not have come through by then!

The Foreign Exchange Rates as quoted by HSBC On-Line Banking seem to be lower, and lag behind what the FOREX Rate actually is.  Trouble is their Buy/Sell spread is 2.5%, so not much chance to capitalize on this lag. All day their Rate for buying Pound Sterling(GBP) has been 0.0103684

(96.447), when that FOREX Chart showed GBP-USD @ 05:00 to be 1.7688 .  So in this basis, HSBC should be offering 97.774, or there about, in the morning?

This might not seem a lot (less than 1%) but when you are considering changing £X,000+,  that’s nearly Php10,000 extra!

I owe PhpX.xM with my HSBC AssetLink loan against PhpXM on Deposit.  My first thoughts were to repay as much of this loan as I could possibly afford and then be able to borrow with less than 24 hours notice again.  Became aware of the needs for fairly large sums when Mama got sick and had to be admitted to Hospital – and more so with Harry Carter.

However, being able to avail of that 6 year plan means putting 4 deposits of PhpxK (A, B, A/B, A/C where A is say Bob, B is Mary and C is Child) means getting PhpxK back as soon as my PhpXM cleared.  Will use that to pay off on AssetLink Loan then use the PhpxK a month interest to repay more of loan each month.  This means I would be able to ‘borrow’ PhpxK in an emergency and this amount increases by PhpxK each month.  I may well be able to pay off more of my loan, especially when funds from my 3^rd Pension Provider come through.  I could of course deposit another xK in the 6 Year scheme and get PhpxK advance and PhpxK a month.

To give you an idea of the amounts: if one was to take in Php1.5M deposit in ‘Cash’, one could get the Php300K advance interest the same day, and use that as a 6 Year deposit and get Php60K cash back from that and be receiving Php25,000 a month interest!

I don’t want to invest more in Rural Banks than I have in HSBC particularly, but the 6 Year scheme is very attractive. The 8.3% I am getting on the 5 Year HSBC Term Deposit is no longer available.

Please don’t quote the amounts I am depositing, but feel free to say I am particularly pleased with the Rural Banks affiliated to the Legacy Group, especially the 6 Year Special Deposit, and will be investing more here in Cebu, by the end of October.  If it were not for the PDIC scheme I would not be putting even Php100K deposit (the old PDIC limit)!  (Editor: Philippines Deposit Insurance Council)

The fact that Joint accounts carry separate Php250K from Single Accounts (* as stated in PDIC web site) makes a big difference also, otherwise I would have run out of Rural Banks here in Cebu and be having to consider Bacolod and other places outside Cebu – not so convenient!

Thanks again, sounds like the investment is paying off. I hope you never have to test the PDIC but overall it seems like a relatively safe yet profitable investment strategy. Nobody has ever gotten rich playing it too safe and risk is relative, I think this is so far a good thing. We’ll hopefully be able to keep tabs on the progress of this investment over the next few years. If you are thinking of following suit, this guy found the deal, so can you. Just check out your local Rural bank and have the goolies to give it a go

NOTE: This Investment Scheme report was originally published in April 2005 and then followed up in November 2005. The scheme is still going strong, paying the dividends and interest and making money for all involved! You can learn more by visiting Dave Whittal’s Blog: http://hi-interest.blogspot.com/ Tell Dave Perry sent you!

There is an old saying that I firmly believe, “if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is”. There are a lot of opportunities in life, however, that may seem to some too good to be true. Their lack of experience with that particular opportunity may make it seem almost surreal and far too good to be kosher. Meanwhile others who may have more information or previous experience recognize the opportunity for what it is and make the proverbial killing. How do you know which is which then?

Recently a friend of mine posted how he had looked into a scheme to invest a lump sum on a time deposit with a local Rural Bank and he would earn 20% p.a. interest on his money. His first deposit was for a modest P100,000 and if it played out, he was planning on investing several million in different accounts, different banks and in his and his wife’s names. Spread the risk so to speak.

On the surface his actions seem prudent and sensible and he would be looking at bringing in around P50,000 a month in interest as a form of income, and all without touching his pension and other savings! Brilliant! But is it too good to be true?

Firstly, I don’t think my friend is easily taken in by scammers. He has lived overseas for most of his working life and has been around the block once or twice. He is also an engineer, a technical type who is pedantic, even anal, in getting all the details sorted out, weighing up each nuance and really squeezing the decision of every drop of “if” before committing. One of those “show me” types who don’t accept someone else’s’ word for things unless they have seen it for themselves. In other words, unlike me, he isn’t the type to leap in boots and all on a whim! If I asked him to research an item and find out the best value for money example on the market, he would bore me to death with all the details but I would buy the model he recommended because I trust his judgment in those matters.

But this investment scheme doesn’t sit right with me. I know the deposit would be protected by the PDIC, the government body that insures deposits in member banks, and it appears the chosen Rural Bank is a member. I don’t like Rural Banks here because they have a history of going squishy on depositors. There are three basic types of banks here, Thrift, Rural and Commercial. Each have different areas they can supply services in and also different degrees of difficulty (i.e. protection for depositors) they must comply with when being set up.

I knew a German in Danao who ventilated his skull with a pistol bullet after losing P5 million when his Rural Bank went belly up and the CEO went on holidays with the cash! In those days the PDIC only covered P100,000 per depositor per bank. Now that amount has risen to a more respectable P250,000 per depositor. With my friend making (less than) P250,000 deposits in several participating Rural Banks and in his and his wife’s names he is indeed spreading the risk and also utilizing the protection of the PDIC. Providing there isn’t a problem somewhere should he need to make a claim. Sounds like he has it covered but I still hear those alarm bells!

I can’t think how a bank in the Philippines can legally loan money at such a rate they can afford to pay investors/depositors, 20%? Are they getting into the 5/6 business and lending money at extortionate rates to high risk borrowers? Heaven forbid! No business can borrow money at 20%, pay it back and stay in business unless we are talking drugs or prostitution so how can a small Rural Bank pay that kind of interest on time deposits?

What if the CEO’s of the Rural Banks have every intention of doing the right thing but they fall into a cash flow shortage problem and can’t make the monthly interest payments? What if they are intentionally defrauding the investor, or misleading them as to the risks? What if they put aside enough of the deposit to pay the first year’s interest payments, then bug out? They take the rest of the principle with them and are long gone before the lack of funds to keep making interest payments is discovered. Meanwhile, buoyed by the regular interest payments you not only invest more, you urge your friends to share the good fortune.

How about they get to the end of the five years, have made every interest payment due but the principle is no longer in existence due to “unforeseen circumstances”, honest or otherwise? What if this is similar to the SEC Share Float scam? A company genuinely releases a float to raise funds but then misuses the money to pay whopping salaries and dividends to managers and board directors and fail to reinvest in the business, which soon goes under. It can be totally above board, the request to SEC to raise capital with a float, the raising and then the board voting on how to utilize the money, despite it not being in the best interests of the shareholders per se. It happened here recently with the first owners of a Master Franchise with an internationally recognized fast food brand.

For me, there are not enough guarantees and too many iffy details. It does sound too good to be true but I hope for my friend’s sake I am wrong. Very wrong. If I am, then I am perfectly happy to not only pass on the news to the Dreamers, but to apologise for ever doubting his judgment. I do hope I am wrong, I just really don’t think I am. What do you think?

Are There Business Opportunities To Be Had in The Philippines? We Take A Look.

The concensus of opinion is that the Philippines are totally bereft of decent business opportunities for Expats. Or, there is money to be made here if you have the right contacts. Or maybe the truth for most of us lies somewhere inbetween. If I was a multi national corporation looking to invest in a third world country I wouldn’t choose the Philippines. Not when other countries are more investor friendly. Agreed, when you hit the dizzy heights of multi-million dollar investment life here gets amazingly easier for those with the cash and the clout. Try “investing” just US$50,000 and the best they will offer you is a spurious SRRV, or special residents retirement visa. If you are thinking even less money, just something to get the family off your back but maybe provide you with a few bucks and something to do, then it is even more difficult.

You see, at the top end the oligarchy have it sewn up tight and enough political and commercial influence to keep things going their way. Down the bottom end of the scale they have no personal interest in the micro economy so they are happy to legislate against any non-Filipino involvement in most areas of business. In the middle, the small percentage of the population with the education and capital to fight over the remains have enough local clout to keep foreigners running around like headless chickens for years to come just trying to abide by the rules. In other words, it is pretty much a closed shop.

Or is it? Like anywhere else in Asia, there are always loopholes and exceptions and ways and means. Never take anything at face value and always believe there is another way. For some that is to operate in the name of the wife, or to bring on board tame locals even though this practice starts to dip into the posion jar known as the anti-dummy laws. Basically, anyone with the money to run with the big boys isn’t reading this newsletter and anyone who is looking at competing for a few peso’s a day won’t last long here anyway. What I’m looking at are business opportunities for the average expat and his kith and kin.

Firstly, you can set up family in business, or simply give them a few bucks and tell them to blow it, the end result for many is often the same. Cynicism aside, many family members do actually succeed in small business ventures. At first glance you might think the Philippines is a haven of natural entreppeneurship but the reality is that there is simply insufficient employment. If there are no jobs to be had then the only alternative other than begging is to create your own job by running a small business. The smallest of these I would say would be the cigarette vendors that walk the streets selling single cigarettes amongst the traffic. Opportunity Number 1: Buy up bulk cigarettes and gum and then onsell to these vendors at a mark up but less than what they buy their stock for from Prince and other warehouse outlets. The best deal for the customer would be to have the stock out on consignment, they only pay for what they sell each day. Hmmm, perhaps not the best business opportunity, lets move on.

Notice how every second or third house has a small opening in the grill around one of the windows. From this the goods are dispensed from the family Sari Sari store. If you peer inside you see the fridge with the coke and beer and ice chilling away, sachets of shampoo hang from the ceiling and the shelves have jars of candy and bags of junk food and cigarettes can be had singly or in packs. How does anyone expect to make a living when everyone sells the same products for the same price and there are almost as many stores as there are customers? The answer is that nobody really makes a living, everybody just scrapes by until the stock is consumed by family members and there is no cash left to buy more. What sales were made are on “utang” or credit and you won’t see that money in a long month of Sundays! Opportunity Number 2: This one was suggested by Ronald Turley on one of the Yahoo Groups. Set up a wholesale distribution service that supplies numerous stores with their basic staples, but at a better price than what they already pay.

I think it would be a workable venture but you would have to be good at stock control and have a decent inventory program on your computer. Plus you really have to stay abreast of prices and what sells and what doesn’t but it could be a going concern. I have always said one of the two ways to make money in the Philippines is to sell lots of little stuff for little prices to lots of people. There are lots of people here, they have small amounts of money and so they buy small amounts of stuff. Where else have you seen sachets of shampoo, ketchup, shoe polish and snacks?

Another idea I once had is Opportunity Number 3: Taking it to the streets! I suggested a variation of this to a Yahoo Group member who had a banca and was looking for things to do with it to make money other than fishing. I said why not stock up with lots of stuff and go visiting the small islands where the people have a hard time getting to a supermarket or big store. Another version of this would be to outfit a vehicle, even a tricycle but ideally a multi cab, fill it with goods and cheap clothes and such and head into the hills. Of course your first visit might not be a huge success but people might have saved some cash by the time you come around again. Of course you would have to refuse the utang and deal strictly cash. I think it might be a lucrative business and you could develop runs and even territories which could be sold off or franchised.

If you used a larger vehicle you could even start a mobile beauty shop or hairdressers. I just imagine a converted jeepney rolling along a provincial goat track with half a dozen Bayot hairdressers whistling at every Dong they pass! You might design a mobile disco truck and go from barangay to barangay and hold discos’ charging P10 each to enter. Or better still, combine the disco with the beauty parlour and have your own mobile beauty pageant! The mind boggles! Time for a Tanduay and a lie down while I think of more opportunities!

Some Words Of Advice On How To Find A Friend In This Southern City.

By “Kissy”

You don’t have a lady here? I will give you a few tips on how to find one. This depends on what you are looking for. Do you want a little darling to fall in love with and eventually marry? Or do you want a lady of the night? You will find many lovely ladies that fit in both categories. There are several malls here with ladies just waiting to find you! Take advantage of the mall where you will find aircon to keep you cool. There are shops of all kinds and the prices are great. You will also find several restaurants. It is a great way to spend the day just looking around and relaxing.

There will be many beauties to feast your eyes on and some will follow you around like groupies. Don’t be shy, just smile and you most likely will be approached by a few gorgeous women who will find you very attractive just because you are white. If you are older and fat that is even better. It shows you are mature and must be rich to be able to have so much to eat. You are already a target for marriage, so play all your cards right and you will get there eventually. You have the upper hand since there is only one of you, and many of them. They are everywhere; so don’t stop with just trips to the mall.

These are the nice ladies, so don’t think you can just offer money for a roll in the hay. That can get you in deep trouble, even land you in jail, and perhaps have you deported. I will tell you more on how to find your sweetie in my book, “StreetWise Cagayan De Oro!” due out soon.

If you want a lover only, there are places for that. Just as Ma would say “son wear your rubbers!” You don’t know what disease could be waiting for you in there, so be wise and listen to Ma. Besides, you don’t want to make a baby!

What to do on a lonely Friday night!

There is an area of CDO that is wide-awake all weekend. You will find Live bands, women, several places to eat, loads of fun and more women. It is very well lit up at night and is like an outdoor concert and a huge street party rolled into one. You can eat, shop, relax to great music, and meet a lot of people. There will always be other foreigners there in the crowd. There is tight security with all the cops, so it is a safe place. Just please watch out for pickpockets, they can be anywhere.

This place is “DIVISORIA”, located in the center of the city. Anyone can show you where it is. There are also many restaurants, and shops there, including pharmacies, and Internet cafes. This area is off limits to anything with wheels on the weekend, so have no fear of being hit by a car or even a bike. Just let the kid in you come out and enjoy this fun event!

A Few Thoughts On The Importance Of The Expat Exercise Plan.

I came back from two years of living in the Philippines 12kg (26lb) heavier than when I had left Australia. I was several inches wider and I could hardly tie my shoe laces without panting. I am sure my blood pressure was up there somewhere I didn’t want to go and I know I was in line for the hereditary diabetes since I was knocking back 2 litres of Coke a day, the cola drink not the narcotic.

I was in bad shape and it hadn’t happened overnight. Two years of sedentary living, even when I was working it was pushing a mouse and keyboard around for a living, had gradually pushed me up and over the self set bounds of comfort. I smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day, slept badly and snored like a freight train. Something had to give sooner or later.

After the first week of stuffing my face with real bread, enjoying not sweating, ever, shivering and scraping ice off the windscreen of the car, I got to work on myself. First thing was to get an exercise routine happening so it would become a habit.

Just as not exercising can become a habit, the reverse is true and far better for you. The secret is to take it so easy to begin with you are champing at the bit to get sweaty and really work out. Everything is about pleasure and pain, so associate more pleasure with exercising and more pain with being a couch potato and you have the motivation thing beat!

I use the Royal Canadian Air Force 5BX program, or at least my version of it. 5BX and 10BX were the fitness fads of the sixties at some point although originally developed as an exercise regime for flight crews. My version is you pick five simple exercises and do them five times each as soon as you get out of bed. I did a waist spin, a deep knee bend, a side stretch, an arm swing and a bend over and touch my toes set of five each side. At first it hurt and I could hardly do these five simple exercises!

Gradually, each day got easier but I resisted the temptation to try and rip along to 10BX. The regular, simple, limited exercise started to not only get me in the habit of doing SOMETHING, but it got the blood flowing and stopped the foot cramps and other problems lack of circulation had been causing. Sitting in front of a computer can bring on pain in the feet, cramps in the stomach, all sorts of weird ills and aches all due to not using muscle groups. Use it or lose it!

The next thing I did was quit smoking. I had known that going from fifty cents a pack to ten dollars a pack would be both a shock and a good incentive to quit. In the three and something months since I last smoked, I have not smoked 2300 plus cigarettes! Can you imagine laying out over two thousand cigarettes in front of you and saying, ok, stick each one in your face, set it alight and suck in the carcinogens! So far I have not spent (can’t really say saved as where is the money?) AUD$920 (US$644 or P36,000). Awesome!

How did I do it? Firstly I had nicotine patches (three of them) but I never used them. They can cost as much as the cigarettes and can be just as hard to quit as they are merely a different method of nicotine delivery. I just got my head around it and associated more pleasure with quitting and more pain with staying a smoker. The money factor helped, especially when I rationalised I was here, away from my wife and kids to make money, not set fire to it. Believe me, the mental factor is the major one and unless you really have a handle on your personal motivation for quitting, it ain’t going to happen!

Then I had to look at my diet. That came about after I lost a sedentary job selling cars and got another, more active job working with road repair crews. One of my old martial arts students owns the company and two of the old gang work for him. They found me just when I needed a job and, unknowingly, a change of lifestyle. Funny how these things happen!

I went onto a low carbohydrate diet, cut out sugar, bread, potatoes, rice, noodles etc. Ate lots of meat and fat and suffered for the first two weeks as my body cleansed itself of the toxins and sugar. I was already sleeping better from quitting smoking, but now I slept even better still without the glucose spikes and sugar rushes. Check out the Atkins Diet for yourselves, it may be what you need, it may not. I’m not a nutritionist or a health professional, I’m just telling you what worked for me!

So now I am back in Cebu several kilos lighter, cleansed of my nicotine addiction and feeling so much more active and physically fit than ever before. I am walking everyday, using the wonderful pavement (sidewalk) the Cebu South Road provides, the only decent walking track in the entire province! I am starting to get back into a Boxing Workout (I used to be a professional Boxing Trainer and before that an Inter-Service Heavyweight Boxer in the Army) I drink only Diet Coke or water, have less caffeine each day and each one of those has half the sugar they used to have. Once or twice a week I drink booze and every now and then I eat whatever the heck I want, then get back on track!

Not eating bread is easy here, the same goes for potatoes and the rice I consume is far less than before and always washed for starch after cooking. I eat less each meal and move more and the weight is staying off. More importantly, I have more energy for doing stuff with my kids. So many of us expats marry women half or more our own age and then start a new, young family. We owe it to them and ourselves to be around to enjoy the family and the new lease on life as long as we can. Taking better care of yourself is the first step. It really has made a world of difference for me.

Taking A Look At The Cost Of A Funeral.

Unfortunately Philippines law prevents foreigners from operating funeral parlors and that is a shame as they are a very lucrative business, indeed. I know of one Chinoy (Chinese-Filipino) who owns three funeral homes in Cebu and he makes around P3million a month. Even allowing for overheads and expenses, wages and taxes, he still does extremely well by Filipino standards and not too badly by anybody else’s.

As Benjamin Franklin noted, the only two things in life that are certain and unavoidable are death and taxes. In the Philippines you can actually avoid one, but not the other. The whole business of dying makes money for several people. Of course the hospital has usually pumped thousands out of the relatives in a vain last ditch attempt to sustain life. Some canny relatives though, sensing the inevitable, will hold back that last transfusion, knowing the blood will only leak out onto the bed with the rest of the donations (at P1500 a pop!) so why not keep the money and put it toward the funeral? When you live in such close proximity to the poverty line, you learn to be a little more pragmatic than those better off might have to.

Once the patient becomes the deceased, the funeral home is called and a van sent around to pick up the body. The relatives may accompany the body back to the funeral home in the hearse or mortuary van, if only to save on taxi fares and also to ensure the body doesn’t disappear en route. It happens from time to time, especially around the time medical students are in need of body parts for their studies. You think I’m joking, don’t you?

At the funeral home the bereaved will be asked if the deceased had SSS, social security insurance. If they were employed and lucky enough to have paid in SSS contributions, they will have nearly all of their funeral expenses paid for them. Funeral homes like SSS contributors as clients. They know they will get most of their money, guaranteed. SSS pays the firt P20,000 or so of the bill, which guarantees you aren’t getting out of there for less than about P30,000. Fortunately you can pay the balance three days before the interment of the body.

Depending on what standard of service the relatives have asked and paid for, the funeral parlor will begin to prepare the body.. They clean the body and then make an incision and pump it full of preservative. If you have paid for the good stuff then it behooves you to hang around and make sure you aren’t short changed. Some parlors are notorious for slipping in the cheap stuff. If the body is to lie in state for the full ten days or so, then the cheap stuff will have it turning nasty colors before the coffin lid is closed and the body buried. Not nice.

P35,000 buys a nice casket and all the trimmings, such as the stand, the candle sticks and flower baskets, a lectern for the prayer readers to use and so on. You also get the hearse to deliver the body to the house where it will lie in state for up to ten days, and then take it to the church and graveyard.

You can get cheaper caskets but sometimes they have a tendency to soak up the fluids from the body and quickly rot and fall apart in the tropical heat. I have seen one collapse as the body was carried from the house to the hearse, not very dignified.

The ten days lying in state might get expensive also. You may need to hire a marquee to cover the mourners who will be keeping vigil day and night (just in case the deceased changes their mind). Mahjong will be played, refreshments served numerous times a day and a service will be held every night. Same service. Every night. You will pay for the lay preachers to hold the service and of course the musicians, blind ones are preferred.

The priest will show up on the last day and hold a Mass, and expect to be paid of course. The usual minimum is P1000, but wealthier mourners are expected to pay more. On the way to the cemetary you may recoup some of your expenses as passing motorists will throw three coins in front of you to ward off the evil spirits that may be hanging around the procession. When you get to the cemetery you will have had to buy the plot, usually from the Barangay Captain. You need a cement sarcophagus made and once the coffin is entombed, the local mason will come and seal it up for you.

Then, each year when you visit on All Souls Day (1 November) you can plan that roof to shade everyone from the sun, maybe some seating built in and so on. Before that happens you will have been to the Lapidera and ordered the headstone, maybe another P5000 or more, depending on how fancy you order it to be. Watch for spelling and grammar, I have seen references to “Her Wife” and “His Husband” lying there in eternal rest.

All up even a modest funeral can set you back P50,000, say just under US$1000. Halve that if the deceased had SSS insurance, but still quite a burden for the average Filipino family to shoulder. Yes, if it was legal for me to open one, I’d be into the funeral business like a scalded cat.