The various ways of fundraising activities done by organizations including NGO's or church to OFW-m or Overseas Foreign Worker-members are getting frequent not to mention their monthly tithing-obligations. Of course, their families and extended families are part of their monthly breakdowns. But as their own children are growing fast and are entering high schools aside from those who are still in kindergartens and elementary schools, these working parents and OFWM are getting sleepless to consider the future of many.
The GPF Manila 2007 became a model to all CD's and NL's of the UPF and UM Movements. This year 2008 the 2nd GPF Philippines will still be hosted. The next year, it will be WCSF. These activities and major programs that are thrown to OFWM's organization called the Fil-Jap Blessed Families Association or Commando as commonly known. In a sense, the yearly programs supported will not be extinguished from the burning of fire of commitments they are shouldering.
Local and regional centers where they come from are keeping in touch to them for financial support as GPF, educational campaigns and seminar cannot be stopped as their implementing roles to fulfill the missions on the providential restoration.
The three major areas cited above are getting bigger year after year to every OFW-m.
In Dubai, Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo said she would launch a hedging facility for OFWs as well as two investment tools, in line with her efforts to transform them to what she called "Overseas Filipino Investors." By giving OFWs investment opportunities, the President was hoping for the day when working abroad would become a mere "career option" for Filipinos, who seek employment abroad in search of better pay. This is phenomenal. The OFW-m must have a clear dream now to set not only as individuals or familyman but as a team who love his homeland.
Cases and Analyses
People's skills are honed in some of the world's most complex enterprises, but when they come home, these overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) engage in businesses far from their expertise and many end up losers.
The common lament is that there are just no opportunities here, or if there are, little is known about the places where these engineers and technicians may fit in.
There are newly formed group like the Global Filipino Nation (GFN) seeking to address this problem. Instead of spending for foreign consultants, the business sector can tap these OFWs, according to their spokesperson Jun Aguilar. He said the government should begin gathering data on returning OFWs to harness their potential as specialists and experts.
Case 1: Filipinos in world's biggest dairy desalination
Jun Aguilar noted that the world's biggest desalination plant in the industrial city of Jubail in Saudi Arabia and the largest integrated dairy farm in Riyadh, also in Saudi Arabia, were manned by Filipino engineers and technicians.
Mr. Aguilar gave as an example engineers in their 50s and 60s who have decided to come home from the Middle East upon their retirement.
These engineers are often treated like they have nothing useful to contribute anymore, according to Mr. Aguilar, who is also an engineer who worked in Saudi Arabia.
"Instead of paying thousands of dollars to hire foreign consultants, companies should seriously consider maximizing the use of these returning OFWs," he said.
Database
Mr. Aguilar said he knew of one civil engineer in his 50s who used to work as a structural superintendent in Saudi Arabia.
"When the engineer came back to the Philippines, he was employed as a consultant," he said. However, the instability of the job forced the engineer to reapply for work abroad.
"He was an expert in his field for many decades, and yet he could not be employed by companies who may need his skills because of the lack of data on returning migrant workers," Mr. Aguilar said.
Reintegration program
The Department of Labor and Employment has announced that more than 75 percent of businesses initiated by OFWs have been unsuccessful. This has prompted the creation of the Center for OFW Reintegration program. However, the government`s reintegration programs remain unsustainable, with OFWs engaging in businesses that they do not have the heart to invest in.
National party for OFWs
"One of the things we discussed during our preplanning conference last July was putting up a national party for overseas Filipinos, which would be at par with the major political parties in the country," Aguilar said. He said the GFN would not be a party-list group.
Aguilar said his group would work to increase awareness among global Filipinos of the importance of absentee voting and lobby the government to act on the continued appreciation of the peso against the dollar and the high cost of remitting their earnings.Another convenor, Victor Barrios, said the GFN would hold a conference on May 8 to 11 to flesh out its programs of action.
"We believe that effective governance should be anchored on the political, economic and social empowerment of the global Filipino," Barrios said.
The GFN includes the Global Filipinos Coalition, National Federation of Filipino and American Associations, Filipino Migrant Workers Group, Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos, Ugat Foundation, Center for Strategic Studies, OFW Congress, Overseas Filipino Caucus for Development and Miriam College's Institute of Migration Studies.
Case 2: Gokongwie's business challenges
Last November 2007, Businessman tycoon John Gokongwie testified before the Ad Congress about the three latest challenges that his JG Summit faced.
Challenge 1
" In 1996, we decided to start an airline. At the time, the dominant airline in the country was PAL, and if you wanted to travel cheaply, you did not fly. You went by sea or by land.
However, my son Lance and I had a vision for Cebu Pacific: We wanted every Filipino to fly.
Inspired by the low-cost carrier models in the United States, we believed that an airline based on the no-frills concept would work here. No hot meals. No newspaper. Mono-class seating. Operating with a single aircraft type. Faster turn around time. It all worked, thus enabling Cebu Pacific to pass on savings to the consumer.
How did we do this? By sticking to our philosophy of "low cost, great value ."
And we stick to that philosophy to this day. Cebu Pacific offers incentives. Customers can avail themselves of a tiered pricing scheme, with promotional seats for as low a P1. The earlier you book, the cheaper your ticket.
Cebu Pacific also made it convenient for passengers by making online booking available. This year, 1.25 million flights will be booked through our website. This reduced our distribution costs dramatically.
Low cost. Great value.
When we started 11 years ago, Cebu Pacific flew only 360,000 passengers, with 24 daily flights to 3 destinations. This year, we expect to fly more than five million passengers, with over 120 daily flights to 20 local destinations and 12 Asian cities. Today, we are the largest in terms of domestic flights, routes and destinations.
We also have the youngest fleet in the region after acquiring new Airbus 319s and 320s. In January, new ATR planes will arrive. These are smaller planes that can land on smaller air strips like those in Palawan and Caticlan. Now you don't have to take a two-hour ride by mini-bus to get to the beach.
Largely because of Cebu Pacific, the average Filipino can now afford to fly. In 2005, 1 out of 12 Filipinos flew within a year. In 2012, by continuing to offer low fares, we hope to reduce that ratio to 1 out of 6. We want to see more and more Filipinos see their country and the world!
Challenge No. 2:
In 2003, we established Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. and developed a brand for the mobile phone business called Sun Cellular. Prior to the launch of the brand, we were actually involved in a transaction to purchase PLDT shares of the majority shareholder.
The question in everyone's mind was how we could measure up to the two telecom giants. They were entrenched and we were late by eight years! PLDT held the landline monopoly for quite a while, and was first in the mobile phone industry. Globe was a younger company, but it launched digital mobile technology here.
But being a late player had its advantages. We could now build our platform from a broader perspective. We worked with more advanced technologies and intelligent systems not available ten years ago. We chose our suppliers based on the most cost-efficient hardware and software. Being a Johnny-come- lately allowed us to create and launch more innovative products, more quickly.
All these provided us with the opportunity to give the consumers a choice that would rock their world. The concept was simple. We would offer Filipinos to call and text as much as they want for a fixed monthly fee. For P250 a month, they could get in touch with anyone within the Sun network at any time. This means great savings of as much as 2/3 of their regular phone bill! Suddenly, we gained traction. Within one year of its introduction, Sun hit one million customers.
Once again, the paradigm shifts - this time in the telecom industry. Sun's 24/7 Call and Text unlimited changed the landscape of mobile-phone usage.
Today, we have over 4 million subscribers and 2000 cell sites around the archipelago. In a country where 97% of the market is pre-paid, we believe we have hit on the right strategy.
Sun Cellular is a Johnny-come- lately, but it's doing all right. It is a third player, but a significant one, in an industry where Cassandras believed a third player would perish. And as we have done in the realm of air travel, so have we done in the telecom world: We have changed the marketplace.
In the end, it is all about making life better for the consumer by giving them choices.
Challenge No. 3:
In 2004, we launched C2, the green tea drink that would change the face of the local beverage industry -- then, a playground of cola companies. Iced tea was just a sugary brown drink served bottomless in restaurants. For many years, hardly was there any significant product innovation in the beverage business.
Admittedly, we had little experience in this area. Universal Robina Corporation is the leader in snack foods but our only background in beverage was instant coffee. Moreover, we would be entering the playground of huge multinationals. We decided to play anyway.
It all began when I was in China in 2003 and noticed the immense popularity of bottled iced tea. I thought that this product would have huge potential here. We knew that the Philippines was not a traditional tea-drinking country since more familiar to consumers were colas in returnable glass bottles. But precisely, this made the market ready for a different kind of beverage. One that refreshes yet gives the health benefits of green tea. We positioned it as a "spa" in a bottle. A drink that cools and cleans…thus, C2 was born.
C2 immediately caught on with consumers. When we launched C2 in 2004, we sold 100,000 bottles in the first month. Three years later, Filipinos drink around 30 million bottles of C2 per month. Indeed, C2 is in a good place.
With Cebu Pacific, Sun Cellular, and C2, the JG Summit team took control of its destiny. And we did so in industries where old giants had set the rules of the game. It's not that we did not fear the giants. We knew we could have been crushed at the word go. So we just made sure we came prepared with great products and great strategies. We ended up changing the rules of the game instead.
There goes the principle of self-determination, again. I tell you, it works for individuals as it does for companies. And as I firmly believe, it works for nations.
I have always wondered, like many of us, why we Filipinos have not lived up to our potential. We have proven we can. Manny Pacquiao and Efren Bata Reyes in sports. Lea Salonga and the UP Madrigal Singers in performing arts. Monique Lhuillier and Rafe Totenco in fashion. And these are just the names made famous by the media. There are many more who may not be celebrities but who have gained respect on the world stage.
But to be a truly great nation, we must also excel as entrepreneurs before the world. We must create Filipino brands for the global market place.
If we want to be philosophical, we can say that, with a world-class brand, we create pride for our nation. If we want to be practical, we can say that, with brands that succeed in the world, we create more jobs for our people, right here.
Then, we are able to take part in what's really important—giving our people a big opportunity to raise their standards of living, giving them a real chance to improve their lives.
We can do it. Our neighbors have done it. So can we.
In the last 54 years, Korea worked hard to rebuild itself after a world war and a civil war destroyed it. From an agricultural economy in 1945, it shifted to light industry, consumer products, and heavy industry in the '80s. At the turn of the 21 st century, the Korean government focused on making Korea the world's leading IT nation. It did this by grabbing market share in key sectors like semiconductors, robotics, and biotechnology.
Today, one remarkable Korean brand has made it to the list of Top 100 Global Brands: Samsung. Less then a decade ago, Samsung meant nothing to consumers. By focusing on quality, design, and innovation, Samsung improved its products and its image. Today, it has surpassed the Japanese brand Sony. Now another Korean brand, LG Collins, is following in the footsteps of Samsung. It has also broken into the Top 100 Global Brands list.
What about China? Who would have thought that only 30 years after opening itself up to a market economy, China would become the world's fourth largest economy? Goods made in China are still thought of as cheap. Yet many brands around the world outsource their manufacturing to this country. China's own brands—like Lenovo, Haier, Chery QQ, and Huawei—are fast gaining ground as well. I have no doubt they will be the next big electronics, technology and car brands in the world.
Lee Kwan Yu's book "From Third World to First" captures Singapore's aspiration to join the First World. According to the book, Singapore was a trading post that the British developed as a nodal point in its maritime empire. The racial riots there made its officials determined to build a "multiracial society that would give equality to all citizens, regardless of race, language or religion."
When Singapore was asked to leave the Malaysian Federation of States in 1965, Lee Kwan Yew developed strategies that he executed with single-mindedness despite their being unpopular. He and his cabinet started to build a nation by establishing the basics: building infrastructure, establishing an army, weeding out corruption, providing mass housing, building a financial center. Forty short years after, Singapore has been transformed into the richest South East Asian country today, with a per capita income of US$32,000.
These days, Singapore is transforming itself once more. This time it wants to be the creative hub in Asia, maybe even the world. More and more, it is attracting the best minds from all over the world in filmmaking, biotechnology, media, and finance. Meantime, Singaporeans have also created world-class brands: Banyan Tree in the hospitality industry, Singapore Airlines in the Airline industry and Singapore Telecoms in the telco industry.
I often wonder: Why can't the Philippines, or a Filipino, do this?
Fifty years after independence, we have yet to create a truly global brand. We cannot say the Philippines is too small because it has 86 million people. Switzerland, with 9 million people, created Nestle. Sweden, also with 9 million people, created Ericsson . Finland, even smaller with five million people, created Nokia. All three are major global brands, among others.
Yes, our country is well-known for its labor, as we continue to export people around the world. And after India, we are grabbing a bigger chunk of the pie in the call-center and business-process- outsourcing industries. But by and large, the Philippines has no big industrial base, and Filipinos do not create world-class products.
We should not be afraid to try—even if we are laughed at. Japan, laughed at for its cars, produced Toyota. Korea, for its electronics, produced Samsung. Meanwhile, the Philippines' biggest companies 50 years ago—majority of which are multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and Unilever Philippines, for example—are still the biggest companies today. There are very few big, local challengers.
Case 3: OFW turned entrep
ENGINEER-INVENTOR RODERICO Cane, 47, has come a long way from a one-man banana catsup maker to manager of his own factory.
This former overseas worker, who used to work for a multinational food company, came home to Butuan City in Agusan del Sur in 1994 and started his own banana catsup experiment, supplying five gallons a day to a restaurant.
With only a single pot in his sister’s humble kitchen, he took the arduous task of stirring the sauce. “I had to stir the sauce for some time and it would strain my arms,” he said.
So he did the next best thing. He invented a stirring gadget to rid himself of manual work and hasten production time.
Soon, Cane was producing 50 gallons a day and the rate progressed to 150, moving from the kitchen to the backyard. He began to hire assistants, too.
He attributes the growth and expansion through the innovativeness of fabricating his own cooking paraphernalia. “I invented them because I knew it would get to save me a lot of money and make the production process easier.”
He was right. Investing on expensive utilities would surely drain his capital.
Being an industrial and mechanical engineer did the trick for him. “It pays if you have this two backgrounds when you get into this kind of business, you get to be creative in the production process.” Cane said.
But if the production angle was solved, there was marketing and promotion to contend with. People hardly heard of a banana catsup that time, and restaurants were hesitant to use them, more so if it was locally made.
“I had to convince them that my catsup was suitable, even taste better, for daily use,” Cane said.
Today, the inventor runs Joy Tablesauce Co., which manufactures Joy Banana Catsup. The product is sold throughout Mindanao and some islands in the Visayas.
The company employs 42 regulars and 26 piece-raters. It has its own factory plant in the family-owned lot.
Cane is currently president of the Caraga Regional Association of Traders and Entrepreneurs in Food (Create), which was founded in 2005. He has been invited often by the government and private sectors to share his experience.
Clinching paragraph
Mr Aguilar told us in his case to imagine how productive it would be if we could bring these Filipinos home to replicate the technology in the country. Given the right opportunities, the returning workers could contribute their expertise to help the country.
The government should begin tracking down world-class Filipinos who want to help the country and include them in the database. "
There are a lot of these people. We just have no idea where they are," But if we have the information about the OFW-m we should thoroughly discuss and study its reintegration programs for OFWs and OFW-m.
It is also noted that aside from the social and welfare framework, it would be better to push for the political empowerment of OFWs.
Gokongwie uses the policy of low cost great value. On late product-service business venturing, being a late player had its advantages. He could build his platform from a broader perspective. They worked with more advanced technologies and intelligent systems not available ten years ago. They chose thier suppliers based on the most cost-efficient hardware and software. Being a Johnny-come- lately allowed them to create and launch more innovative products, more quickly.
But already, hats off to Filipino entrepreneurs making strides to globalize their brands.
Goldilocks has had much success in the Unites States and Canada, where half of its customers are non-Filipinos. Coffee-chain Figaro may be a small player in the coffee world today, but it is making the leap to the big time. Two Filipinas, Bea Valdez and Tina Ocampo , are now selling their Philippine-made jewelry and bags all over the world. Their labels are now at Barney's and Bergdorf's in the U.S. and in many other high-end shops in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
When Gokongwei started thier own foray outside the Philippines 30 years ago, it wasn't a walk in the park. They set up a small factory in Hong Kong to manufacture Jack and Jill potato chips there. Today, they are all over Asia. They have the number-one-potato- chips brand in Malaysia and Singapore. They are the leading biscuit manufacturer in Thailand, and a significant player in the candy market in Indonesia. Their Aces cereal brand is a market leader in many parts of China. Their C2 is now doing very well in Vietnam, selling over 3 million bottles a month there, after only 6 months in the market. Soon, they will launch C2 in other South East Asian markets. Mr. Gokongwei is now 81 years old. But he does not forget the little boy that he was in the palengke in Cebu. He still want to make good. He still don't mind going up against those older and better than him. He still believe hard work will not fail him. And he still believe in people willing to think the same way. Through the years, the market place has expanded: between cities, between countries, between continents. He wants to urge everyone to think bigger. Why serve 86 million when you can sell to four billion Asians?
And that's just to start them off. Because there is still the world beyond Asia. When everyone go back to their offices, he challenged them to think of ways to sell and market their products and services to the world. Create world-class brands. Anybody can if he will really try. He did. As a boy, he sold peanuts from his backyard. Today, he sell snacks to the world.
Cane has proven and said that his struggle and perseverance are proof that local food entrepreneurs can make it, as long as their heart and mind is into it deeply.
Recommendation and conclusion
The Filipino-Japanese Blesed Community who are based in Japan has started a real pioneering of life. Starting from "wakaranai" speaking tongue, to no job, to garbagge-picking and surplus maneuvering, to familyhood to economic and moral survival by their own. More than fifteen years have passed. Enough time has passed to consider them to have stood up in their solid foundation. Others can speak Nihonggo, others have good job and nice salary, most have their family and children not to mention a few who still are really striving to progress.
A Fil-Jap family of seven members who stay in a danchi need to have at least 20 mang per month to survive with his children in the elementary and kindergarten. If the two husband and wife worked for their livelihood and have a minimum of 15 mang per month, the faimly can easily survive in a simple way of living like no car, no ketai and other additional monthly bills. They can have good savings too in a month. More if the family is less than seven. If they are only four, the better. MOre savings. Good for the collegiate education of the kids in the future.
And what for more in the future?
In considering to go back to Philippines, it will be too late to start anew in there if they will go home on their 60's or retiring age. While in their 40's, perhaps there is enough time to plan and start in the Philippines now.
What to start?
A livelihood or business venture that will help as a foundation in your going back is good to envision. Once you are back in the Philippines with an operational business in there makes a good life to go back home. It will be more spiritually blessed when living back to Philippines would allow you to help and involve in the providence with somehting in your pocket too.
From the cases above, the following are recommended:
1. The career experiences of every OFW-m shall be put in a database to have a catalogue of areas of specializations from them, that whenver consultancy and busienss ventures are aligned to their areas, they can be tapped as prime consultant, adviser if not core staff in the business;
2. The desire of business venturing by many shall be taken as a team by integrating OFW's and OFW-m's to a cooperative if not a corporation to bring all resources, including manpower and expertise and financing investment to a more solid ground. This will lessen the probability of mistakes and shortfalls as history says. Specialists who profess with their own educational and experiential background who can do start from feasibility studies, statistical researches, legal and professional implementation to operational management of a corporate business should take a lead in proposing a business project to venture, plan and organize the business cooperative and tap operational capables to implement the approved business program and project/s.
3. Investing to business project shall be open to blessed families and member including non-members who have the orientation about the blessed community in order to avoid misunderstanding on spiritual responsibilities like donation and tithes in the future.
4. Corporate Laws and Cooperative policies shall be taken as legal bases in the implementation of the project to make things harmonious with the government authority.
6. Communication and information dessimination shall propagate the program and gather feedbacks as part of consultany and transparency of the program and project/s with the involved public and community.
7. Business Proposals shall be given chances to be presented to the group for deliberations before a the leader and core group prior to approval of the majority of the body.
Appendix
Definition of terms
OFW- Overseas Foreign Workers
OFW-m- Members of UM-Philippines and/or affiliates who are OFW's or wo are working in foreign countries.
Commando- members of the Filipino-Japanese Blessed Community based in Japan
GPF- Global Peace Festival
UPF - Universal Peace Fedaration
UM- Unification Movement, an umbrella movment of the various organizaitons founded and /or related to the ideals of Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon.
WCSF- World Culture and Sports Festival
CD- Continental Director of UM and UPF
NL- National Leader of UM Philippines
No comments:
Post a Comment