by Prime Sarmiento
JAL TAGUIBAO has a very simple way of telling just when a song can be called a hit. “When your song is being played in jeepneys,” he says, “that’s when it’s gone big time.
Taguibao should know. As the bass player of the popular pop-rock trio Sugarfree, he has shared in the success of chart-toppers such as “Mariposa (Butterfly),” “Telepono (Telephone),” and “Hari ng Sablay (King of Mishaps).” His five-year-old band has sold thousands of CDs, with its second venture, the album “Dramachine,” even turning gold.
by Alecks P. Pabico
AN ONLINE business may have been more apt for Senate star witness Rodolfo ‘Jun’ Lozada, an engineer and self-described IT expert who somehow wound up heading a state-owned forestry firm. Then again, with the country’s electronic commerce (e-commerce) economy still lingering at the bottom, it’s not surprising that Lozada chose to worry about propagating tuba-tuba and jatropha instead of, say, selling roses online.
Podcast
by Avigail M. Olarte
IT’S not easy being popular, but Miguel ‘Mike’ Bolos Jr. seems to manage the fame attached to his name quite well. A 57-year-old entrepreneur, the story of the former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) inspires many migrants who would one day also want to come home for good.
Reputedly the highest paid Filipino in Saudi Arabia, Bolos decided to head home and put up his own business here in 2005. Never mind that he might never earn the same income he had as an accountant and chief financial officer; all he wanted was to invest the money he had earned for 25 years in his hometown of Guagua, Pampanga, a bustling town north of Manila.
by Jaileen F. Jimeno
NO ONE visits Paete without being awed by the artistry and industry of its people. Even Jose Rizal’s Noli Mi Tangere mentioned the town’s woodcarving shops and the masterpieces created in these.
“Maraming malalandi ang kamay rito dahil maliit ang espasyo ng aming bayan (Our town is so small people have learned how to be creative with their hands),” says woodcarver Justino ‘Paloy’ Cagayat Jr. says, explaining why he and his townmates are artistically inclined.
by Jaileen F. Jimeno
PAETE, Laguna — Woodcarver Justino ‘Paloy’ Cagayat Jr. still remembers a time when the kabaret (honky-tonk joint) directly across his shop had some 200 “entertainers.” At that time, too, he recalls, numerous fires hit many carving shops because workers were just too busy to sweep wood shavings off floors and have proper cigarette breaks. To Cagayat, this town’s then new, racy form of entertainment and the fires were indicators of Paete’s wealth — and of the insatiable demand for its products.
Crossborder
by Prime Sarmiento
SINGAPORE — Twelve years ago, Francisco ‘Kiko’ Escora was already happy when a painting of his fetched P3,000 at an exhibit in Manila. But today Escora must be ecstatic; his works are being snapped up not only in his home country, where they now average P70,000 a piece, but also in places like Singapore, where Escora paintings are bought for S$4,000 each, or a cool hundred grand based on a P30:S$1 conversion.
by Isa Lorenzo
THE SCREAMING is constant, but no one seems to mind. In fact, the contestants are encouraged to scream round after round, as boxes containing thousands of pesos and big prizes light up. The screams, however, are the same thing over and over again: “Give me some money!!!”
When it debuted on GMA-7 last October, “Whammy” was an instant hit, shooting to the top spot in daytime ratings. The mechanics are simple: three contestants take turns at a sort of digital roulette, yelling “go” or “stop” whenever they please. The idea is to pick up as much cash and prizes as possible, while avoiding getting the dreaded red demon known as the “Whammy.”
by Timi Nubla
SEVERAL MONTHS ago, a college friend invited me to join a new investment fund that promised tremendous returns. The firm was supposedly an international company, and promised an interest rate of four percent — a day. It promised even higher returns if one were to recruit more investors and form his own “network.” Suspicious, I asked about the company’s investment portfolio and track record. But my friend had little information about these things.
by Rorie R. Fajardo
EVERY NOW and then representatives of pre-need companies offer me insurance packages for my parents and me. Name it, they’ve tried to sell it to me — life and accident insurance plans, health plans, even memorial plans. But I always say no. It’s not that I’m not interested; I simply don’t have the extra money to pay for the premiums. Whatever I make as a media worker and from occasional writing and editing projects is just enough for my parents’ and my own daily needs. Which is why many view my family’s ability to hurdle major medical emergencies as nothing short of miraculous.
by Cielito F. Habito
RAMDAM MO na nga ba?
Even the current administration is probably asking itself this question — “Do you really feel it?” — since the recorded performance of the Philippine economy in 2007 surprised everyone, including the government. With GDP growth likely to have exceeded seven percent for the full year, the economy appears to have overshot the government target of 6.1-6.7 percent for the year. And with relatively stable prices manifested in a low inflation rate, and an apparently improving jobs picture as of the third quarter, we are finally seeing good news on all three basic economic yardsticks that the ordinary Filipino can understand: presyo (prices), hanapbuhay (jobs) and kita (income). Inflation (2.8 percent) is well within the 2.6-3.1 percent projected range; unemployment is down to 6.3 percent from last year’s 7.3 percent; and income (GDP) growth (7.1 percent so far) is better than the targeted 6.1-6.7 percent. Until recently, the best we could do was a “two-out-of-three” score, with jobs data having consistently lagged behind the other two indicators.
