Welcome to Correspondence Center for the Kabuhayan Project. The set-up for this page is blog-like, therefore reading pattern is from the most current correspondence to older ones.

 CORRESPONDENCE CENTER

From: Betsog Jugo
Date: March 8, 2010 09:43pm

Hi Mon & all,
 
I agree that we should move on to  start the program, however, I have a feeling that our administrators and handlers may need some sort of guidelines other than the Mission Statement.  Maybe a simple standard of policies and procedures be established for them to give them the do's and the don'ts that if followed accordingly and efficiently, the program will be effective and satisfactory to everyone concern.
 
I wish we could talk to all three of them, Daisy, Jojo and Lorna, at the same time and impart on them what we want to accomplish without giving them any kind of stress.  I know this is not going to be easy especially for them because we, like them, don't even have a specific and clear guideline in place.  
 
Maybe we should advise them to start accepting applicants as soon as the money is deposited in the bank but first, we have to hear from Daisy if she already has received the remittance thru her PNB Dollar account.
 
Daisy, Jojo and Lorna please let us know how things are going with you now that the money is there.
 
Thanks and regards.  
Betsog

 

From: Ramoncito Castillo
Date: March 8, 2010 09:02pm

Betsog,
Today is our deadline for comments and I don't think there are anymore comments coming on the principles and guidelines for the micro-finance project.

I got a private e-mail from Tina Balaguer (hindi ko parin matanggap na married na sya, -- an excuse for SMA for her married apelyido, hehe) and the issues she raised in her previous e-mail, I believe, have already been cleared. 

Tama ba ako Tina?  And you are not being negative.  Dito ako bilib sa mga taga Tanay.  Even during the meeting and the debate no one showed malice or ill will against anybody or anyone. Besides, the points you raised are valid and reasonable.  In fact, during the discussions the body was in a paradox whether to give to wider or more numbers of beneficiaries, which might just give a family enough rice for the day, or a lot less number for greater impact. But some objected na baka daw naman magtayo ng another SM and kalabanin pa si Henry Sy kaya P5,000 compromise was reached which will be enough puhunan sa magtitinda ng ayungin na humango sa madaling araw, magtinda sa umaga at bumalik ang puhunan at tubo by the afternoon.  

As my own brother voiced out when he was president of Children's Charity Fund, in most of these charitable organizations it is always the case that there are more deserving beneficiaries and needs than the resources available.  So the focus is on "impact" that would make a difference in another's life.  And our hope this fund does.

I think you can now send the Word file of this to the administrators in Tanay for implementation.  Cross-copy April Bernabeo with the final verbiage so she can post it in Tanay website where these discussions are also being published.

We'll just wish and pray for its success. 

From: Betsog Jugo
Date: March 8, 2010 07:42pm

FYI,
 
Just opened up a mail envelope with a $100 check from Sofia Veloso for the SoCAL Livelihood Project in Tanay. 
 
Sofia, this is to acknowledge receipt of your generous donation to our cause.  Don't worry hindi ito nahuli bagkus ay ito ang simula ng panibagong pagkilos natin, hane.  By the way, your check or cash will be forwarded ASAP to April Bernabeo for safekeeping.
 
Thank you Sofia and we'll keep you informed.  Please visit our site at Tanaypost.tk and post your comments or suggestions.
 
Regards and take care.
 
betsog  
From: Betsog Jugo
Date: March 5, 2010

Hi Everyone,
 
Whew!  At last, the money raised for the livelihood project intended for Tanay residents affected by Ondoy has reached its handlers and administrators.  A total of $5,500 was remitted to Daisy Porciuncula-Chiu's PNB Dollar Account today, March 5, 2010. 
 
While awaiting for Daisy's confirmation of receipt in full, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who put their heart and soul together to make this a reality.  In addition, I would like to request those who donated any amount of monetary contributions to our cause to please email me or call me the actual amount donated for the purpose of transparency and most of all, to extend our appreciation.
 
Due to the large amount of money being sent to the Philippines, PNB Carson inquired where the money came from.  When I explained the money was gathered through private solicitation of donations from townmates and friends, PNB required me to provide them with a list of donors ASAP to avoid suspicion of money laundering to the Philippines.  Nevertheless, PNB Carson transmitted the money to Daisy's dollar account today.
 
As agreed during the last meeting of TASC members at Ninong's last Saturday, the total remittance, upon receipt, will be deposited by Daisy at the Tanay Rural Bank.  With Daisy, Lorna Penalver and Rommel "Jojo" Cautivo were designated as the three(3) co-administrators of the account and will have the responsibilities of recommending eligible applicants to TASC and releasing funds as approved.  In addition, they have the responsibilities of monitoring the group status and accepting, recording and depositing payments made by the group borrowers on a monthly basis.  
 
To assist them in accomplishing these tasks, a maximum amount of Six Hundred (P600.00) Pesos per month was allocated for the three administrators expenses, i.e., travel and representation.  I suggest to allocate an additional Two Hundred (P200) Pesos per month  for loan documentation supplies, etc.   
 
It was further agreed that in the event all monies allocated for administrators expenses are not spent, left-over balance will be divided equally among the three administrators after the tenure of each 6-month loan period or prior to the succeeding loan cycle whichever is applicable.     
 
By the way, we are also waiting for the completion of the final version of the program design as being put together by Ramon Castillo.  Initially, the plan needed a little bit of tweeking and fine tuning and we hope, after the last meeting at Ninong's, the program design will be effective, efficient and satisfactory for and on behalf of the targeted group.
 
Again, thank you and congratulations, we did it !!!  
 
All the best,
 
betsog

 

Update from Ramoncito Castillo:

Overall it was a very productive meeting -- with lots of nakabatang tawanan at hindi ka na tatanda na kainan.

Thanks to Ninong's again for hosting the meeting at sa daming freebies and extras.

Here are the list of attendees.  The guidelines for the kabuhayan project will follow (jogging muna ako to shed those extra calories):

1.  Ting Porci (by phone)
2.  Lilibeth Teston
3.  Norberto Timtiman
4.  Aurora Layug
5.  Boboby & Marlyn Bernabeo
6.  Tonite Catambay
7.  Helen Solomon
8.  Betsog Jugo
9.  Amy Tica
10.  Joe Santos
11.  Mon Castillo
12.  Annabelle Barraquias
13.  Freddie (in spirit)

Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 11:40 AM

Hi Padre Ting, Mon and all,
 
I spoke with Laarni yesterday and she informed me that she just got back from a business trip this week.  I proposed a meeting be called to give an update to those who contributed to the cause.
 
Laarni also informed me that according to Fely Catolos,  all contributions going to each barangay must be coursed thru DSW.
 
We will hold the meeting on Saturday, February 27, 2010 from 12:00 noon to 3:00 in the afernoon at Ninong's Cafe and Pastries.  I will appreciate if you can RSVP by emailing me back or calling me at (310) 487-1135.  Please inform everyone concerned.
 
For directions to Ninong's Cafe, please call (818) 368-7276.  
 
Than ks and regards.
 
Betsog 

 

I totally agree with Helen and I will try to invite more members to join us in the meeting on the 27th of Feb.  Please do the same para mas maraming ideas ang mapagkukunan natin.
See you all  sa Ninong's.  And Helen, thanks for the discount of kung ilang percent,(joke only) hehehehehe!
 
Betsog

 

From: Ninong's Pastries <ninongspastries@gmail.com> 

Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 2:14 PM

Hi to All,
Anybody who would attend the meeting, and I hope there will be a whole lot of us so we can really discuss and voice out our opinions and make solid conclusions as to what would be really good for our kababayans, will definitely get a discount here at Ninong's.
 
I guess we, who attended the 1st meeting were all idealistic. We had good intentions. However, to make the project work maybe unrealistic. My mother-in-law has this livihood project in Antipolo and it is still going on, 9 to 10 years na. She would lend money to the mothers and they would then do some kind of basahan business. She gets paid back without interest, pero meron ding hindi nagbayad. What made hers successful is that meron siyang katulong na nangungulekta ng pera. And that would be our problem. Who would we assign to do this difficult and tideous task? Daisy had expressed that collection job is not for her.
 
It would be great if a lot of us can be at the meeting. 25 or more thinking heads are better than 5. Let's invite a lot of members, others may have better ideas.
 
Best regards,
The Ladies at Ninong's

On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 9:47 PM, Betsog Jugo <betsogjugo@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi Padre Ting, Mon, Laarni & all,
 
First of all, I wanted to reiterate that our initial goal in soliciting donations from our friends and kababayans was due to the wrath Ondoy brought forth onto our kababayans in Tanay.  However, due to the overwhelming support provided by the entire world by way of cash and in-kind donations, it was evident, as we heard thru the news and saw it on TV, youtubes, videos, etc., that these donations are either wasted or mis-appropriated, kept hidden and not distributed because aid received was really humongous and a whole lot.  Unfortunately, only high officials of the country had a hand on almost everything that was remitted or shipped thru DSW or other government agencies. 
 
Because of that, we sat down and decided that in lieu of donating the money to the typhoon victims, the Tanay group in Southern CA and Vegas will use the $5K+ money solicited to provide small livelihood projects or add on to on-going small businesses in the 9 barangays with 4 recipients of P4-5 thousand pesos each for a period of 6 months.  The only condition to qualify a recipient is his promise and ability to return the money to the barangay as required.  This will enable others in that same barangay to avail of the chance to improve their lives with the money returned by the first recipient.  This should roll on until the last deserving member of the barangay is given the chance.  
 
However, if it is not possible without having DSW controlling the cash outlay, and our designated money handlers Daisy and Fely will not be the ones to handle the initial distribution of cash to the barangays, then we might as well put a hold on the money until we find a way of ensuring that the donated money by Tanayans in Southern CA and Vegas and all our efforts will not be in vain or lost due to red tapes, etc.
 
I will appreciate your comments and inputs on the matter.  Or, you can save them till the 27th of Feb in our group meeting at Ninong's. 
 
All the best and see you all!  By the way, meeting starts at 12:00 Noon.  We will request Ninong's to give us special discounts on every food item in the menu. 
 
betsog

 

From: Ramoncito Castillo <ramoncito_castillo@ yahoo.com>
To: sicaa_comm@yahoogro ups.com; ellen marian <ecorazon93@gmail. com>
Sent: Tue, February 16, 2010 9:59:45 AM
Subject: Re: [sicaa_comm] Re: Project Update

Kapatir,

I found out just now that some of my e-mails ko in response to you yesterday did not go through.  The reason is that my computer had some problems.  This time nag-hang so I have to use my son's. When it rains it pours talaga.  Wala naman akong ginawang sinful sa Vegas, hehe.  Last week, Tiyo TQ died.  Near weekend, I found out my debit card got hacked with several fraudulent purchases over the internet from Wal-mart.com,do you use ur debit card in purchasing online? on line banking? i need to be aware of this too. Zumez (bagets and kumag), Hot Topics etc  worth more than a thousand.  Ngayon eto naman.hope u good luck in resolving this matter, for what i know, this is not easy.

Anyways, kahanga hanga eto Kapatir.  Nagkakwentohan kami ni Laarni on it during the Tanay Summer Picnic in her mcmansion and got some feedback from Ka Pato Tongohan on the matter.  Well, plus my mom's own experience.

This is not in anyway to be disc ouraging but to be aware of some realities.that s true, kapatir. meron talagang abusado, tango(tanga na, gago pa), at meron din matino na kelangan din ng tulong. at yan ang mahirap malaman, kung sino-sino ang karapat-dapat.

1.  I've read a book by Mohammed Yunus on Grameen Bank's microfinance in Bangladesh.  It was a successful one and a good model.  I think this is Cory Aquino's template for the Aquino Foundation's own microfinance activities.  I just don't know if it already reached Tanay -- or whether the foundation has the same programs after she died.narinig ko rin eto sa news, pero di ko alam ang details.
do you think it will work on our project? our main problem is, we have limited funds/resources; and we can only operate of what we have. the good thing is, our intent is like charity, not as a business; once the money is gone, its gone 4ever. we are just trying how will it last the longest, and how it can help the most.

2.  From Ka Pato when I bounced off with him a program where I'll "lend" someone a female cow.  And once nag-anak, he can return to me the nanay and he can keep the anak.  He said, this has been tried before and failed.  Somehow the nanay did not have a chance to breed since it would die for some mysterious reasons lalo na pag-malapit sa fiesta, ikinasal ang anak, etc. or negligence, such as, naiwan nakasuga sa palayan under a very hot sun. i heard about this program way back mid 1960s. i like the concept, but kelangan din talaga ng serious at dedicated participants for it to succeed.

3.  My Mom, let some less fortunate people use her money for relending with guidelines na bank rate lang and where they can keep the interests as their own income.  Hopefully, the aim is to undercut those who are offering onerous 5/6 rate.  And for her,  soli lang puhunan at nakatulong na siya.  Initially, they followed the guidelines.  Then they become greedy and without my Mom's knowledge began charging 5/6 rates.  She only came to know about it when other people and known 5/6 operators kept on badgering her for funding with promise of bigger returns and then people started talking that she is also into 5/6.  Well, she stopped it immediately and this time in anger and disappointment. i cant blame her to be mad and disappointed, she had the best intention, and got the worst reputation.

4.  When I was working with a fertilizer company, we participated in the program where the government provided free fertilizers to the farmers and hopefully the farmer will have a good harvest one season that will provide him with capital to have better cultural practices (good seeds, optimal use of fertilizers, etc.) in the subsequent planting cycle.  The first happened, farmers had a good and bountiful harvest.  Unfortunately, the money supposed to be kept as capital for the next planting got spent somewhere else (and we joked, bumili ng piano).  We had better success though with our own company programs of demonstration farms where we showed farmers, without giving them free anything, that the use of certified seeds, soil enriching organic compounds (dried chicken shit) and correct fertilizer applications results in very good harvest.

In my own mind these are what will work.

1.  Grameen style lending or microfinance with a real small organization.  Maybe go on training with the Aquino Foundation to see how it worked and where it failed.  Then replicate it in Tanay.

2.  Scholarship that will break the family's cycle of poverty.  This happened three times already in our family for people who for obvious reasons will remain unnamed. They were sent to school with us.  Eventually they became professionals.  One continued her studies for masteral and a doctorate.

3.  Establish a model farm.  Hire a few of them and demonstrate that it works.  If they feel they can do it by themselves, help them out.
thanks for the input,kapatir. i guess we need to set up a group of 5 or more for decision-making of whats best of our project. we can present that on the agenda and move on as we wait for the ideas of others. or, to be fair to everybody, we can complete and finish this project by:
1. purchasing a patrol vehicle/tricycle to be donated to our municipality and used by law enforcement agency.
2. purchase of medicines or other medical instruments to be used at puericulture/ medical center.
3. sponsor the 10-day amateur nights before fiesta for next year.
we started this fund raising for relief of our kababayans affected by ondoy. it has been more than 3 months, and a lot has changed. there has been overwhelming help from around the world, and heard good but mostly bad news, about the donated items stocked in the bodegas not being distributed by DSWD(reserve daw para sa election campaign?), missing cash or unaccounted, etc.etc...
we, as donors has the option to where and how to spend the money. we are not bound by the rules of DSWD since ours are voluntary. i can understand why the one in power want control over welfare agency; avoid corruption. POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY. till next...bugoy

 From: alex porciuncula <vidalexporci@ yahoo.com>
To: ellen marian <ecorazon93@gmail. com>
Sent: Tue, February 16, 2010 3:05:18 AM
Subject: Re: [sicaa_comm] Re: Project Update


thanks, ate ellen for the greetings of Happy Family. i know the meaning of family, and its nice to live a life with that principles. Happy Family din sa lahat.
ate ellen, everyone is welcome to contribute their opinion and ideas. its not really easy to please everybody; esp were not all catholics, not all ildefonsians, and some maybe critics just for the heck of it, which offers no other alternatives. to be fair sa nakakarami, and the livelihood project that we envision to last, we have to think both as a tanayan in need, and an administrator to keep the business going. examples are:
1. for those in the business of raising pigs, chickens, or kambing, we can lend them money to buy biik and sisiw, and pays back without interest after they sold the baboy, manok. i'm talking about small scale and limited amount to maximize the participants.
2. lend some tinderas in the palengke, sari-sari store to infuse some capital to sustain and expand their business, and verify 6 months (time?) later about the progress; instead of borrowing to the bombays who charges 5-6 rates. that is for every P5 you borrow, you need to pay back P6 in a week. that's ridiculous, because if my computation is right, that is 20% in a week and 80% in a month. I hate those people taking advantage of other peoples misadventure. aray kupo, sorry. and i hate more the people behind this scheme, protectors and others who benefit from it.
3.to the workers with secured employment (overseas and overland), who needs extra cash to finalize their papers( expenses like passports, pamasahe at baon for processing, etc.)
we could go on and on and on....and with other suggestions, we can select the best way how we can do it.
4. the tricycle business is nice, but it costs about P120k to start; and the franchise to operate is closed.
makialam, haneh!
congratulations to the GTA-Canada for your relief efforts. i'm sure YOU have helped a lot of tanayans and made them happy; yet ours is still to come.

From: ellen marian <ecorazon93@gmail. com>
To: sicaa_comm@yahoogro ups.com
Cc: vidalexporci@ yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, February 15, 2010 5:52:34 PM
Subject: Re: [sicaa_comm] Re: Project Update

Ting, ako'y nakikinig and i don't know if this message will reach you.
Happy valentine to all too and we here in Toronto celebrates the family day today 15th of feb.sa lahat ng mga heads of the family and their families, happy family day and let us really value the word family and for what it is meant for....again Happy Family day to all.
Ting if my greetings won't come up please put it up for me through your email.
God bless,
ate ellen
ps.
that is too is a very good suggestion. let it be done by those whom you know and really someone who is willing to do it themselves. not my business but I read your email to the group.

 

On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 7:03 PM, alex porciuncula <vidalexporci@ yahoo.com> wrote:

hi annie and betsog,
musta na. buti nakabalik ka na dito, safe n sound.
i'm skeptical about dealing with DSWD, or even looking at their list of perspective recipients. they have funds a lot more than we have. i would rather prefer that we directly deal with tanayans that really need help, most importantly, friends and family(most of us are interrelated anyway). if brgy captains, i guess not all of them, would not like to get involve, i'm sure there will be somebody who would like to step in to be arkabala. thats what pareng berting and i did to help our affected klasmeyts of batch 69. led by senadora benjie, couples pareng anching n mameng, roger catuira n mike benaliza; we managed to process the help that was really needed at that time. i'm open to more inputs, opinions and ideas for the success of this good cause. makialam!(remember d SIGAW of d kabataan way back early 1970's, diba kapatir Mon?).
padre betsog, are we going to give thanks and appreciation to the donors of our relief project? at least, a card of thanks, a small piece of paper that creates big impact to hearts and mind is what i'm proposing. di na bale kaming magasawa at sis amy, but to our friends who gave $200, pilipino but not tanayans who dont even know who they are helping, i salute them. here are their names:
1. flery quiambao of pampanga = $100. RN, St. Rose Medical Center
2. sherryl gonzales of iloilo        = $100. RN, St. Rose Medical Center
Both donated good used clothing together with Kathryn Tejero(Daraitan &Lucena City) and Tess Pogansalan of Davao. the 2 bb boxes were sent to batch 69. I have thank them enough verbally, but i want them to feel that their help reached their destination without doubt; hence, a card from you, Meyor Betsog is nice acknowledgement. i can share the expense of the stamps, how is that?
MAKIALAM, sigaw ni bugoy! pabulong naman kung walang nakikinig, at least kwinB is listening, diba?


ting4c
bugoy, las vegas
nv 89123

From: Laarni Omingo <exaltacionlaarni@ aol.com>
Sent: Sat, February 13, 2010 2:51:08 PM
Subject: Project Update

Dear All,
 
Kumusta na kayo??? don't you dare think that I abandoned you but I have to work in different places, the time differences drove me nuts.  I just heard from Fely Catolos and she told me that she was referred by the Barangay Captains to DSWD.  She then went to the DSWD office and was given 24 names/families to work with.  They will then be contacted and have them fill out the form for approval.  Daisy, in turn, will deposit the check to Tanay Rural Bank this week for funding once these applications are approved.  I apologize for the late report but travelling and working are not easy tasks--- not that I am complaining :).  Anyhoo,  Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Year of the Tiger to All!
 
Best,
Laarni

Laarni G. Omingo, MBA, CFS
CENTURY 21 Pure Gold
Cell: (714) 856-1761
Website: http://www.southern calhomes. listingbook. com/
Blog: www.laarnisthoughts .blogspot. com
 

From: Flora Johnson <fleurjeu27@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Tanay Relief Fund
To: "Laarni Omingo" <exaltacionlaarni@aol.com>, "Betsog Jugo" <betsogjugo@yahoo.com>
Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 2:02 PM

Annie,
 
Thank you for doing this.  When we become a non-profit org it is easier to do fund raising and sending money to PI.  The next step I think will be the election of officers which can be done this coming Fiesta. We should also have our own Constitution and by-laws just like Tanay Club of America in Oakland (I believe Lito Tungohan and Omar Catambay co-wrote   the Tanay Club constitution /by-laws.  We can just pattern So Cals after theirs with minor revision unless we have some lawyer type members around here who'd be willing to do it.
 
The election does not have to be a  formal one ; since tayo-tayo lang we can just raise hands. I'm hoping you and Betsog will be in the leadership roles.  Others who would make good officers :  April Bernabeo, Berting Timtiman, Boboy Bernabeo, Mon Castillo and from SD Lito Inarda.
 
Ito naman ay suggestion ko lang. 
 
Kaisa sa ikabubuti ng Tanay,
 
Tita Flor 

 

From: Laarni Omingo <exaltacionlaarni@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Tanay Relief Fund
Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 2:47 PM

Dear All,
 
Just to let you know that we already applied for our not for profit organization to the state.  It cost us $425.00 including all the documents and seal.  I got the application form for our kabuhayan project ready and will attach it for your perusal and review by tomorrow. Also talked to Fely re the preliminary process of getting the people approved in their barangays so hopefully we can get the money out by the 1st week of January. Tamang me trabaho sila by fiesta.  Let me know if you have any questions. Please be patient with me in putting things together as we are starting from scratch and we don't want to commit mistakes.. We want this organization to last and we can have children's children appreciate our being Tanayans. 
 
Best,
 
Laarni