Starting the
summer of 2000 I attempted to start a business in the province of
Romblon. With the help of Mr. Reginald M. Pastrana (a native of Romblon)
I began my ill fated business venture. Over the next nine months the
business failed and that is a story unto itself, but I thought I would
recall some happier moments in this article such as my first visit
to the picturesque province of Romblon.
Day One
I was able to
find a direct flight from San Francisco but unfortunately we had to
land in Honolulu because the plane did not have enough fuel to make
a non-stop flight to Manila. I found this confusing since I often
fly from San Francisco to Hong Kong non-stop. I later found out the
reason for the layover was all the boxes the passengers took on the
plane. You can always tell the PAL counter by the number of balikbayan
boxes waiting to be checked in and it seems the extra weight requires
a stop over in Honolulu for refueling.
I arrived in Manila
and was happy to learn we were landing at the new Iloilo International
Airport. Although I had been to the Philippines before, the previous
visits were just two-day visa trips for when I needed to extend my
Hong Kong visitor visa. I walked out of the airport and was immediately
surrounded by twenty or so people asking if I needed a taxi. This
mob scene is typical of Asian countries and I am use to it but two
white female American back packers that were on the same plane as
me were intimidated by the aggressiveness of the taxi drivers. I walked
over to offer them a hand in finding a taxi, but they said someone
is going to pick them up. I walked to the curb and negotiated a taxi
ride to Mabini Mansion Apt. Inn.
I arrived on a
Sunday and my meeting with Mr. Pastrana was not until Money so I had
some time to play tourist. I walked down to the lobby of the hotel
to get a taxi to one of the big shopping malls I had read about. The
taxi driver says fine, but says his meter is broken so he’ll
have to charge a flat fee of 200 Pesos. No problem and off we go to
the mall. The mall was amazing and very much like the kind of mall
you would find in the US. Found a movie theater and decided to see
a show. Didn’t realize the movies run continuously and the movie
was half over when I walked in. I get ready to go back to the hotel
and once again the taxi driver says his meter is broken and the fare
will be 250P. I say I’ll only pay 200P and he agrees.
Day Two
I arranged for
a taxi to the Senate of the Philippines where Mr. Pastrana is the
Director Of Research and surprise surprise the taxi meter is broken!
By this time I realized it is a con-game the taxi drivers play on
westerners. By not using the meter they can charge 4 or 5 times what
they would normally get. I met with Mr. Pastrana and discussed flight
arrangements to Romblon. We agree to leave tomorrow morning and arrange
to meet at the airport the next day.
Day Three
The flight has
only four people, a stranger, Regi Pastrana, Elmo Panopio and me.
I chat up the stranger and it seems he is flying to help with some
sort of public works project. When we land at the Tablas airport I
am happy to see that the chaos of Manila has been left behind and
I have entered the much more relaxed country side. Elmo arranges for
a Jeepny to take us to the ferry that will transport us to Romblon,
Romblon. Elmo is in a big hurry and I find out why when we miss the
ferry to the capital by about 10 minutes. We have to hire a private
boat to take us across the water to Romblon, Romblon which cost us
800P. Elmo apologizes for the high price but at only $20USD I am not
worried. Everything in the Philippines still seems so cheap it is
hard to complain at the price of anything.
One thing that
surprised me was how little people took an interest in me. I have
traveled to parts of China where I have been the first white person
many of the children have ever seen and I am use to being ogled at.
The children in Romblon were curious about me but I could tell that
I was not the first westerner they had seen. I was later to find out
that many Germans have set up vacation and retirement homes in the
province and white faces are not that uncommon. There seems to be
a rather large housing development of 100 plus homes going up in Sibuyan
Island.
We meet up with
Nilo Tolentino who had arranged a meeting with the mayor later that
evening. Nilo has a motorcycle and had fun taking me on a ride around
the area and showing off the local attractions. We visited a beach
resort and got a chance to visit one of the local schools. Nilo was
in the Army of the Philippines and wants to do some target shooting
with his hand gun. I grew up on a farm in Ohio and while I am familiar
with guns, I had never fired a handgun before. Regi gives Nilo some
shells he has brought from Manila and off we got to the beach to shoot
at coconuts floating in the ocean. I am a pretty good shot and wind
up actually hitting the coconut which is more than Nilo was able to
do. We meet back in Romblon, Romblon and for some reason Nilo and
Elmo get into an argument. Seems I spent too much time with Nilo and
Elmo feels jealous.
We meet with the
Mayor to discuss business and I am rather taken back that the Mayor
arrives to the dinner quite drunk. I have done business in many parts
of Asia but this is the first time this has happened to me and I make
a note to not have business meetings in the Philippines at night.
The Mayor only speaks a little English so Regi translates and the
Mayor keeps asking over and over when I will be investing the money
to start the business. The Philippines has many good business opportunities
but the lack of capital makes it very hard for the locals to start
any sort of business, hence the Mayor’s concern about the start
up money. Or least this is what I assume.
Day Four
The next day we
hire another boat to take us to San Agustin where Regi has many friends
and relatives. Regi has a beach house here and I make a decision to
stay an extra two days and just relax. Elmo has different plans and
wants me to visit the Governor who is a very good friend. Elmo has
a lot of “very good friends” and we never seem to go far
without Elmo pointing out some relative or business acquaintance to
me. We spent the next five hours in a jeepny trying to track down
the governor but we always just miss him. I make a mental note to
include two way radios in the list of things we’ll need for the
business as communication is a real problem in the province.
I finally get
a chance to relax at the beach house. For the next two days I am in
paradise. I get up in the morning for a swim and then sit down for
a wonderful breakfast that is ready and waiting. It seems the beach
house comes with a live-in housekeeper who takes care of the property
when Regi is in Manila which is most of the time. Next I would take
a nap and then go for a walk down the beach. The children would run
by and say “Hi Joe” but were to shy to strike up a conversation.
One brave lad was carrying a chicken and he seemed to take great pride
in showing it to me. I was later to find out I would be eating this
chicken for dinner which explains his enthusiasm in displaying his
chicken.
That night we
hired a boat and went fishing. I wanted to go swimming but Regi was
afraid I would be eaten by a shark. I finally had him ask the owner
of the boat if it was safe and the owner said no problem. I am a very
good swimmer and can hold my breath for three or four minutes. I dived
off the boat and spent two or three minutes swimming under water as
I wanted to cool off. When I finally surface quite far from the boat
everyone was yelling and screaming as they thought I had drowned.
I shouted back and everyone started yelling even louder but in Tagalog
or least I think it was Tagalog. Of course I had no idea what they
were saying but I figured I had better swim back.
Regi and I got
to chit chatting while on the boat and I was dismayed to learn he
is a firm believer in UFOs and wanted to know what I thought. Believe
in UFOs is usually a harmless misconception, but Regi is the Director
Of Research for the Senate of the Philippines and one would hope that
someone in his position would have a more serious outlook on the world
as the Senators rely on Regi to provide them many of the facts they
use in deciding on what legislation to pass.
When we get ready
to return to the beach house, the owner of the boat hesitates before
starting the engine to listen for other boats. It is pitch black as
the clouds are covering the moon and while we can hear another boat
we can’t see it. The owner of the boat lights a cigarette and
starts waving it back and forth as we have no running lights. The
sound of the other boat keeps getting louder and the crew is starting
to get agitated. Finally the boat passes us to port and we can finally
start the engine and get back to the beach house.
Day Five
The second day
at the beach house was much the same but it was amazing the effect
spending the two days on the beach had on me. I had spent the last
ten years on my business and would typically work 50 – 70 hours
every week with almost no vacations. Even when I did take time off
it was to go skiing or hiking which are not relaxing experiences.
The time spent at that beach house has stuck with me and is what motivates
me more than anything else to return.
The one extra
curricular activity was Elmo took me to a cock fight. I had never
seen one and was surprise to see the size of the building that seemed
to have been custom built for the sole purpose of cock fighting. Obviously
Filipinos take cock fighting very seriously. I watch two fights and
must confess I wasn’t impressed. Watching two animals butcher
each other was not entertaining to me. I much prefer the American
style rodeo where people and animals compete and both parties almost
always walk away unharmed.
Day Six
We are to meet
with a few more mayors and finally take a flight back to Manila later
that afternoon. I have finally learned how to ride in a jeepny. At
5’ 11” I was constantly banging my head on the ceiling but
my reflexes must have finally adapted as a I never hit my head once
that whole day. It was during this last day that I saw a Filipino
boy and a white girl riding a motorcycle through one of the barangays.
I was quite surprised and this is when found out about the many Germans
visiting and living in Romblon. For a moment I consider spending more
time thinking about how to center the business on what the Germans
were doing but Regi convinced me the original plan was better.
The flight back
to Manila was uneventful and only Regi returned with me as Elmo was
to stay behind.
Recap
While Romblon
is one of the poorer provinces in the Philippines the poverty is not
as apparent as what you see in Manila. Although I’m sure the
poverty does exist, the beggars that are a constant annoyance in Manila
are absent in Romblon. This more than anything else impressed me as
it showed Romblon society has a working safety net for the very poor.
The relaxed live
style is addictive and I can see why the Germans are building homes
on this remote paradise. Someday I hope to join them and the people
of Romblon.
