EKSTRA: How OFWs Earn Extra Cash to Send Home

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are well known multi-taskers, performing several duties at the same time. This delicate balancing act requires not just skills but a deep sense of commitment and focus to make life better for their loved ones.

This perhaps is best illustrated in “Europe”, a short film by BDO Kabayan, about a female impersonator who works in Europe. Inspired by true events, “Europe” shows the great lengths a father will go to in order to provide for his family.

Jacks and Jills of all trades

The story is a familiar one, resonating among the millions of OFWs around the world, wherein many of ourkakabayans resort to accepting odd jobs to earn for their families back home.

Dolores Perez, a registered nurse, discovered a hidden talent that became her source of extra income when she was working in Dubai.

“One time my friend asked if I could give her a massage. After I gave her one, she said I was really good,” recalls Dolores. “So after that, I decided to do massages for a fee on my days off.”

“I chose giving a massage as my sideline because it only lasts for an hour, no more, no less,” Dolores continues. “If a client wants to extend the session, then she must pay extra.”

Having a few practical skills can be quite useful, according to Teddy Santos, Jr., a husband and father of two. Having lived in Italy for the past 18 years, he has gone through many ups and downs when it comes to work. Today, he prefers having several part time jobs over regular work as this set-up pays him more and gives him more flexibility in terms of work hours.

According to Teddy, his regular day consists of working in a pharmacy from 7 to 11 in the morning, doing odd jobs like housekeeping, babysitting, or driving for various clients from 11:30am to 2:30pm, and doing clerical work in a law firm from 3:30pm to 7pm.

“It’s tiring and sometimes the travel time between jobs is challenging,” Teddy admits. "But the work that I do every day pays good money and is enough to support my family.”

Everything for the OFW Family

Indeed, their family’s welfare is the main motivation of OFWs wherever they may be in the world. Making sure that their loved ones back home are well provided for is top priority, no matter how difficult.

“I guess every padre de pamilya would say family comes first above anything else,” Teddy says. “All that they need should be provided by the parents, might it be in the manner of financial or moral support.”

Dondon Mangilog, Jr., a telecom technician in Saudi Arabia, agrees. For the past 15 years, he has been installing TV satellite dishes for private clients after office hours and during weekends. But despite its financial rewards, Dondon admits working extra has its disadvantages.

“Tinitiis ko ang init o lamig sa pag-aakyat sa bubong at hirap sa pag-install at pagbabarena sa dingding (I endure the heat or the cold when I go up on rooftops and the difficulty of drilling walls),” Dondon admits. “Ginagawa ko ito para maitaguyod nang maayos ang pamilya at makapag-ipon para sa magandang kinabukasan. (I do this so I can give the best support for my family and save money for our future.)”

Building the ideal future today

For Dolores, it’s important to teach her children how to prioritize their needs as early as now.

“Tuition fees, books, baon…these are the most important,” says Dolores. “If there’s extra money left, that’s the only time we buy other stuff or go malling.”

Too many sad stories have been told about OFWs not being able to save or losing their money because of uninformed financial decisions.

“You don’t have to be good in Math to manage your income,” Teddy says. “It’s just simple: don’t spend too much above your paygrade.”

For OFWs, it’s also crucial to have a trusted bank that will assist them in making sure their earnings make it to their families back home. BDO Kabayan understands this and commits to providing OFWs with products and services that adapt to their ever-changing needs.

“Having a bank that looks out for me is really helpful,” says Dondon who regularly sends money to the Philippines. “It makes me feel more secure knowing that my family gets the money I worked so hard for.”

The story of “Europe” is a familiar one, resonating among the millions of OFWs around the world. Just like in the story of “Europe”, many of our kababayans resort to accepting odd jobs to earn extra cash for their families back home.

While they find ways to earn for their families back home, BDO finds ways to safeguard their keep and provide innovative options to send this money to their loved ones. The service called Cash Agad for instance was introduced by BDO as a channel for the beneficiaries to withdraw the remittances without the need to go to a bank. Neighborhood establishments like sari-sari stores, water refilling stations, hardware stores, and pawnshops can be their “go-to-bank” as long as these establishments have the Cash Agad terminals. Cash Agad is currently offered in more than 5,000 partners nationwide. For more information, you may visit this link:www.bdo.com.ph/kabayan-remittance-services.

MARINA, PCG Reinforce Partnership, Toughen Enforcement Over Domestic Ships

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reinforce its partnership to toughen the enforcement of maritime rules and regulations over domestic ships plying the Philippine seas.

The strengthening of MARINA-PCG partnership occurred at the two-day calibration workshop held in Manila, from 08 to 09 August 2018. The workshop aimed to synchronize the MARINA’s regulatory functions and PCG’s enforcement functions relative to the rules and regulations in promoting maritime safety and security.

At the calibration workshop, PCG personnel were briefed on various MARINA-issued certifications and/or documents. It also served as an avenue to raise common problems they encountered during inspections, such as the proliferation of fake documents.

MARINA and PCG work hand-in-hand in identifying possible improvements in domestic shipping regulations and in formulating solutions to advance their systems and processes. The calibration workshop was one of the moves in realizing these objectives.

“Ultimately, knowledge-sharing activities like this calibration workshop strengthen the collaboration between MARINA and PCG, as agents of the Philippine maritime industry”, MARINA Deputy Administrator for Operations Nanette Villamor-Dinopol said.

The calibration workshop focused on discussions about ship acquisition and accreditation of domestic shipping entities, ship registration and licensing, ship safety survey and safe manning requirement, implementation of the International Safety Management (ISM), and tonnage measurement, stability and load line survey, assignment, marking and certification.

Other issues including franchising, crew certification and documentation on-board domestic ships, and special permit for Philippine flag ships were also tackled. The PCG, for its part, conducted an actual presentation of its domestic vessels inspection procedure, for MARINA’s guidance.

Dreamscapes of Artist Perfecto Mercado Celebrated in Book, Exhibit

Wazzup Pilipinas!


The 151-page coffee table book on the late Kapampangan artist Perfecto Sablan Mercado, edited by Armando B. Burgos, former professor at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts (UPCFA), will be launched on August 25 at the Gateway Gallery, the art museum of Araneta Center.
QUEZON CITY—“It is time,” says art historian and museum curator Gari R. Apolonio on the publication of his book Dreamscapes: The Art of Perfecto Mercado.

The landmark book celebrates the “artistic achievements of a relatively unknown but relentless artist whose talent and body of work deserves exposure and recognition.”

The 151-page coffee table book on the late Kapampangan artist Perfecto Sablan Mercado, edited by Armando B. Burgos, former professor at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts (UPCFA), will be launched on August 25 at the Gateway Gallery, the art museum of Araneta Center.

The book launch coincides with the opening of a retrospective exhibit of Mercado’s “dream-making” that spanned 40 years.

Apolonio, a UPCFA alumnus, began working on the book in 2008 when Arnold Mercado, the eldest son of the Tarlac-born Perfecto Mercado, commissioned him “to provide a truthful and accurate documentation” of the life of Mercado and his “intriguing and breathtaking collection of work” that the public hardly saw when his father was still alive.

The growing admiration for Mercado in the art circle came to a halt due to a fatal stroke on March 30, 2011.

It was in the first decade of the twenty-first century that Mercado, born on August 4, 1950, produced his masterpieces, which Apolonio labeled as “Dreamscapes” or works depicting “new representations of landscapes, mindscapes or otherworldly vistas that are strangely familiar and deeply spiritual.”

This series of artworks is rich in colors, camouflages human figures, and connects the viewers to the “experience of the spiritual, the dream-like, and the magical.”

“Borne out of Mercado’s vivid spiritual dreams, the series that exhibits a mature style, deep intent, and technical mastery had a short run due to his passing,” said Apolonio.

He said many people have wondered how impressive his succeeding works could have been if Mercado were alive today.

Mercado did not see to fruition a landmark achievement in his career—his first solo exhibit at a major Philippine museum.

His son Arnold opened the Dreamscapes of Perfecto Mercado exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in September 2011 with prolific art historian Professor Santiago Albano Pilar as guest of honor.

Pilar then lauded Apolonio for his effort to bring to the public consciousness “underrated and under the radar artists who have immense talent” as it was also his advocacy.

“Art history should serve the needs of unknown yet talented artists like Mercado, who did not finish high school and had no formal studies in art,” said Pilar.

Sustained only by his passion for his art, Mercado was already 25 years old when he switched from painting movie billboards to fine art painting in 1975.

He was on his way to reaching his artistic summit when he passed on, but “his loved ones have made sure his art will be forever remembered through this book,” artist and art critic Cid Reyes wrote in the book’s foreword.

“As the reader turns each page, Apolonio serves as a curator and exhibition guide, enlightening, imparting analysis and drawing conclusions,” Reyes wrote.

“Upon reaching the end of the book, one realizes that, in fact, Apolonio has been a dutiful and sympathetic steward of the artistic legacy of Perfecto Mercado.”

While the book aims to inspire artists to strive for excellence and have unwavering commitment to art, Dreamscapes is also a testament to the struggles and triumphs of Mercado whose artistry was nurtured by a deep faith in God and devotion to family.

The book is published by Arnold Mercado through AT Mercado Publishing with photographs taken by book designer Denes Dasco and additional images by award-winning photographer Ruston P. Banal, both UPCFA alumni.

Dream-inspired works
Apolonio says that Mercado is a dream-inspired artist who painted what he dreamt, much like the weavers of the T'boli community who made weaving patterns out of their dreams.

He says that Mercado’s “innovative and fresh idiom” in his works is valuable for its “distinct style, technical excellence and value-laden intent.”

Lyrical and enigmatic, Mercado’s Dreamscapes represent the apogee of his art, says Apolonio.

“His large-scale Dreamscapes such as The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and Third Heaven are “breathtaking and hypnotic with their fine renderings of visual and actual textures, cleverly camouflaged faces and human forms, vividly soft colors and panoramic vistas.”

It is not surprising that Mercado caught the attention of other artists at the group shows he joined, including leading portrait artist Caloy Gabuco who admired the intensity of his brilliant colors and the minimal compositions of his landscapes.

For noted artist and art educator Buds Convocar, past president of the Art Association of the Philippines and the Saturday Group of Artists, Mercado is “a reflection of what a true Artist should be: passionate in his art, persistent in his vocation; an Artist who aims for perfection.”

Grandier Bella, UPCFA professor and a leading portraitist whose SiningSaysay painting is on permanent exhibit at the Gateway Gallery, is drawn to Mercado’s “strong, forceful focus on vibrant colors.”

“His use of the primary colors speaks of his passion for nature and life,” says Bella. “Some of his works, where he juxtaposes facial features with the surrounding composition, symbolizes his concern for the environment and our responsibility as stewards of nature.”

Support for regional artists
Apolonio says that Mercado’s works are some of the best accomplishments of a Filipino regional artist.

Mercado represents the unknown and unrecognized regional artists, many of whom are still struggling but who have much to offer.

“They reflect the authenticity of non-Manila art as they give color, flavor and richness to the creative landscape of the country,” says Apolonio.

“Like the book and exhibit on Mercado, the life and works of regional artists who are not as widely known as their Manila-based contemporaries must serve as impetus for documentation by art historians,” says Apolonio.

The retrospective exhibit, which presents a concisely comprehensive chronicle of Mercado’s artistic journey, also serves as the “actual equivalent” of the book, allowing the viewer to have a first-hand experience of his artworks, his major styles and its “colors, textures, and nuances.”

The exhibit will also feature Mercado’s old photographs, art paraphernalia, and a video material for a holistic perspective of his life and his art.

Professor Lucilo Sagayno of the University of San Carlos Department of Fine Arts says Mercado’s art is worth-seeing for they “could bring in certain realization on the part of the viewer who wants to probe the social values and messages of his unique paintings.”

Apolonio says that Mercado’s dream-making may have abruptly ended, but through the book and his body of work, extensions of his dreams and vision, his memory will be kept alive by their “sheer power and magic” and the support of his family, followers, and friends.

Gateway Gallery, located at the 5F, Gateway Tower, Araneta Center, is open from Monday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Call 588-4000 local 8300, email gatewaygallery@aranetagroup.com or visit its social media sites GatewayGalleryPH on Facebook, gateway_gallery on Twitter and gateway.gallery on Instagram. Gateway Gallery is managed by the J. Amado Araneta Foundation.

For Inquiries, contact: Edwin P. Galvez, 09178302596|09998833946 | edwin.galvez@gmail.com or Gari R. Apolonio, 09167660753, gari.apolonio@yahoo.com

Captions:

Perfecto Mercado: Mercado at his studio in Capas, Tarlac in April 2010

Binhi: Binhi, oil on canvas, 122 x 152.4 cm, 2007, representing the peak of Mercado’s religious art, was featured in the book Philippine Art Now (2008) as depictive of realism “pertaining to the Kingdom of God as the tangible elements of nature”

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, oil on canvas, 102 x 229 cm, 2011, is among Mercado’s “breathtaking and mesmerizing” large-scale Dreamscapes

Jesus of Nazareth: Jesus of Nazareth, oil on canvas, 76 x 101 cm, 2007, part of Mercado’s stained glass series, is an “ingenious and modern representation of the timeless subject of a bruised but triumphant Christ.”

The Golfer: The Golfer, oil on canvas, 44.5 x 59 cm, 2003