Centro Congresi Stella Polare Milan, Italy

Buongiorno a tutti voi. Sono felice di essere qui oggi. Ma nessuno è più felice di mia moglie. Perché mentre io vedo questo viaggio come ufficialmente puro lavoro, lei la vede come la nostra seconda luna di miele. E questa è la ragione per cui sono così stanco questa mattina. 

Baka ma-outside the kulambo ako. So I have to translate it to my sweetheart.

Vi, ang sabi ko: Magandang araw sa inyong lahat. I am happy to be here today. But no one is happier than my wife. Because while I see this trip as purely official business, she sees it as our second honeymoon. So this is why I am already bracing for a very, very tiring vacation.”

So, I shall try to be very brief this morning.

But even if I will limit my speech to 10 minutes, by the time I am finished, 40 babies would have been added to our population.

Our present population of almost 103 million grows by 1.8 percent a year. Or 215 per hour. 5,148 per day. 154,448 every month. Or 1.853 million per year.

We love babies so much that we have probably made an industry out of making them.

· Milan’s population of 1.3 million is what we add to our population in just 33 weeks.

· Luxembourg’s population is equivalent to the number of babies born in the Philippines in just 14 weeks.

· Population-wise, we will be adding one Ireland in 30 months, one Finland in 35 months, and one Bulgaria in 46 months. This means that by 2019, our population would have grown by 7.1 million, or thrice the present population of Rome.

Why am I reciting these?

It is not to preach about birth control, nor to advocate single-blessedness. With the Pope just two hours away by Frecciarossa, I will be risking excommunication if I pitch for contraceptives right in his own backyard.

My purpose in rattling off these figures is not to warn us of the challenges of an exploding population, which admittedly there will be, but to make us aware of the opportunities that this huge market presents, which are undeniably many.

Kaakibat ng tema ng pagpupulong na ito ay kung mayroon bang mga oportunidad upang maghanapbuhay o magnegosyo sa atin.

Ang kasagutan ay nasa ating bilang.

There are more than one hundred million souls which need to be fed, clothed, housed, transported, entertained, schooled and kept healthy back home.

Because of this, ours is the 40th biggest economy in the world.

With a 2013 GDP of 273 billion US dollars, it is bigger than Greece, Egypt and Finland. Our GDP is twice that of Hungary.

Our consumption footprint is large, even on a per capita basis.

Sa pagkain pa nga lang, alam mong mayroong dambuhalang merkado.

· Halimbawa, dahil sa hilig sa unli rice, bawa’t isa ay kumakain ng halos dalawa’t kalahating sako ng bigas taun-taon.

· Sa noodles nga lang, ang pambansang pagkain ng GNP – or Gutom na Pilipino – 27 na pakete kada taon ang hinihigop ng kada Pinoy, pang-siyam sa buong mundo.

· Sa kamote, limang kilo bawat taon.

· Kahit likas tayong hindi magulay, bawat Pinoy ay kumakain ng 40 kilos ng gulay bawat taon. Sa talong, 2 kilo kada tao. Sa kamatis, dalawa’t kalahati.

· Ang type nating humba o adobo, lalo na kung may halong Lipitor, nasa 15 kilos na karneng baboy per person per annum ang ating consumption.

· Sa karne ng baka at kalabaw, 3 kilo bawat taon kada tao, may ngipin man o wala. Kaya tuloy tanong sa akin ng isang Italyano, kung mayroon ba raw leather industry sa atin, ang sagot ko, “Wala, kasi ginagawang bulalo.”

· Sa commercial dressed chicken, about 12 kilos per Pinoy a year – na hindi nakakapagtaka kasi bawat kanto mayroong hilera ng mga umuusok, zero-visibility na barbeque-han na kung tawagin ng aking anak ay Angry Birds row.

· Mahilig tayong uminom ng beer, almost 18 liters per person a year, na pangmumog lang ng mga German. Syempre ano ang paboritong pulutan sa serbesa, maliban sa tsismis? Isang platitong mani. Annual per capita consumption of which is half a kilo.

· On fruits, one Pinoy eats about 30 kilos a year.

Maging sa consumer goods ay malaki rin ang demand.

· Ang isang daang milyong Pilipino ay kailangan ng sapatos, a minimum of 150 million pairs a year.

· On school uniforms alone, we need a quarter billion sets a year.

· Kung ikaw ay parlorista, take note of this: Ours is a nation which needs one billion haircuts a year. Si Presidente nga lang twice a month, the living proof of the idiom that the less hair you got, the more haircuts you need.

· Sa papel – de lambot man na pang-banyo o pang-dyaryo – every Filipino needs 14 kilos a year.

The list goes on and on.

The list also shows our deficit in every commodity, which needs to be plugged, and hence offers tremendous market opportunities.

· In shoes, we can only produce 20 million pairs out of the 150 million pairs we demand every year.

· Sa bigas, we import 1 million metric tons – or 20 million sacks – a year.

· Sa kape, we imported 104 million metric tons two years ago.

· Sa fruits and vegetables, we have a per capita deficit of about 100 kilos a year. We end up importing P18 billion worth of vegetables and fruits every year to cover this.

· Sa gatas na lang, nasa P34 billion na ang ini-import natin, paano pa kaya kung hindi tayo lactose intolerant?

· We imported 202 million metric tons of pork, pero maghanap ka ng parma sa Manila, nada.

· Mayroon nga tayong halos tatlong milyong kalabaw, pero maswerte ka na kung may mabili kang isang kutsaritang mozzarella di bufala.

· Our total food import bill is about P290 billion a year.

Ano ang punto ko? Philippines is a huge market. Kung base sa dami ng tao, it is the 12th biggest market in the world. There are many opportunities there.

Pati sa isda, kulang na rin tayo. Sa isda, 11 bilyong pisong halaga ang inangkat natin noong 2013.

Pinapaligiran tayo ng dagat, pero sa lamang-dagat salat. Ang masaklap pa nito, ang ating karagatan ay binabakuran na at ginagawang palaisdaaan ng ibang bansa.

Kaya hayun, pati patis ‘di na lang galing Balayan, Bangkok na rin.

Bakit puro pagkain ang binanggit ko? Hindi upang kayo ay takamin. Pero dahil ito ang tema ng pulong ngayon. Kung paano ang agrikultura ay isang magandang larangan para lagakan ng puhunan.

Isa sa bawat tatlong Pilipino ay nasa agrikultura. Diyes porsiento ng taunang kita ng bansa ay galing sa sakahan.

But most important, we love to eat. As they say: The Filipino word for ‘Hello’ is “Kumain ka na ba?” Our way of saying “Ciao!” is “Hai mangiato.”

Kaya kung sa traffic ay sagana tayo, bakit ka mamumuhunan sa taxi o tricycle?

Sagana rin tayo sa bangko, kaya bakit ka mag-i-invest sa 5-6?

Huwag mo ring lulustayin ang pera mo sa iPhone 6 o Galaxy S6. Put your money in durables, not consumables. Noon pa man, ito na ang payo ko : Saka na ang Tamaraw FX, unahin ang kalabaw. Ang kotse, kapag tumatanda, nanganganak ng problema; ang kalabaw dumarami ang anak.

But money does not grow on trees. And no investment is without peril.

So, the first step in financial empowerment is literacy, which ATIKHA is doing.

Investing is a cerebral exercise. The first step in managing your finances is acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge. The best equipment in investing is that four inches between your ears.

There are many opportunities. Pero ano pa man ‘yan, there are no get-rich-quick-schemes in the world. There is always sweat equity.

Thus, any proposal that promises high returns in a short time is prima facie suspect. There is no shortcut to success, unless you want your success cut short.

Lalung-lalo na ngayon na mahirap talaga ang pera.

While remittances are on a historic high – last year it reached 1 trillion pesos or 8.4 percent of the economy – those coming from Italy are going down.

· In 2010, when the Euro was 58 to 1 Peso, Filipinos in Italy remitted 416 million Euros. This went down to 309 million Euros in 2013, to 177 million Euros last year. From 416 million Euro five years ago to 177 million Euro last year, bulusok talaga.

· Kahit in peso value, from 24.1 billion pesos in 2010, to 7.8 billion last year, or two-thirds drop.

Kahit ang official number ng hires and new hires, lumiit din, from 38,407 in 2012 to 19,556 in 2013, or down by half.

Regardless, if Filipinos in Italy were a corporation, and their remittances are treated as profit, your 24 billion Euro remittances would land you in the Top 100 Corporations in the Philippines.

Last year, yung remittances ng mga Pinoy dito sa Europa ay umabot ng P167 billion.

Kung isang korporasyon kayo, pang-anim na pinakamalaki kayo sa Pilipinas in terms of gross revenues. Doble ang kita ninyo kaysa sa San Miguel, Smart o PLDT.

Kaya may obligasyon ang pamahalaan sa inyo na arugain kayo at ang inyong mga mahal sa buhay na naiwan sa inyong lupang tinubuan.

Dapat may sukling sakripisyo ang inyong serbisyo. At siguraduhing hindi winawaldas ang buwis na binabayaran ng inyong mga pinadadalhan.

At ‘pag serbisyo ang pinag-uusapan, ang sukatan ay hindi dapat magtapos sa assistance to nationals, consular field services, anti-red tape transactions, o sa mga airport na may aircon at immigration na walang kotong.

Dapat may suporta ring ibinibigay upang bigyang gabay ang ating mga OFW sa tamang paggasta at pamumuhunan.

Lalung-lalo na dahil paliit nang paliit ang natitira sa remittance para sa savings and investment.

· On the average, for every 100 pesos that an OFW sends home, 85 pesos are spent, and only 15 pesos goes to savings.

· Of the 85 pesos spent, the greatest chunk is for food at almost 53 pesos. The rest are for transpo, Internet and cellphone charges (P5.60) which is bigger than what is spent for education (P2.30) or health (P1.90) or even housing (P1.80).

Yung Top 5 na pinaglalaanan ng padala ninyo ay food and household needs, education, medical expenses, debt payment and savings.

If you’ll notice, pang-apat ang bayad utang. Tama talaga ang paniniwala na ang pag-a-abroad ay parang tipo ng mga cellphone accounts sa Pinas ngayon: mas maraming prepaid kaysa postpaid.

Of the many investments, saving, and livelihood opportunities that the government can do, let me focus on just three potential schemes:

· Una, sa dami ng mga LGUs na umuutang, bakit hindi na lang sila mag-float ng municipal bonds at i-offer ito sa mismong mga OFWs na mula sa bayang iyon?

Kung 7 percent ang interest, double your money in 10 years. Kaysa ang bangko, ang kikita ay ang mga tinaguriang bagong bayani. At palagay ko’y kusang loob itong ibibigay ng mga OFW. Kung ang P10 milyon ay gagastusin para sa mga classrooms, nakatulong na ang OFW, kikita pa sila, at dahil sila’y stakeholders, bantay-sarado nila ang proyekto.

· Pangalawa, ganun din sa mga Public-Private-Partnership projects.

Mayroon ngang proyekto na 18 percent ang annual return. Kaysa malalaking korporasyon ang kikita, ang iba dayuhan pa, bakit hindi hayaang mag-invest ang mga Pinoy na nasa ibang bansa? Isang halimbawa dito ang ongoing na PPP sa classroom. Ayon sa kontrata, nagtayo ng mga classroom ang pribadong sektor sa halagang P800,000 kada isa. Ang bayad ay pagkatapos ng 10 taon, pero doble naman, sa halagang P1.6 million. Bakit hindi i-offer sa isang OFW? Pondohan mo ang classroom sa barrio mo, makakatulong ka na, in 10 years doble pa ang balik ng pera mo.

· Pangatlo, marami sa inyo ang gustong umuwi na. Pagkatapos makapundar, may ipong konti, sakahang nabili, o paupahang naitayo. Pero higit sa lahat, may dunong na tangan.

Dapat siguro may earmarked quota para sa returning OFWs as part of overall reintegration efforts. Halimbawa, kung teacher ka, dapat bigyan ka rin ng pagkakataong makapagturo muli sa Pilipinas. In part, due to K to 12, we are now recruiting an average of 40,000 teachers a year. At a gross pay of P22,000 a month, not bad.

Even SUCs have, I think, room to hire “been there, done that” professionals who can impart their knowledge—tulad ng hotel workers who have been on the frontline rather than armchair HRM academics.

Pero doon sa gustong maging entrepreneur at hindi employee, huwag kayong matakot mag-source ng capital sa Philippine banking system. Yung total loan portfolio nila halos 5 trillion pesos.

Interest rates are low and there’s a competition for borrowers.

But the best investment for you, the one which gives the highest ROI, or return on investment, is still the education of your children.

But be sure to choose their courses well. One with high employability potential. Para di masayang ang inyong pera, at ang kanilang pagod.

Sabi nga nila, ang diploma ay di lamang patunay ng pagtatapos, kundi resibo rin ng gastos.

· Halimbawa, noong 2013, 27,196 ang pumasa sa board exam for nurses, ngunit 113 lang na aeronautical engineers. 16,918 na criminologists, subalit 28 lang na metallurgical engineers. 55,000 sa LET, pero 24 lamang na x-ray technologists.

· Ang resulta tuloy ay nag-uumapaw tayo sa abogado, pero kulang ang lisensyadong tubero.

· Dalawang libong bagong licensed real estate brokers pero babaeng welders kulang na kulang tayo.

· I am stressing the need to pursue right career choices due to chronic job mismatch as there are about half a million college graduates without a job. We are a nation of tambays with college rings.

But they are not to be wholly blamed. Job generation is not about quality of supply but more about the quantity of demand. It remains a function of the economy. And a developing one cannot fully absorb the tsunami of entrants to the labor force.

On college graduates alone, 500,000 leave the portals of tertiary schools with resumes in hand.

But we can’t absorb them all. Our manufacturing is down. Maniwala kayo o hindi, mula January 2014 to January 2015, 62,000 manufacturing jobs lang ang nalikha.

To put us on a sustainable growth path, we must be able to produce 1 million jobs a year.

Because the proverbial greener pastures are on distant shores, even in areas where grass doesn’t grow, a big part of our human capital is forced to leave.

Not because they want to, but because they have to. Ang highest daily minimum wage sa atin ay katumbas lang ng 8 Euros a day.

Kaya as of latest count, 5,031 leave our country every day.

Of this, about 54 are bound for Italy. Or picture it this way : Lulan ng isang daang bus ang nangingibang bayan bawat araw. Isang bus ay pa-Italia – Roma, Firenze, Milano, Venezia o sa lugar ng Juventus, ang Torino.

Kaya kung mag-invest man kayo, malaking bagay kung doon sa mga bagay that will generate jobs. At doon sa agrikultura, like food processing or any value-adding enterprise.

Kasi kahit siling-labuyo, may pambansang shortage. Pumunta ka sa grocery, naglaho na ang labuyo. Ang nakahilera ay Tabasco.

But investing is always 95 percent individual perspiration and only probably 5 percent government intercession.

Government will not do it for you; you have to do it yourself.

But government can do a lot by making its policies business-friendly through lower taxes, fewer rules, less red tape, and offering more training.

Sapagkat wala pang negosyante na nanumpa sa isang affidavit “na dahil sa gobyerno, patok ang negosyo ko.”

Lahat ng umasenso, dahil sa sariling sipag at t’yaga. Sariling sikap ang malalim na pinaghugutan.

· Tulad ni Rudy at Rosiell de Leon na pinalago ang kanilang ice candy business mula sa beinte pesos na puhunan sa isang operasyon na ngayo’y kumikita na ng kalahating milyong piso kada buwan.

· Ang dating tricycle driver na si Joel Yala, na kababayan ni Minda Teves at Sally Cuballes ng ACFIL, na may-ari ng Chocovron, na nagsimula sa P8,000 na puhunan.

The only duty of government is to create an enabling environment and excellent conditions for OFW entrepreneurs to come home to.

If it’s in agriculture, then it would be roads, dryers and support system. Hindi na trabaho ni Miss OFW na maghukay ng irigasyon.

The duty of those who are left behind is to work hard in creating a place better than what the OFWs had left behind, and in working for a future brighter than the one which forced them to leave home.

And only when these are done that we can hang the sign for OFWs which says: “Welcome home. The Philippines is now open for business.”

Maraming salamat po.

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