Money from Blogging!

(This video is taken from a Filipino TV Program "Mel & Joey", just a proof of Filipinos making money out of blogging.)

One of the best way to earn money online is through blogging. People would ask how would you earn in blogging? There are many ways to earn with your blogs. I have known this for quite some time now but never really get through with the details before. The first thing I learned is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is a web-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or costumer brought about by the affiliate’s marketing effort. How do this work? It would be very hard to explain the technical aspects of this kind of marketing but to give you an overview, what affiliates do here is they apply for third party websites which offers affiliate marketing and what affiliates do is post the code of ads to the affiliate’s website or blog site. But this did not work for me that easily because to be paid in this program the visitor should have clicked and/purchased the item being advertised. But this kind of program worked for many professional bloggers.

Luckily, I’ve been a recipient of a random email which says that I can earn through blogging. How will I earn that is my question. She showed me a link of her site and I clicked there and saw an article about making money on blogging then she gave a little explanation on how you would do it but I believe it was not enough. So I searched for ways on doing it and found “Google Adsense”. This service of google provides you with all that you would need to advertise and is very user friendly. You would really see how much you earn every day. This is almost the same as affiliate marketing but here you are not just paid because of those who buys the product but you would also be paid because of the impressions made by your visitors to your blog site or website. That makes it very easy. If you want to learn more about “Google Adsense”, you can leave me a message in my chat box (at the right side of my blog site) so that we can discuss it or if I am not online you could email me at flowman315@yahoo.com. Hoping to hear from you!

A Tiring Yet Fulfilled Day

(“Chopsticks and Spoon”)

February 16, 2008
Saturday, I woke up late at around 10 pm because of a good Friday night I had with some of my officemates and friends. We ate and had a videoke session at Music 21 that night. That day, Judy and I had an arrangement that I would accompany her to get the souvenir items that she would bring come her flight to Legazpi to attend the 1st birthday party of her boyfriend’s niece. Her boyfriend is a very good friend of mine, his name is Joey. I was also informed by Judy that we would go to Divisoria to buy some stuffs for the birthday party that she is to organize partly. Part of our itinerary was SM Manila because I was told by my officemate that the charger for the very rare PDA phone I won a week ago in the bingo social that the ALT Cladding staged in connection with the Chinese New Year, is available. The phone is a Palm Treo model 750. Lucky me!

I didn’t know that Jack is to join us in our journey. I learned that he was coming because he was answering the text messages I sent to Judy. So then we met at Robinson’s Galleria, where I was quite lost. Still not familiar with the place because it is the most unorganized mall here in Manila. Do you agree with me?

Our first stop was Caritas Manila in Pandacan where “Binhi ng Pag-asa” is located, a shop of souvenir items made by orphans. The idea was to buy the souvenirs for the birthday party at the same time helping the makers of the souvenir items. In this place you could buy beautiful decorated candles. I don’t know if those candles are scented but I guess so. Next stop is SM Manila,the reason for this stop is to buy the charger but without success. We only learned in this mall that the Palm Treo charger is available at CD-R king but is out of stock. Imagine we kept on searching on different cell phone shops but we were not expecting to find it at that shop. The sad part is, as I’ve said, its out of stock.

After an unsuccessful search at SM Manila, our next stop was Tutuban Center where Judy bought party stuffs. I will not enumerate what are those. We were still expecting to find a charger in that place but still with no success. Next we went to 168 Shopping Mall to buy chocolates and candies still for the party. After buying those that I mentioned, we still searched for the charger but just like before, we still didn’t find one. When we were already tired walking, we decided to eat at the food court of 168 and Judy suggested “Chopsticks and Spoons” because she said the servings are big. I opted for the “chicken lomi” which I thought is just good for one but as Jack was ordering, the attendant ask him how many of us would eat and he said we were three and the attendant responded that it is already good for three persons. But it was not, it was actually good for six. We had 2 servings each. Our side this was a very different squid ball. It was really a squid ball because of the presence of the squid. Majority of which are squid not flour. We really had the treat of our lives. We were very full. The taste was very satisfying. I told Judy that I will keep coming there for that food and I will. What was my name? I think I forgot. Would you believe, the “Lomi” was just at P90 pesos. Very cheap yet very delicious and the ingredients are more than complete if there is such a thing. So don’t forget it’s “Chopsticks and Spoons” Divisoria people. Go there and eat, and you’ll really have a treat of your lives.

After that we were about to go home already but I remember another mall which have plenty of computer and electronic goods. So I told Judy that I remember some stalls which sells phones and chargers there. So there we went in that mall hoping for our last shot of that damned charger. My attention was caught by a bag which I thought would be a very good bag for my laptop. So I bought it. Judy also bought some stuffs there. Jack also bought some stuff there. The foreigner owner who is I guess, a Taiwanese, gave us some lucky charm which is for love and money. She also told us that we could find chargers next to the building were in and that building is the Center Mall. There are lots of stalls there and after looking and asking some of them we finally found a stall and the attendant was the one who looked for the charger to the other stalls and at last the charger was found. There our search has ended.
We arrived at Judy’s place at about 9 pm had a rest for a while then went home and arrived at 10 pm. My housemates asked us if we want to go with them to party in Malate. The mind is willing but the body is weak so we therefore opted to stay at the apartment and after a while slept.

So this ended our adventure. It was tiring but we did found what we were looking for. If you want to buy stuffs in Divisoria, though the goods are already cheap there, you can still make it cheaper by bringing Judy with you. Its not her charm. Ask her why.

Women As Explained By Engineers!

This is an email forwarded by a good friend and housemate, my DOTA buddy, Engr. Niben Clerigo, a bachelor at the age of 25, a mechanical engineer, a board topnotcher in Master Plumbing (6th place). Those girls who want to apply, he is available and not in any way attached. I dont know if he already has a covenant with DOTA.

Rather than forwarding this message to my fellow engineers, I thought it would be better if I'd just post it here for everybody to read especially to the ladies who have a good sense of humor and all of you who would want a good laugh

Part I - (Algebra Explanation)


Well as you can see this solution equates that Women = Problems!

Part II - (The Safety Engineer's/Chemical Engineer's Explanation)


Part III - (Statistics Explanation)

Books, My Mentor!

The very main purpose of my blog is to share what I’m interested in, what is happening in my life, what I intend to do in life. Today I am about to share the books I read. There is no denying that one of the sources of my knowledge is of course books. There are only a few in engineering who are interested in reading books which are not related to their field. I am one of them. I also know a few of them like Engr. Francisco Bilog, Engr. Sonny Andalis who just arrived from Singapore for a 5 day vacation (thanks for the dinner! Hehe!). Let me share the books which mentored me and I hope that you would also learn from these books that I will share, most especially to those that shares the same interest as mine be it in attitude, religion, beliefs, entertainment and sports.

Let me start off with The Holy Bible

This may not be the exact book that I’ve read. You may read whatever bible you would want to read as long as you would learn and be a better person from it. The interest came from my family of course, a very religious family. I am not saying that I am a very religious person, it just so happen that I belong to one but I am not as religious as them. But I do read the Bible. You would ask why? Basically two reasons, one is of course spirituality the other is because of the interesting stories you would find in this book and those stories are part of history. The stories I love most in the Bible is the story of Joseph “The Dreamer”. I also love the story of Saul then became Paul, from persecutor of Christ but then became a loyal servant after miracles happened to his life and after which spread Christianity mostly to the pagan nations. He is the reason why most of us are Christians today. There are stories like “David and Goliath”, stories of “Solomon”, “Samson and Delilah”, etc. which would give us inspiration and learn lessons from it. A must read book, besides this is the most read book of all time. It’s about time you read this one.

Inspirational and Self-Help Books


I would like to give credit to Catherine Ocampo Mayor for sharing with me her book 25 ways to win with people and letting me know the books of John Maxwell. I really learn a lot from those books. Makes me see where my mistakes are and I believe it somehow equipped me to be a better person. And if you are a leader or would want to be a leader, John Maxwell’s “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” is for you to read. And if you are looking for inspirational stories about love, friendship, marriage, attitude, courage, etc., Jack Canfield and Mark Viktor Hanssen’s “Chicken Soup for the Soul is a must read for you. “The Purpose Driven Life” is also a very good inspirational book at the same time giving spirituality to the reader. If you want to succeed in life as well as in business and your goals, Og Mandino’s “The Greatest Salesman in the World” is a good one to read. The lesson in persistence is the best part that I loved in this book. It says there,

“I will persist until I succeed!

I am not delivered unto this world into defeat nor does failure course my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by his shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, walk and sleep with the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.

I will persist until I succeed!”

Big thanks to my very good friend Judy Anne Ortiz for sharing me Og Mandino’s Books. Another book that this friend shared to me is the book “Tuesdays With Morrie”
which is a book written by Mitch Albom where the subject is non-other than his college mentor Morris “Morrie” Schwartz. This is a story of courage and death. A true account of the life of this college professor where meeting sessions with his former student, the author, took place every Tuesday. A very dramatic story which made me cry at end.

Another short story book I’ve read is a short novel by Antoine de St-Exupery, “The Little Prince”
where the main character travels from different planets and learn lessons of life. One popular quote from this book is about perception towards people. It says there

“But the eyes are blind…it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

I’ve known this book since high school but never read this one because I was not into reading in my high school years.

One of the most amusing adventure novel series is non-other than the Harry Potter Series.
J.K Rowling really made this a phenomenal hit. If you don't have anything to read, then go for this one. The adventures in the book are complete and the author really described each scene vividly that you would not stop reading each and every book 'till the very end.

When it comes to love stories I would suggest Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “Love in the Times of Cholera”.
This is a love that sprang amidst the epidemic cholera. It tells us of the story of Florentino Ariza falling in love with the lovely Fermina Daza. Fermina during the courtship when they were young fell in love because of the mystery of his suitor but later realized that what she felt was just infatuation. The woman married another man but the man waited until the death of the husband and were then reunited. Thanks to a Kring Yoshida for sharing this to me.

The very first book that I started to read is a book which I borrowed from my sister. I have nothing to do so I decided to take a peek of it but then I started to enjoy reading it. This is the book “The Client”
which was written by Lawyer John Grisham. The book is about the a boy who is the key to solve a mystery killing. The book is a legal fiction, suspense and drama. All books of John Grisham are equally interesting. You can also try “The Pelican Brief”, “A Time to Kill”, “The Firm” and others.

If you want to give a financial up start for your kids as well as for your own then Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Kid, Smart Kid" is the book for you.
In this book the seven types of intelligence was discussed and an example of the person with such completete intelligences is non-other than Tiger Woods. This book gives awareness to business and finance for your kid but in a manner that the reader could easily understand.

Let me include some of the books which I was reading when I was in high school. I am a chess fanatic and can play chess competitively. How did I do that? By reading chess books of course. Here are some good chess books that I had.

There are still plenty of chess books which I haven't included here. But I do think that these three books are good materials to start playing competitive chess.

No matter what books you read or prefer, the most important thing about reading it is to be entertained and to learn from it. You may opt to carry the principles that each and every book is teaching and you may not. It is your choice. But I know for a fact that it thought me a lot in life, belief as well as in principle. I hope you would be able to read some of the books that I suggest. Have fun reading!

Career, Civil Engineering!

Today I would like to talk about what do in life, how we earn for a living, many would call it as a job but some would call it a career. The difference between a job and career in my point of view is that a job is what you are doing in the present while the latter is what you are doing now and what you intend to do in the future or maybe for the rest of your life. Let me start with civil engineering.

As you can see in my profile, I am a civil engineer. For the sake of those readers who have less knowledge about what civil engineers do, I would give you some of the fields where we can work or we can fit into.

I always argue with friends that are not in the same engineering field as mine (mechanical, electrical, chemical, etc.) that civil engineering is the broadest of all the engineering disciplines. Because of that I would tell them that it is the most difficult of all because of its scope. Besides, if you would pursue the master’s study in C.E., this field is the one that have the most number of specialization. Fellow civil engineers are you with me? Let me just give you some of the fields where we could be of use. (This is as far as I know because there are still areas which civil engineers could work that I dont know.)

Education

A civil engineer who is very adept with the theories and laws behind civil engineering can be a good candidate in this field. Not only the laws and theories but also the latest technologies and/or softwares used in engineering. Nowadays, it is already a must that an engineer knows how to create or read drawings using the AutoCAD software. Thanks to Autodesk, drawings have become much easier and finer than the convetional way of doing it. I started with this field because my family and relatives are educators and I have also been into this field. Let us face it, we could not be here if not of these educators who unselfishly thought us to become what we are now.

Structural Engineering

Who knows Michael Scofield? Prison Break? Well to those who dont know him, Michael Scofield is a character played by Wentworth Miller in the suspense series Prison Break. He is a civil engineer and is specializing in structural engineering. The is the most complex and the most difficult because here, you would most probably use almost all the theories behind civil engineering. You would basically do all the math and design in this field. The very main purpose of structural engineering is the stability of every structure, how to make it strong that it would not collapse upon application of loads. No, no, no, I will not discuss any further. Some readers might not want to read all the technical aspects of it.

Geotechnical Engineering

Somewhat related to structural engineering for this talks about the properties of the soil that would be needed in foundation design of the structure. A soil test is usually what the engineers in this field do. They test the soil for its properties and makes appropriate recommendations on what would be the best type of foundation to be used for a certain construction. Still, I would not discuss the types of foundations because of its technicalities.

Water Resources

I think the most qualified person to discuss matters regarding water are not chemical engineers or chemists but civil engineers in the field of water resources. For those of you who dont know, fluid mechanics and hydraulics which are major sbujects is one part of our board exam. Civil engineers study properties of water both in statics and dynamics. Piping, dams, channels what we do in this field.

Transportation and Traffic Engineering

I don’t have much exposure in these fields but from the word itself I would say that it would tackle on horizontal structures which would be used in transportation. Both of these are also subjects in civil engineering and can be a specialization in civil engineering.

Project/Construction Management

This phase comes when actual construction of a project is on going or about to start. Although engineers here say that project and construction management is different from each other, it does resemble one objective, to make the project coordinated and finished on time. Project management is more of coordinating indifferences between the client/owner, consultants, contractors, etc. while construction management manages problems on site and coordinates works on site to arrive at the most efficient output and do the job right at the scheduled time.

Earthquake Engineering

This engineering specialization is still somewhat related to structural engineering. Earthquate engineers study the relative effects of earthquake movements to the structure. They define the earthquake loadings to a certain structure that is needed in the structural analysis of that structure.

Wind Engineering

Still related to structural engineering. Engineers responsibility in this field is to give the most possible wind loads that a structure would resist. They do wind tunnel test to come up with these loads. Wind tunnel testing is not only used in structures but also in doing race cars. They do wind tunnel testing to automobiles for it to resist the wind effects as it moves.

Design and Detailing

Most of the companies in engineering are making big bucks in this field of engineering. Although you can be a detailer even if you are not an engineer, I think the most capable person of doing such are engineers for they possess all the needed knowledge in detailing. There are different detailing which can be done in civil engineering. We have steel detailing, rebar detailing, facade detailing to mention a few of these detailing.

Sanitary Engineering

Although this field is already separate from civil engineering, the core subjects here are those from civil engineering. Here in the Philippines, if a civil engineering graduate would take up this course, he would just have to take a few subjects most of which are only specialized subjects in sanitary engineering. You may be able to finish the course in one and half year and to some schools, maybe a year would do. Sanitary Engineers have a different licensure though.

Geodetic Engineering

Before Civil Engineering students who finished their surveying subjects in their third year can take the junior geoditic engineer licensure examination already but this was abolished already a few years back because of the petition of senior geodetic engineers in Congress to abolish the junior geoditic licensure examination. You can also take up this course for the same duration as that of sanitary engineering.

Because of the complexities of the specializations that civil engineering have. It becomes very difficult for civil engineers to specialize in their field. Maybe I am speaking through my experiences. So fellow civil engineers, which would you want to specialize on? At this point in time, I want to specialize still in structural engineering. It is where I would be satisfied as a civil engineer. I may not be involved in such field fully but that time will come. I do hope.

What I can advise to my fellow civil engineers and professionals on other fields is just do their job however small that be because all objectives can be reached by your institution if each and every one of you would do his job. Be a role player. Just do it says NIKE. After all you are just employees of your respective companies, do what they ask you to do. If it is not agreeable to you then find another job or create a job that suits your need and makes you happy and fulfilled. Have your own business if you can. That I intend to do in the near future.

Gokongwei's Speech

(This is a speech of John Gokongwei in the 20th Ad Congress held last November 2007. A truly inspiring one for the million of Filipino's in this country. Credits to a good friend Engr. Ricardo Abrasaldo for forwarding this one to me.)

Before I begin, I want to say please bear with me, an 81-year-old man
who just flew in from San Francisco 36 hours ago and is still suffering
from jet lag. However, I hope I will be able to say what you want to
hear.

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Thank you very much for having me
here tonight to open the Ad Congress. I know how important this event is
for our marketing and advertising colleagues. My people get very
excited and go into a panic, every other year, at this time.

I would like to talk about my life, entrepreneurship, and
globalization. I would like to talk about how we can become a great nation.

You may wonder how one is connected to the other, but I promise that,
as there is truth in advertising, the connection will come.

Let me begin with a story I have told many times. My own.

I was born to a rich Chinese-Filipino family. I spent my childhood in
Cebu where my father owned a chain of movie houses, including the first
air-conditioned one outside Manila . I was the eldest of six children
and lived in a big house in Cebu's Forbes Park .

A chauffeur drove me to school everyday as I went to San Carlos
University , then and still one of the country's top schools. I topped my
classes and had many friends. I would bring them to watch movies for free
at my father's movie houses.

When I was 13, my father died suddenly of complications due to typhoid.
Everything I enjoyed vanished instantly. My father's empire was built
on credit. When he died, we lost everything-our big house, our cars,
our business-to the banks.

I felt angry at the world for taking away my father, and for taking
away all that I enjoyed before. When the free movies disappeared, I also
lost half my friends. On the day I had to walk two miles to school for
the very first time, I cried to my mother, a widow at 32. But she said:
"You should feel lucky. Some people have no shoes to walk to school.
What can you do? Your father died with 10 centavos in his pocket."

So, what can I do? I worked.

My mother sent my siblings to China where living standards were lower.
She and I stayed in Cebu to work, and we sent them money regularly. My
mother sold her jewelry. When that ran out, we sold roasted peanuts in
the backyard of our much-smaller home. When that wasn't enough, I
opened a small stall in a palengke.

I chose one among several palengkes a few miles outside the city
because there were fewer goods available for the people there. I woke up at
five o'clock every morning for the long bicycle ride to the palengke
with my basket of goods.

There, I set up a table about three feet by two feet in size. I laid
out my goods-soap, candles, and thread-and kept selling until everything
was bought. Why these goods? Because these were hard times and this was
a poor village, so people wanted and needed the basics-soap to keep
them clean, candles to light the night, and thread to sew their clothes.


I was surrounded by other vendors, all of them much older. Many of them
could be my grandparents. And they knew the ways of the palengke far
more than a boy of 15, especially one who had never worked before.

But being young had its advantages. I did not tire as easily, and I
moved more quickly. I was also more aggressive. After each day, I would
make about 20 pesos in profit! There was enough to feed my siblings and
still enough to pour back into the business. The pesos I made in the
palengke were the pesos that went into building the business I have
today.


After this experience, I told myself, "If I can compete with people so
much older than me, if I can support my whole family at 15, I can do
anything! "

Looking back, I wonder, what would have happened if my father had not
left my family with nothing? Would I have become the man I am? Who
knows?

The important thing to know is that life will always deal us a few bad
cards. But we have to play those cards the best we can. And WE can play
to win!

This was one lesson I picked up when I was a teenager. It has been my
guiding principle ever since. And I have had 66 years to practice
self-determination. When I wanted something, the best person to depend on was
myself.

And so I continued to work. In 1943, I expanded and began trading goods
between Cebu and Manila . From Cebu , I would transport tires on a
small boat called a batel. After traveling for five days to Lucena, I
would load them into a truck for the six- hour trip to Manila . I would end
up sitting on top of my goods so they would not be stolen! In Manila ,
I would then purchase other goods from the earnings I made from the
tires, to sell in Cebu .

Then, when WWII ended, I saw the opportunity for trading goods in
post-war Philippines . I was 20 years old. With my brother Henry, I put up
Amasia Trading which imported onions, flour, used clothing, old
newspapers and magazines, and fruits from the United States . In 1948, my
mother and I got my siblings back from China . I also converted a two-story
building in Cebu to serve as our home, office, and warehouse all at the
same time. The whole family began helping out with the business.

In 1957, at age 31, I spotted an opportunity in corn-starch
manufacturing. But I was going to compete with Ludo and Luym, the richest group in
Cebu and the biggest cornstarch manufacturers. I borrowed money to
finance the project. The first bank I approached made me wait for two
hours, only to refuse my loan. The second one, China Bank, approved a
P500 ,000-peso clean loan for me. Years later, the banker who extended
that loan, Dr. Albino Sycip said that he saw something special in me.
Today, I still wonder what that was, but I still thank Dr. Sycip to this
day.

Upon launching our first product, Panda corn starch, a price war
ensued. After the smoke cleared, Universal Corn Products was still left
standing. It is the foundation upon which JG Summit Holdings now stands.

Interestingly, the price war also forced the closure of a third
cornstarch company, and one of their chemists was Lucio Tan, who always kids
me that I caused him to lose his job. I always reply that if it were not
for me, he will not be one of the richest men in the Philippines
today.

When my business grew, and it was time for me to bring in more
people-my family, the professionals, the consultants, more employees-I knew
that I had to be there to teach them what I knew. When dad died at age 34,
he did not leave a succession plan. From that, I learned that one must
teach people to take over a business at any time. The values of hard
work that I learned from my father, I taught to my children. They
started doing jobs here and there even when they were still in high school.
Six years ago, I announced my retirement and handed the reins to my
youngest brother James and only son Lance. But my children tease me because
I still go to the office every day and make myself useful. I just
hired my first Executive Assistant and moved into a bigger and nicer
office.

Building a business to the size of JG Summit was not easy. Many
challenges were thrown my way. I could have walked away from them, keeping the
business small, but safe. Instead, I chose to fight. But this did not
mean I won each time.

By 1976, at age 50, we had built significant businesses in food
products anchored by a branded coffee called Blend 45, and agro-industrial
products under the Robina Farms brand. That year, I faced one of my
biggest challenges, and lost. And my loss was highly publicized, too. But I
still believe that this was one of my defining moments.>

In that decade, not many business opportunities were available due to
the political and economic environment. Many Filipinos were already
sending their money out of the country. As a Filipino, I felt that our
money must be invested here. I decided to purchase shares in San Miguel,
then one of the Philippines ' biggest corporations. By 1976, I had
acquired enough shares to sit on its board.

The media called me an upstart. "Who is Gokongwei and why is he doing
all those terrible things to San Miguel?" ran one headline of the day.
In another article, I was described as a pygmy going up against the
powers-that- be. The San Miguel board of directors itself even aid for an
ad in all the country's top newspapers telling the public why I should
not be on the board.

On the day of reckoning, shareholders quickly filled up the auditorium
to witness the battle. My brother James and I had prepared for many
hours for this debate. We were nervous and excited at the same time.

In the end, I did not get the board seat because of the Supreme Court
Ruling. But I was able to prove to others-and to myself-that I was
willing to put up a fight. I succeeded because I overcame my fear, and
tried. I believe this battle helped define who I am today. In a twist to
this story, I was invited to sit on the board of Anscor and San Miguel
Hong Kong 5 years later. Lose some, win some.

Since then, I've become known as a serious player in the business
world, but the challenges haven't stopped coming.

Let me tell you about the three most recent challenges. In all three,
conventional wisdom bet against us. See, we set up businesses against
market Goliaths in very high-capital industries: airline, telecoms, and
beverage.

Challenge No. 1 : In 1996, we decided to start an airline. At the time,
the dominant airline in the country was PAL, and if you wanted to
travel cheaply, you did not fly. You went by sea or by land.

However, my son Lance and I had a vision for Cebu Pacific: We wanted
every Filipino to fly.

Inspired by the low-cost carrier models in the United States , we
believed that an airline based on the no-frills concept would work here. No
hot meals. No newspaper. Mono-class seating. Operating with a single
aircraft type. Faster turn around time. It all worked, thus enabling
Cebu Pacific to pass on savings to the consumer.

How did we do this? By sticking to our philosophy of "low cost, great
value ."

And we stick to that philosophy to this day. Cebu Pacific offers
incentives. Customers can avail themselves of a tiered pricing scheme, with
promotional seats for as low a P1. The earlier you book, the cheaper
your ticket.

Cebu Pacific also made it convenient for passengers by making online
booking available. This year, 1.25 million flights will be booked through
our website. This reduced our distribution costs dramatically.

Low cost. Great value.

When we started 11 years ago, Cebu Pacific flew only 360,000
passengers, with 24 daily flights to 3 destinations. This year, we expect to fly
more than five million passengers, with over 120 daily flights to 20
local destinations and 12 Asian cities. Today, we are the largest in
terms of domestic flights, routes and destinations.

We also have the youngest fleet in the region after acquiring new
Airbus 319s and 320s. In January, new ATR planes will arrive. These are
smaller planes that can land on smaller air strips like those in Palawan
and Caticlan. Now you don't have to take a two-hour ride by mini-bus to
get to the beach.

Largely because of Cebu Pacific, the average Filipino can now afford to
fly. In 2005, 1 out of 12 Filipinos flew within a year. In 2012, by
continuing to offer low fares, we hope to reduce that ratio to 1 out of
6. We want to see more and more Filipinos see their country and the
world!>

Challenge No. 2: In 2003, we established Digitel Mobile Philippines,
Inc. and developed a brand for the mobile phone business called Sun
Cellular. Prior to the launch of the brand, we were actually involved in a
transaction to purchase PLDT shares of the majority shareholder.

The question in everyone's mind was how we could measure up to the two
telecom giants. They were entrenched and we were late by eight years!
PLDT held the landline monopoly for quite a while, and was first in the
mobile phone industry. Globe was a younger company, but it launched
digital mobile technology here.

But being a late player had its advantages. We could now build our
platform from a broader perspective. We worked with more advanced
technologies and intelligent systems not available ten years ago. We chose our
suppliers based on the most cost-efficient hardware and software. Being
a Johnny-come- lately allowed us to create and launch more innovative
products, more quickly.

All these provided us with the opportunity to give the consumers a
choice that would rock their world. The concept was simple. We would offer
Filipinos to call and text as much as they want for a fixed monthly
fee. For P250 a month, they could get in touch with anyone within the Sun
network at any time. This means great savings of as much as 2/3 of
their regular phone bill! Suddenly, we gained traction. Within one year of
its introduction, Sun hit one million customers.

Once again, the paradigm shifts - this time in the telecom industry.
Sun's 24/7 Call and Text unlimited changed the landscape of mobile-phone
usage.

Today, we have over 4 million subscribers and 2000 cell sites around
the archipelago. In a country where 97% of the market is pre-paid, we
believe we have hit on the right strategy.

Sun Cellular is a Johnny-come- lately, but it's doing all right. It is
a third player, but a significant one, in an industry where Cassandras
believed a third player would perish. And as we have done in the realm
of air travel, so have we done in the telecom world: We have changed
the marketplace.

In the end, it is all about making life better for the consumer by
giving them choices.

Challenge No. 3: In 2004, we launched C2, the green tea drink that
would change the face of the local beverage industry -- then, a playground
of cola companies. Iced tea was just a sugary brown drink served
bottomless in restaurants. For many years, hardly was there any significant
product innovation in the beverage business.

Admittedly, we had little experience in this area. Universal Robina
Corporation is the leader in snack foods but our only background in
beverage was instant coffee. Moreover, we would be entering the playground of
huge multinationals. We decided to play anyway.

It all began when I was in China in 2003 and noticed the immense
popularity of bottled iced tea. I thought that this product would have huge
potential here. We knew that the Philippines was not a traditional
tea-drinking country since more familiar to consumers were colas in
returnable glass bottles. But precisely, this made the market ready for a
different kind of beverage. One that refreshes yet gives the health
benefits of green tea. We positioned it as a "spa" in a bottle. A drink that
cools and cleans> ...> thus, C2 was born.

C2 immediately caught on with consumers. When we launched C2 in 2004,
we sold 100,000 bottles in the first month. Three years later, Filipinos
drink around 30 million bottles of C2 per month. Indeed, C2 is in a
good place.

With Cebu Pacific, Sun Cellular, and C2, the JG Summit team took
control of its destiny. And we did so in industries where old giants had set
the rules of the game. It's not that we did not fear the giants. We
knew we could have been crushed at the word go. So we just made sure we
came prepared with great products and great strategies. We ended up
changing the rules of the game instead.>

There goes the principle of self-determination, again. I tell you, it
works for individuals as it does for companies. And as I firmly believe,
it works for nations.

I have always wondered, like many of us, why we Filipinos have not
lived up to our potential. We have proven we can. Manny Pacquiao and Efren
Bata Reyes in sports. Lea Salonga and the UP Madrigal Singers in
performing arts. Monique Lhuillier and Rafe Totenco in fashion. And these are
just the names made famous by the media. There are many more who may
not be celebrities but who have gained respect on the world stage.

But to be a truly great nation, we must also excel as entrepreneurs
before the world. We must create Filipino brands for the global market
place.

If we want to be philosophical, we can say that, with a world-class
brand, we create pride for our nation. If we want to be practical, we can
say that, with brands that succeed in the world, we create more jobs
for our people, right here.

Then, we are able to take part in what's really important-giving our
people a big opportunity to raise their standards of living, giving them
a real chance to improve their lives.

We can do it. Our neighbors have done it. So can we.

In the last 54 years, Korea worked hard to rebuild itself after a world
war and a civil war destroyed it. From an agricultural economy in
1945, it shifted to light industry, consumer products, and heavy industry
in the '80s. At the turn of the 21 st century, the Korean government
focused on making Korea the world's leading IT nation. It did this by
grabbing market share in key sectors like semiconductors, robotics, and
biotechnology.

Today, one remarkable Korean brand has made it to the list of Top 100
Global Brands: Samsung. Less then a decade ago, Samsung meant nothing to
consumers. By focusing on quality, design, and innovation, Samsung
improved its products and its image. Today, it has surpassed the Japanese
brand Sony. Now another Korean brand, LG Collins, is following in the
footsteps of Samsung. It has also broken into the Top 100 Global Brands
list.

What about China ? Who would have thought that only 30 years after
opening itself up to a market economy, China would become the world's
fourth largest economy? Goods made in China are still thought of as cheap.
Yet many brands around the world outsource their manufacturing to this
country. China 's own brands-like Lenovo, Haier, Chery QQ, and
Huawei-are fast gaining ground as well. I have no doubt they will be the next
big electronics, technology and car brands in the world.

Lee Kwan Yu's book "From Third World to First" captures Singapore 's
aspiration to join the First World . According to the book, Singapore was
a trading post that the British developed as a nodal point in its
maritime empire. The racial riots there made its officials determined to
build a "multiracial society that would give equality to all citizens,
regardless of race, language or religion."

When Singapore was asked to leave the Malaysian Federation of States in
1965, Lee Kwan Yew developed strategies that he executed with
single-mindedness despite their being unpopular. He and his cabinet started to
build a nation by establishing the basics: building infrastructure,
establishing an army, weeding out corruption, providing mass housing,
building a financial center. Forty short years after, Singapore has been
transformed into the richest South East Asian country today, with a per
capita income of US$32,000.

These days, Singapore is transforming itself once more. This time it
wants to be the creative hub in Asia , maybe even the world. More and
more, it is attracting the best minds from all over the world in
filmmaking, biotechnology, media, and finance. Meantime, Singaporeans have also
created world-class brands: Banyan Tree in the hospitality industry,
Singapore Airlines in the Airline industry and Singapore Telecoms in the
telco industry.>

I often wonder: Why can't the Philippines , or a Filipino, do this?

Fifty years after independence, we have yet to create a truly global
brand. We cannot say the Philippines is too small because it has 86
million people. Switzerland , with 9 million people, created Nestle. Sweden
, also with 9 million people, created Ericsson. Finland , even smaller
with five million people, created Nokia . All three are major global
brands, among others.

Yes, our country is well-known for its labor, as we continue to export
people around the world. And after India , we are grabbing a bigger
chunk of the pie in the call-center and business-process- outsourcing
industries. But by and large, the Philippines has no big industrial base,
and Filipinos do not create world-class products.

We should not be afraid to try-even if we are laughed at. Japan ,
laughed at for its cars, produced Toyota . Korea , for its electronics,
produced Samsung.

But already, hats off to Filipino entrepreneurs making strides to
globalize their brands.

Goldilocks has had much success in the Unites States and Canada , where
half of its customers are non-Filipinos. Coffee-chain Figaro may be a
small player in the coffee world today, but it is making the leap to
the big time. Two Filipinas, Bea Valdez and Tina Ocampo, are now selling
their Philippine-made jewelry and bags all over the world. Their
labels are now at Barney's and Bergdorf's in the U.S. and in many other
high-end shops in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East .

When we started our own foray outside the Philippines 30 years ago, it
wasn't a walk in the park. We set up a small factory in Hong Kong to
manufacture Jack and Jill potato chips there. Today, we are all over Asia
. We have the number-one-potato- chips brand in Malaysia and
Singapore . We are the leading biscuit manufacturer in Thailand , and a
significant player in the candy market in Indonesia . Our Aces cereal brand is
a market leader in many parts of China . C2 is now doing very well in
Vietnam , selling over 3 million bottles a month there, after only 6
months in the market. Soon, we will launch C2 in other South East Asian
markets.

I am 81 today. But I do not forget the little boy that I was in the
palengke in Cebu . I still believe in family. I still want to make good. I
still don't mind going up against those older and better than me. I
still believe hard work will not fail me. And I still believe in people
willing to think the same way.

Through the years, the market place has expanded: between cities,
between countries, between continents. I want to urge you all here to think
bigger. Why serve 86 million when you can sell to four billion Asians?
And that's just to start you off. Because there is still the world
beyond Asia . When you go back to your offices, think of ways to sell and
market your products and services to the world. Create world-class
brands.

You can if you really tried. I did. As a boy, I sold peanuts from my
backyard. Today, I sell snacks to the world.

I want to see other Filipinos do the same.

Thank you and good evening once again

Philippine Politics! Where are we heading?

(Let me clarify first that I am not a pro-administration nor a pro-opposition but rather a pro-Filipino.)

Philippine Politics is at war. It has always been like this. We may have ended the regime of a the late dictator, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos but we’ve chosen a neophyte leader Former President Corazon Aquino that was bombarded with couple of coup’s. I really think that it all started out because of the instability of leadership in this country. The former lady President’s inexperience in Philippine politics in my opinion was the reason why we haven’t progress at all. It is not enough to be a wife of a politician to run a country. But in fairness to the former President, she was never corrupt.

Her ascendant former President Fidel V. Ramos wh0 became her Chief of Staff at the time of her regime, was a much better President in the early years of his seat in Malacañang. During his time the Philippines was known to be one of the Tiger’s of Asia because of its economic stability but was not able to sustain it until the end of his term because if I remember it right, that was the time when the peso starts to lose its value. There were also allegations of corruption during his time but was not proven until now. There were also problems like the Cha-Cha that the people and the church opposed and the not so good reception of the E-VAT. I am in favor of E-VAT. I would not discuss further why but anyone who would want to hear my side would be entertained.

Next in line is Former President Joseph Estrada. Convicted of plunder, I think he is the most vulgarly corrupt President I have known. I used vulgarly because Marcos’ corruption was not proven until his lost in the Presidency. He was not wary of his actions that is why he was easily put to jail because of many evidence and witnesses which are against him.

And now our President, Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, an Economist, Educator, experienced in politics. Her ascend to Malacañang was bombarded with questions of poll cheating. I am referring to the “Hello Garci!” scandal. There were lots of accusations being thrown to her government but the principal person being accused is her husband not her.

Now the latest of those controversies is the ZTE national broadband network deal which is allegedly a deal sponsored by Former Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos and the First Gentleman himself, Mike Arroyo. With the involvement of the speaker’s son Joey de Venecia (Jose de Venecia III) as a losing party bidding for the project, the issue has escalated more because of his revelations. And because of that the position of his father was jeopardized and now unseated by the move of the Arroyo solon’s (Mikey, Dado, Iggy) in the Congress. This is a political dynasty at move. I like the Arroyo government in its economic reforms. But firstly, I hate the political dynasty that the Arroyo’s had put up as well as the Estrada’s as well as the Cayetano’s, etc., etc. These families do not respect the constitution does not respect the constitution. If you are familiar with Article II, Declaration of Principles and State Policies, Section 26, prohibits political dynasty. I think the silence of the speaker about the deal and not stopping his son to testify regarding the deal was the reason why the Arroyo solon’s made the move to unseat him as speaker. Three Arroyo’s are enough to stir up the Congress. I remember the speaker speaking in the media that the President will still support him despite of all that is happening. He was wrong, the President maintained her status quo about the issue or did she? That we don’t know. Let us wait for what is going to be said.

Jose De Venecia’s speakership ended yesterday. Accusations were said both by the Arroyo’s and by the former speaker. The Arroyo’s was questioning the book of the pork barrel which they say the former speaker was hiding. Likewise, the former speaker says that the Arroyo’s are the missionaries for the palace in order to get the pork barrels of each congressman. He also said that there were attempts to tamper the results of the election. And he is now waging war against the Arroyo government and will join the opposition. He would make revelations of the corruptions of the Arroyo government. Is he telling the truth or the Arroyo’s were correct that he just want to hold onto his position and treat the Congress as his Kingdom?

The truth doesn’t really matter to me. Politics is a plague in this country. What we should do Filipinos is to strive and work hard to make our lives much better and by that we are helping our country. We are the cure to this plague. Let us not rely on this people but ourselves, we can do it if we would just persevere. Let us not join their battle but join the battle to poverty. If Japan, Korea and China can do it, so can we. Let us have faith and confidence in ourselves. I always believe that the Filipinos are the most intelligent people in the world because of our gift to communication. We can communicate to the world. Let us use that strength. We can do it.

Most subscribed at You Tube! A Filipina!

Ranked No. 6 as the most subscribed artists/video blogger and ranked no. 4 most subscribed director in You Tube, would you believe, is a Filipina-American Christine a.k.a “Happy Slip” Gambito. Wow, every Filipino should be proud of her because one of the most subscribed internet celebrity is from our race.

Because of her popularity in the internet world the Philippine Government through the Department of Tourism with the effort of Sec. Ace Durano, made her our newest ambassador to market the Philippine tourism in North America using the world wide web. She is recently here in the Philippines to tour the tourist spots here in the Philippines which I believe would be the subjects of her video blogs in the future.
She also visited some of the tv shows like "Wowowee" and was featured on the news.

Christine joined You Tube a year ago and was known for her wacky home videos portraying mostly her family members and relatives. She does the acting, directing, video editing all by herself. I really think one of the reasons why Christine earned this kind of popularity over the net because of her simple beauty and the fact that she is very talkative but in a very amusing way. One factor also is her talent in playing the guitar and the piano as well as being the composer of the songs she performs. Some of the songs are mimicry or mockery of other known songs. She can also make a beat out of a plastic drinking glass. This pretty lady finished a nursing degree to a school which I still don’t know and she was raised in Virginia. Her main purpose joining you tube was to have a venue where she could express herself as well as her thoughts. She wishes that every viewer wear a happy smile every time they watch her home made videos. But knowing that she is now in the revenue sharing program of You Tube, I really believe that she now earns big bucks out of her videos. Video Blogging? I’ll try to do that maybe later on if I’ll find the guts to do it.

You can actually earn while doing this kind of blogs be it in writing or video. But I would not elaborate more because I’m still gathering information to make a blog out of it and maybe we could discuss it further after such blog.

To all of you who would want to see her videos, just visit You Tube and just search for happy slip or you could visit her website at www.happyslip.com . I would recommend the videos “Contagious”, “Mac Daddy” and her music videos like “7.7.7”, “French Fries”, “Mac Beautiful” and others. She has a really good singing voice and a very good comedienne. I hope she could be an actress here in our country. At the end of of her videos you would always hear her imitating her mother saying the tag line "Christine Be Sure to Wear your Half-E-Slip". That's where she got the nickname "Happy Slip"

That’s all folks. Support our countryman in You Tube. See you again in my next blog where I would feature a Filipino having fete international scene.