INVESTING ON INVESTING OFWs

PLDT and /SMART conducted an orientation of sorts for people for their SMART Bro Computer Station – Pangkabuhayan package last August 9, 2006.

Upon entering the venue, I was surprised that the participants that were already there and that were streaming in were women – that didn’t seem to look like serious business people that I expected. In fact, they looked a lot like simple housewives – and there were a lot of them.

When the program finally came to a start there were already around 60 persons in the room, a handful of which were men – and many of the women, it turned out were returning OFWs from Lebanon.

It was funny when the guy from SMART’s marketing department started talking about their product. The objective of the event, I guess, was to encourage the women to take up businesses, or to improve their businesses by availing of the SMART Bro Pankabuhayan package and the PLDT Internet Café Plus franchising offers – and I think it was also an orientation for possible sales agents of these products (I didn’t get to finish the program – so I really didn’t get to the part of the internet café plus and the sales agents’ orientation.) So the SMART person, with all his enthusiasm as a presentor was trying to engage the audience - albeit vainly. He was obviously trying hard to connect, and it was quite laudible, but he has had his booboos. First, he or a presentor before him said, in a sort of scoffing manner, “Who sends mail through the post these days?!” When the women were asked how they communicate with their loved ones while they were in foreign lands, all of them answered they send postal mail. Only three to four people raised their hands when asked if they send emails, and a woman beside me whispered to her companion, “We don’t even know what that is,” when the presentor asked what the internet was for.

Anyway, at some point the audience warmed up a bit, and the speaker did not seem too dejected anymore.

So, among the information I got from sitting halfway through this supposed orientation (I thought it was an orientation for people who have already applied), was the PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program where people can avail of scholarship coupons to train for Call Centers or Medical Transcription when they pass certain assessment tests. Welding and butchering are also offered – all for the purpose of improving the livelihood of people.

TESDA was one of the major players in the event. The women OFWs were contacted through previous TESDA organized activities. It’s good that companies are targeting OFWs to be investors, rather than just consumers. The millions of pesos from OFW remittances and hard earned savings can be put to better use than buying the latest cell phone or the most fancy jewelry. OFWs also need to be given alternatives in terms of business opportunities. For most, the sari – sari store becomes the most convenient option – but they end up as one sari – sari store among the rows of sari – sari stores that are already in their barangays.

I didn’t get my Pangkabuhayan package from SMART Bro even after I have submitted my application and necessary documents. It took too long. I did get a Smart Bro regular service though – it was impressively quick. Twenty-four hours after application and payment of fees, the installation team was calling me. That didn’t seem like something that happens in the Philippines, but it did.