How To Rise and Come Out Stronger From The Libyan Crisis

Per latest reports, around 11,000 OFWs have been evacuated out of Libya while there are still about 34,000 Filipino workers who need to be evacuated to safer territories. The Philippine authorities and representatives in Libya and nearby states are hard pressed to move these number as quickly as possible inspite of the great risk that they have to go through because both the pro and anti Gaddafi forces are spread along these possible escape routes.

To be diplomatically correct, it is best to defer my personal comments about the embattled Libyan leader and how he managed the petroleum dollars which evidently did not become a blessing to his country and his people that's why they have this widespread revolt.

But by reflecting on this current event, it only underlines the necessity for our OFWs to save as much money during good times because you can never tell what would happen next, because who would have thought that Libya would go down in history with this bloody revolt. In fact from what I have gathered, some OFWs have stayed in Libya for more than 10 years and they raised their family there because they found that country to be safe and peaceful. But that was before.

Saving as much money as possible during good times will determine one's welfare and survival when the bad times come. Even the Book of Proverbs tell us to "Go to the ant and consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." (source: Prov 6:6-8, NIV 2011)

The storing of provisions in summer and gathering of food at harvest have become so natural to the ants. No need for any commander, supervisor or ruler or nagging wife to pressure them to save as much, they just did it naturally, day in and day out, considering the fact that the ants are creatures of little strength. But what made these ants do that? It's because they are wise in their ways.

Your wisdom, your mind will make you do that. When a person is convinced that saving money during good times will benefit him much more than spending that hard earned money because he deserves it anyway - that person will surely reap the rewards in due time in its perfect season of plentiful harvest.

The number of OFWs in Libya alone has reached around 45,000 or maybe more, and assuming that each one of them saved P5,000 a month for the last 12 months they would have collectively raised P2.7 Billion thereafter. That P2.7B is enough to put up a big bank like an OFW Bank. And that's only from the OFWs in Libya, and just imagine if the other OFWs will join them.

But this is now water under the bridge because the bad times have come. The laptops and sleek TV set and the nice and overpriced house back home and the branded shoes and jackets and sunglasses and pricey electronic gadgets of the kids won't matter anymore when one does not have a source of income anymore. Just turning on the arm's length wide LED TV set and the 2-door stainless refrigerator is an added expense because of the high cost of electricity.

But one should not feel condemned because it's not the end of the road for you. Don't worry if you are left out empty after the last harvest season, just remember that after the harvest season where the fields turn into golden yellow, there always comes the planting season!

During the planting season, what you see is mud everywhere and the terrain is gloomy and it's not enjoyable to walk around, and the rainwater on the ground becomes smelly and just dirty. Life, after losing some golden opportunity for growth, may have much semblance and may feel like the muddy ground after the harvest time when the sky looks dark and dim all day long with no sunshine at all for several months.

But realize my friend that the absence of the bright sunshine and the heavy rain is just perfect to redistribute the nutrients on the ground and fertilize again the farmlands and make it perfectly ready to receive and germinate the seeds to make them sprout and grow them to become your next bountiful harvest in due season.

Therefore, do not fret when God allowed you to miss the last harvest season because what comes next is the planting season for you. And whatever and however you plant will always determine your next harvest. whatever seed you invest into this muddy soil is the seed that will soon give you your next bountiful harvest.

So every season, be it sunshiny or rainy, is an opportunity for you. The planting season is your opportunity to invest. And that investment may not be necessarily setting aside some money, but maybe it's more about making a firm decision as to how much and in what way can you save money on your next opportunity. And that next opportunity is coming.

To those of you who are not directly affected by these recent crisis in the Middle East, don't wait for such turmoil to come before you make up your mind to save some amount and make it your seed money when the next investment opportunity comes.

Just imagine if 500,000 OFWs around the globe decide to save an average of P5,000 per month for 12 months. That one year effort will raise some P30 Billion! Just imagine the huge business that our OFWs can collectively put up with that amount!

Doing it for the next 5 years, our OFWs can raise some P150 Billion! That amount can already create a business empire employing thousands. Just assuming that the P150 Billion will earn at least 9% a year, that's P13.5 Billion annual income.

But if the OFWs won't make up their mind and pursue these things, these will remain a dream, an imagined business, an imaginary income, a potential job and income generator by the thousands. Without any purposeful action on the part of the OFWs, these dreams will remain just an untapped potential even 5 years from now.

And our children will be left condemning the government again for being unable to provide them the jobs they needed at home, and they will again be separated from their families to work abroad - thereby repeating your life's story again in theirs -- simply because we refused to do what is within our means during our our time.

But today is never too late. Tomorrow is still an open opportunity. Let's make up our mind while the opportunity is still great. Kelan pa ba tayo magsimulang kumilos? Kung nasa US$180/barrel na ang petroleum? Pag nagkataon, tig P3,500 na ang isang sakong bigas noon.

RELATED ARTICLES:

• The Business-Minded OFW
• Job Vacancies OFWs Can Fill In
• Harnessing the Economic Power of OFWs
• How To Save Money with An Attitude

OFW Remittances Have Soared Past The $17B Mark As of Nov 2010 - BSP

The $17B OFW remittance from Jan-Nov 2010 is around P748-B! It's a very big amount infused to our local economy. (See Source).

If only our OFWs can make it a habit to save just one percent (1%) of whatever money they earn abroad, which is equivalent to P7.48B, they can very easily put up a big OFW BANK (commercial bank) just from their 1% savings! The minimum required cash capital to put up a commercial bank is only around P3-B compared to their 1% savings of P7.48B!

Halimbawa lang po: Kung ang karamihan ng OFW ay kumikita ng average of P30,000 a month, ang 1% savings po ay halagang P300 lamang o kaya P150 sa akinse at P150 sa katapusan. Mas malaki pa po ang ginagastos ng kanilang mga anak sa Pinas sa load ng celfon o kaya panglaro sa online games na iba ang nakikinabang, yung mga dati nang mayayamang malalaking negosyante. Bakit hindi po natin gamitin yun para sa inyong kapakanan this time which will bring long-term economic & financial benefits to you and your loved ones.

Pag 2% ng kanilang kinikita ay itatabi aba that's around P15-B in just one year. E ang BDO ang CASH ASSET po nila noong end of 2009 ay nasa P32 Billion lang po, ibig sabihin kung magtabi lang ang OFWs ng 4% ng kanilang kinita sa buong taon that's P30 Billion at katapat niyo na po kaagad ang BDO, sa isang taong pagtitipid lang po yan. E lalo na po pag ginawa nyo pong regular habit na yan taon-taon naku po mauungusan na po ninyo ang BDO. See http://www.bdo.com.ph/aboutus-... for reference.

Tunay na maging dakila ang mga OFW po natin kapag nagmamay-ari na po sila ng OFW BANK. Ganito po ang layunin ng mga kababayang OFW po natin na nagtutulungang paitaguyod ang pagtayo ng OFW BANK. Patuloy po nating itaguyod ang ganito pong layunin upang mapaangat ang kalagayan at kapakanan ng mga OFW. Mabuhay po kayo.

Maaaring may mga nagdududa po at nag-iisip na baka raket lang po ito, kaya yun po ang iniiwasan natin na maging kaisipan ng mga kababayan natin kaya po we don't encourage any collection or contribution of anything, we do everything voluntarily because I believe that if God has blessed this idea, God will use many people, events and circumstances to make this dream a reality.What we encourage here is for our OFWs to start make saving money a habit. 

Never dream for an OFW BANK if you cannot even learn to save just 1%, 2% or 5% of your income. It takes some kind of self-discipline and determination. Kailangan po minsan marunong tayong tumangging pondohan ang luho ng ating mga anak kung tayo po ay seryoso sa ating pagnanais na mapaunlad ang kanilang buhay at kinabukasan, at upang mas maagang makauwi "for good" ang ating OFWs.

Mabuhay po ang ating OFWs!

RELEVANT ARTICLES HERE:

• Save Money By Watching Out Your Spending Habit First! 

• How Can We Put Up The P3B Fund For An OFW Bank?

• How To Make The OFWs An Economic Powerhouse?

• Creative Business Ideas And Reactions Generated By The GMA News About The P1-billion Loan Program For OFWs

• OWWA & POEA Boards Now Open For OFW Nominations

Recent Emails Received Through The OFW BANK Incubator Blog

Over the week, may mga natanggap po akong mga email sa pamamagitan po ng ating blogsite using the email address "makabayangpilipino143@yahoo.com", and let me publish them here to keep you abreast of these developments.

I have tried to "hide" their personal details to keep their privacy, unless they will advise me to the contrary. Their emails are as follows:

From DONVERCAS, an electrical/instrumentation instructor and Oil & Gas Operation/maintenance Consultant:

“I was deeply touched with the makabayan ideas of yours and I hope this will happen soonest the better to have OFWBank that all over the world OFW will contribute mabuhay ka makabayangpilipino.

To be exact 30 years na akong OFW and I had a lot of ideas want to share with as well for the benefit of mankind. Regards and thank you.”

From DARYL of qdvc.com:

“sali ako dyan when do we start”

From Michelle Stone of pho_art:

“Hi there!!! Just want to register to receive “newsletters” if possible…Thanks a lot & God bless!!!”

From Andy P. of a known bank in New Zealand:

“Manigong Bagong Taon sa iyo, sa iyong pamilya at sa wider community na iyong kinapapalooban!

I’ll focus on clarifying your requirements.  Basically, the site would be some sort of a forum/blog website with a touch of a social-media network engine (ala facebook).    Some of the system/applications that would be built unto the site resembles that of a “virtual bank” where members would make deposit and withdrawal so as to mimic the updates on their actual savings or pledged capitals.   All updates by its members are gathered real-time by the system and then publish the updates on a graphical form (something like a stakeholder report or financial statement).   I could see the big picture and we could come up with that kind of web application.   Though, there may be some technical limitations if hosted on a free site domain such as blogspot or twitter.   A work-around is to host the other applications in some other domain sites and integrate it via URL on the main forum site and blog site.   I’ve now started to integrate a forum unto a blog site in one of the free domains and hopefully be able to present it to you in the coming weeks.

As for my suggestions on the site building, we could also incorporate an auto-email subscription facility such that all members will be sent an email on regular updates, monthly report and forum topics.   This will somehow encourage the members to get involved in the process and promote the site to their friends and relatives.   The forum application could facilitate posting from its members either via online or via email since replying via email would be an easier way to voice their opinion.  In addition, we could promote the site further by adding facilities for integration unto the wider social media networks such as facebook, twitter, linkedin, Friendster, etc…  I think most of the OFWs would have an account on at least one of these social media channels.   Please let me know your thoughts on this.

As for the blog site, since you are teaching financial literacy, I would also suggest if

Could It Be That..?

For so many years, the Philippines has been sending out skilled, talented, excellent and well-experienced workers and professionals to work abroad. For a long time, our kababayang OFWs have worked in different corners of the earth to be able to send home financial support for their families. Pero ganito lang po ba talaga ang tunay na layunin at dahilan kung bakit mayroon tayong milyon-milyong OFWs ngayon.

I can sense that there is more to it. Could it be that the real and bigger purpose is to gather the dollars, the euros, the dirhams, the rials, the yens, etc. of other nations and put up a big bank owned by OFWs with big foreign currency deposits? So that this big bank will become the source of sustenance for the future generations - the sons and daughters of OFWs? And that will be used by God to end your sufferings of working away from home, and be finally united with their family and put up profitable businesses here thereby increasing the gross national product of the country, and providing more job opportunities to Filipinos here on top of making money through their dividends from this big OFW BANK?

Could the OFW BANK the best way for you to end the routine of waking up very early on Monday mornings (against your will and physical strength) to report to work making somebody else rich while you are forced to be content with what you receive every 15th and 30th?

Please take time to view the following videos and these might just help you redirect your lives, your purpose for living, and your visions for your life - as it did to me.

OFW BANK Related Exchange of Ideas By Email

In my desire to be transparent to our kababayang OFWs, I have posted below some excerpts of the email exchanges between some of us here in reference to the setting up of an OFW BANK, with the indulgence of our kababayans who sent them.

From Andy P. of New Zealand:

“Ako po ay nalulugod at humahanga sa inyong adhikain na makapaglunsad ng isang banko na makakatulong sa ating mga kababayang Pilipino.  Nabasa ko po ang inyong website at nakita ko ang determinasyon ninyo na maisulong ang ideya ng OFW Bank.  Tama po kayo na marami na ang nagtangka pero wala pang nagtagumpay na makapagtayo ng isang matatawag na OFW Bank.   Hindi po ‘yun maaaring dahilan na dapat kayong umatras sa laban dahil lahat ng sumuong sa laban na ‘yan ay natatalo laman.   Dapat din po nating suriin ang mga kadahilanan kung bakit hindi sila nagtagumpay at kung ano ang kanilang motibasyon sa pagtatayo ng banko.  Sa kadahilanang marami ang kokontra o kaya e negatibo ang pananaw, doon mo makikita at makikilala na marami pa rin sa ating mga Pilipino ang hindi bukas sa mga ganyang ideya.  Maaring sa kadahilanan na maaaring likas o kaya ay hinubog ng panahon sa pagka-sadlak sa pamamahalang bulok at puno ng korupsyon.  Hindi natin maaalis sa kanila ‘yun.   Subalit ako’y natutuwa sa kadahilanang maraming mga Pilipino ang nagbigay ng komento sa inyong website at sa gmanews.tv ang bukas sa ideyang eto.  At ako ay kaisa ninyo sa adhikaing ito at handa po akong tumulong sa abot ng aking makakaya.   Isa din eto sa aking pinangarap na makapag-ambag sa ikakasulong ng pamilyang Pilipino.

Ako ay lubos na natuwa ng mabasa ko ang inyong ideya para sa isang “Foreign Retirees in the Philippines” type of business sa kadahilanang ganitong konsepto din ang

Binay Wants Plans for 'OFW Bank' revived - GMA News

Again, with the indulgence of www.gmanews.tv may I post herein in toto the said news article and pilipino's initial reaction and reservations, as follows:

Binay wants plans for 'OFW Bank' revived

12/22/2010 | 02:59 PM

To bring down the cost of sending money to the Philippines, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Wednesday he is pushing for the creation of an “OFW Bank."

Binay — also the Presidential Adviser on OFWs’ Concerns — wrote to President Benigno Aquino III pushing for the proposed bank as an “alternative yet viable" remittance institution here and abroad.

“The bank will provide fair competition towards the reduction or lowering of remittance or transaction costs and provide a productive outlet for our overseas Filipinos’ savings as bank investors and shareholders," he said in the letter posted on the Office of the Vice President’s website.

Binay said the move was in response to OFWs’ (overseas Filipino workers) clamor for an OFW Bank, as financial intermediaries and money brokers are presently charging exorbitant fees for money transfers.

Government financial institutions will initially fund and underwrite the bank, according to the Vice President said.

Eventually, investors and stockholders will own and control the OFW Bank, Binay said.

Money sent home by OFWs rose to $15.46 billion in the first 10 months of the year, up 7.9 percent from $14.23 billion in the same period last year, central bank data showed.

A chunk of the remittances came from the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, UK, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany, and Norway.

The idea for an OFW Bank was raised in 2006 as a way of consolidating the financial assets and operational capabilities of government institutions, like Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Philippine Postal Corp.

The project was supposed to create a financial institution for OFWs, one that is inexpensive and more focused toward its OFW-oriented direction and services. Because of the global recession, it was shelved.

Instead, LandBank and DBP launched separate remittance programs for the lucrative OFW market estimated by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration between eight million and 11.5 million land- and sea-based employees. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV

THE INITIAL REACTIONS AND APPREHENSIONS 

The clamor for an OFW Bank is now gaining grounds though each proposal differ in their approaches but the common general idea really is to help the OFWs, in fact there is this discussion site about this OFW Bank in http://ofwbankincubator.blogsp... and it might just be worth your while to drop by that site and check out the ideas being espoused there, and pitch in your ideas there too.

I support the Vice President's move along this line and I appreciate him for writing the President about this clamor for an OFW Bank that will be sensitive to the needs of the OFWs.

But I have reservations though about government hands directly involved in

Suggestions On How To Setup The OFW BANK

Setting up an OFW Bank from start to finish is not just like opening your own savings account, opening a new bank is a long process that requires your strong commitment, hard work, patience and tenacity because there are many concerns to put your mind and heart on. It may not be an easy task but we can do it, more so if a great number of OFWs are committed to this dream. And once we have succeeded, the economic and financial benefits are endless.

THE P2.4B HURDLE

The first thing that we need to consider is do we really have that much money to put up an OFW Bank? The bank that we envision here is not just a rural bank which requires only around P30M cash capital to put up, but what we are looking at here is a commercial bank like BDO Private Bank, Bank of Commerce, Chinatrust, Citibank NA Phils., EastWest Bank, Asia United Bank, Robinsons Bank and many others.

The minimum capital requirement for this type of banking license is P2.4B in cash, on top of the required cash outlay for the capital assets like the main office and its branches, the office equipments and furniture, computers and licensed software, etc. and the necessary operating capital to cover salaries and wages, utilities, advertising, etc. Let’s just say we need another P600M for those things depending on the number of strategic branches that we plan to put up. If that’s the case, the total cash requirement will be P3B (P2.4B required by BSP + P600M for capex & opex - capital expenses and operating expenses). See the related article about the minimum capital requirements for banks.

IT'S ACTUALLY A P3B HURDLE...WHAT?!

Please don't get discouraged, just read on please. I understand how you feel. It might help if you can just get a sip of drinking water and make 5 deep sighs and you will be alright. And keep reading, it's not your time to quit.

I can imagine some folks wrenching already about the P3B amount, and I can almost already hear people reacting like “Naku ang laki pala” or “Naku mabigat pala” or the worst is “Naku ang hirap pala niyan”. These are the most common reactions of people, or I should say common initial reactions, to qualify that statement. Probably that was your reaction too when somebody invited you to work abroad, especially when the workload was being described to you, plus the thought of being alone and away from your family for years. Malamang sabi mo rin noon “Naku ang hirap pala!”. Oo mahirap talaga. But please read on. Don’t just give up yet, intro pa lang po ito mga mahal kong Kababayan. Read on….

But what made you decide to work overseas? What made you overcome the hardships? It’s not the financial hardships at home. What really made you decide to become an OFW is the dream for a better life and financial freedom! You are after of the rewards and financial returns in working overseas. Same with the OFW BANK. Once it is up and operating and raking in profits, you will just be waiting for your financial dividends being the co-owner of that big bank, while you are out there leisurely cultivating your orchid farm in the province or maybe checking with your forwarder if your orchids for export to Australia are shipped on time.

HOW DO WE RAISE THE P2.4B...or P3B

How do we overcome the first hurdle of P2.4B cash capital? Because we cannot get a commercial banking license without that minimum amount. That P2.4B is a whooping big amount and your old small house back home may not have enough room to contain that money, ganun po kalaki yung perang yan. How much more if it’s in P100 bills mas lalong di napo magkasya sa dating bahay nyo.

The P2.4B is big but when you adjust your perspective, that amount becomes small - very small. Let me help you see it the way I see it. Would you believe that the P2.4B amount can be raised in a month?  “Owwws?!”  “Hmmm…Yabang!” I can almost hear some of those comments.  But are you ready for a surprise?

That P2.4B is no hurdle at all because we can raise the Fund in a month in just like a flick of a finger! If all OFWs who now number around 1.3M, whether poorly paid or well paid, well off or not, will invest just P1,850 to this Fund this January then we will have P2.405B already! You do not need to be a nurse or doctor or engineer working overseas to become co-owner of this Bank!