A 22-year-old Tondo resident thought about saving P20 daily in a huge drum coming from daily earnings for selling fish and gulaman.
“Yun kasi pinakamaliit na perang papel at nasiyahan din po ako dahil tugma rin po sa sinasabi ni Mayor Isko (Moreno) na ‘etneb’,” Gernan Tolero said in a report on Manila Bulletin.
Tolero recounted his financial challenges due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
They also lost their home in a fire in Happy Land, Tondo in Manila.
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“Ubos lahat ng gamit namin. Ang natira lang yung isang alkansya ko na puno ng barya. Binasag namin, umabot ng halos 1,000 pesos. Mahilig na talaga akong mag-ipon noon,” Tolero said.
“Sa akin ang nasa isip ko, opportunity ito. Nung mga panahon na yun, nakita ko sa lugar namin problemado mga tao kasi kulang sila sa drum. Scheduled kasi ang tubig sa amin kaya nagkakaproblema mga tao mag-ipon ng tubig,” he added.
He also decided to sell used drums from nearby stores to his neighbors who may be in need of water containers.
“Sa akin ang nasa isip ko, opportunity ito. Nung mga panahon na yun, nakita ko sa lugar namin problemado mga tao kasi kulang sila sa drum. Scheduled kasi ang tubig sa amin kaya nagkakaproblema mga tao mag-ipon ng tubig,” he said.
“Binibili ko siya 100 pesos kada drum tapos tutubuan ko para kumita. Hanggang isang araw nakakita ako ng sirang sidecar. Binili ko, pinaayos ko tapos doon ko sinimulan naman yung magbenta ng gulaman,” he added.
As his business clicked, Tolero said that he was able to purchase three more sidecar units.
“May tatlong tao na ako na nagbebenta ng gulaman pero imbes na hayaan ko sila ang magbenta, opportunity na naman yung nakita ko kasi nagpagawa ako ng kariton sa stepfather ko dahil naisip ko, magbenta naman ng isda,’’ he said.
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On January 3, 2021, he saw an unused drum in his house and decided to transform it into a coin bank.
“Halos kalahati na ng coins yung drum pero naisip ko, kung mapuno hindi ko na kayang buhatin. Ang ginawa ko, lahat ng 20 pesos na kita ko sa gulaman at isda, parang inisip ko walang halaga kaya ipinapasok ko lang lahat dun sa drum,” he said.
The man said that he was worried that the paper bills will be destroyed after being stored in a long time.
So he decided to open the drum with his mother uploading the photo on Facebook.
Tolero did not disclose the exact amount but he said that it’s enough to buy a new sidecar.
He’s also planning to open a pisonet business soon. (TDT)