After a year of sending money home for his loved ones, Joseph Karl Bensi will be saving in 2017 to reward himself – a holiday in mind.
“Buong taon pinapadala ko lahat ng extra ko, alay sa pamilya, kay mama at papa. Sa may birthday at kung anu-ano pa,” said Bensi, who works at a telecom company and lives in Al Rigga, Deira.
He added, “Normal lang ‘yun sa OFWs…nagpapadala kahit naghihirap. Kailangang magpadala kahit paano. Pero ngayong darating na taon, makasarili ako.”
Bensi explained he will be having his vacation and will be saving money “para may panggastos naman ako.”
Fatima Tan, a sales assistant at a company in Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and lives in Satwa said she intends to seriously save money in the coming year to buy herself a house and lot.
“Hindi ako makapag-ipon. Maraming bayarin,” Tan said, explaining that her son is with her and she’s been supporting him. “Kapag nagging stable na siguro sya. Lagi kasing hindi nabibisahan, nakakatatlo na,” she added.
Tan, who has been in Dubai for the past 12 years, said she plans to buy a property “kasi kailangan natin iyun sa ating pagtanda.”
“Pagtanda natin, hindi na natin kayang magtrabaho. Kailangang may matutuluyan. Di naman pwedeng tumunganga na lang,” she said.
‘Di naman tayo habambuhay OFW’
Ali Marohom of Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, plans to open a grocery store “may bigas at pang-araw-araw na pangangailangan ng tao.”
Having been in Dubai working as a school teacher for the past four years, Marohom, who lives in Deira said, he wants to start a business back home “para may maipon at pangsuporta sa pamilya.”
“Hindi naman tayo habambuhay OFW,” he said.
Sharing his thoughts is a fellow teacher, Ma. April Erroba of Los Banos, Laguna, who said she is looking at starting an RTW store in the Philippines. “For financial security siyempre,” she said, “Di naman laging nasa abroad . Gusto ko rin namang mag-settle down with my family. Kahit paano, may makita akong resulta ng pinaghirapan ko,” Erroba added.
Alicia Delapa, an office employee who lives in Satwa, will start a business in the Philippines “upang makapagsarili at mag-for good na sa Pilipinas.”
Delapa has been in Dubai for 14 years. “Matagal-tagal na pero wala pa ring ipon.”
It’s a trucking business for Sonny Boy Flor, an MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) coorditor who’s been in Dubai for nine years.
Flor, who has bought a house and a car in the Philippines, said he’s looking at entering into an investor arrangement. “Mahirap mag-hands on. Masyadong mahal ang capital,” he said.
