Jomar Ladio: From good deeds to micro-business

Jomar Ladio, a credit borrower, tends to his store at Teachers Village, Quezon City

In 1996, Jomar Ladio was a struggling family man working in various jobs to make ends meet, and was not able to provide a secure and safe future for himself, his wife and their three children. After years of hard work for a meager income that did not provide the basic needs for his family, Jomar made the difficult decision to leave his wife and children in the province where he grew up to move to Manila. Here, Jomar hoped to find better job opportunities that would enable him to care and provide for his family. 

Jomar witnessed a serious vehicular accident in 2006, and after rushing the victim to the hospital for immediate medical attention, his good deed was rewarded with a small amount of money. With this money, Jomar was able to set up a small fruit and vegetable stall in Teachers Village, Quezon City. The business began to thrive and Jomar was able to bring his wife and children to be with him in Manila. 

With the business reporting a profit, Jomar was then motivated to increase the amount and variety of products stocked in his store. Jomar approached Unlad Kabayan for an initial loan of Php 20,000, which was granted and subsequently paid back in full in only five months, evident that Jomar’s ‘Lovely Jo General Merchandise’ was now a flourishing business. Jomar has now applied to renew the loan to further expand the business.

With his profits, Jomar purchased a digital scale and an electrical coconut grinder, which enables him to run the shop more efficiently and serve the customers more effectively. 

The Ladio family is now more secure in their financial future: the children are able to attend school, and Jomar is able to provide healthy food and a life which otherwise may have looked bleak without the reward to his good deed, and the help of Unlad Kabayan.

Giving credit to the entrepreneurial poor

Lolita Tocayon supervises employees at work

From Unlad Kabayan’s 2005 report, Sharing the Benefits of Migration for Poverty Alleviation:

Unlad Kabayan’s credit assistance program started as an avenue to promote financial assistance to the enterprises of migrant workers and their families. Most of these migrants had encountered problems or emergencies, either in their place of work or with their families back home, which required them to return to the Philippines. Most of them worked as entertainers or domestic workers in Japan, Singapore, and the Middle East, and had put up some micro-enterprises: sari-sari (dry goods) stores, tailoring and dressmaking shops, eateries or small food stalls.

Livelihood programs through credit help address the issue of unemployment and lack of viable livelihood. Cooperatives and migrant organizations are assisted to establish their own credit programs through credit management and training services. Through the credit program, migrants and their families were able to redeem mortgaged farm land and other properties. Eventually, bigger enterprises were assisted as loan ceiling increased from Php 30,000 to over Php 100,000.

Here are stories of some entrepreneurial individuals whose lives changed for the better through Unlad’s Credit Assistance Program:

• Isaias and Marlene Amusco are long-time clients who started with a Php 5,000 loan in 1998. As their source of living, the couple prepared and delivered packed lunches to three offices at the headquarters of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), National Church of Christ in the Philippines (NCCP), and the Ecumenical Center in Manila. With the loan, they were able to increase the variety of food and clientele. Their second and third loans were used to buy the rights to a property where they set up a sari-sari store. The couple practices mandatory saving but was forced to withdraw the savings in 2000 for Marlene’s eye operation. Being good borrowers, they continuously applied for loans and renewals. From an initial loan of Php 5,000, Isaias accessed a loan of Php 50,000 to help his siblings with start-up capital for a piggery and rice farm in Samar province in the Visayas region.

• Lolita Tocayon, married with four children, is from Payatas, Quezon City, the other side of which is a dumpsite populated by the urban poor. Lolita produces tamarind candies, polvoron, and inexpensive toys and candies for children. She borrowed Php 30,000 from the credit program to expand her business. From 12 regular employees, 28 employees, mostly female, now work for Lolita. Because she worked at home, she had her house renovated by adding a third storey to add more space for her candy and toy business. Describing herself as a micro-manager, Lolita has been diligently paying off her loan every week. By working hard and managing her finances well, she was able to further expand her business and borrowed Php 100,000.

• Reynalda Angulo, married with four children, operates an oil and lubricant distribution business in Bacoor, Cavite. Having started the home-based business in August 1996 with a capital of Php 150,000, Reynalda borrowed Php 50,000 from Unlad Kabayan in 2005 and was able to rent a stall and expand the business. Because she and her husband work in the same industry, they pooled their efforts and made the rounds from Canlubang to Bulacan. At present, most of their clients are in the golf course recreation industry. The business has allowed Reynalda and her husband to send their children to school as well as buy a house. She is able to provide 12 jobs in the community, and has referred friends and customers to Unlad’s credit program.