By Daisy C L Mandap
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| The 'punong barangay' with husband Rex and their two children |
In the six years that she had worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong, starting her own business and being in public service were never far from the mind of 36-year-old Janice Morales de Pablo.
In
the first place, she and her former college sweetheart and now husband, Rex de Pablo, already had a clear idea of what business they wanted to set up. For
another, she had always done something to help fellow residents of her hometown of Batuan in
Balasan, Iloilo.
Long
before she set out to work in Hong Kong in 2007, aged just 23, Janice was
already deep into community work, having served as Sangguaniang Kabataan
chairman in Batuan and vice president of the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation
President in Balasan, a fourth class municipality.
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Her
father, who worked as a carpenter and tricycle driver, was also a three-term
barangay captain in Batuan, a role that her younger brother Dino also took on
for a while, until he decided to become a fulltime police officer.
Thus,
when the question came up as to who should next occupy the post, Janice, though
heavily pregnant, became the natural choice, not only of her family but the
other elders in their barangay.
“Sabi
kasi ng mga tao, ang daming naiwan na magandang legacy ang tatay ko. At saka bata
pa daw ako at aktibo kaya marami pa akong magagawa para sa barangay,”
Janice said. (People said my father left a lot of good legacies. Also, they
said I was still young and active so I could still do a lot for our barangay).
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It
thus came to pass that she ran unopposed for the post of punong barangay in 2018.
But
that is just part of what Janice has achieved since returning to Iloilo in
September 2013. With Rex, whom she married two years earlier, she started not
just a family, but also a company that they had long dreamed about.
Janice
says the company which they called 21 Designs Printing Services, was one of the
reasons she decided to work abroad, and grab an opportunity to join the Ateneo Leadership and Social
Entrepreneurship course in Hong Kong.
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“Lagi akong matamlay noon kasi gusto kong
magkaroon ng additional learning. Kaya nung mabasa ko sa The SUN ang tungkol sa
LSE ay agad akong nag-apply,” she says. “At yung 21 Designs ay produkto ng paggabay sa akin ng The SUN publisher
Leo A. Deocadiz bilang mentor ko sa LSE.”
(I
was listless then because I wanted to have additional learning. Thus, when I
read about LSE in The SUN, I immediately applied. And 21 Designs was the
product of the guidance I received from The SUN publisher Leo A. Deocadiz, who was
my LSE mentor).
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| A treasured photo of Janice's Ateneo LSE batch graduation |
With capital pooled from their savings and investments from Janice’s father and two siblings, 21 Designs was officially formed in 2018.
But the seed for it started
way before, when Janice and Rex agreed to set up a T-shirt design and printing
business. At the time, Rex was working as an artist for a printing press in
Molo City owned by Rosendo Mejica, a cousin
of former Consul General to Hong Kong and now Ambassador Noel Servigon.
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On
the side, the ever resourceful couple who both have a computer technology
degree, was already doing printing jobs, but needed to raise more
capital to start their own business.
In
2011, armed with newfound confidence in running her own business, Janice went
home to marry Rex. However, she decided to go back to Hong Kong to serve another
two-year contract as they needed more money for their dream business.
When she finally went home for good Janice poured her energy into setting
up the business she and Rex had long worked hard for. In between
having two children who are now six and three years old, the two began building
the company that they now call simply as 21 Designs.
Seven
years hence, the company that is registered in Janice’s name now has a fulltime
staff of five: two artists, one secretary, one machine operator and one t-shirt
printer. Rex acts as chief of operations while Janice and her two siblings who
are also invested in the company handle the finances, marketing and supply
procurement.
From
their initial venture of T-shirt design and printing, they have branched out to
doing car and motorcycle stickers, decals, calendars, shop receipts, risograph
and photocopying. When demand for a certain product drops, especially amid the
pandemic, they shift to doing other services.
By
this time, the couple had decided to move from Molo to a more laidback life in
Balasan, where they have bought their own home and a rice field that has been augmenting
their monthly income.
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| Janice in her souvenir shop in Balasan before it was damaged by Typhoon Ursula |
But
the focus on their own business never waned, so that in no time, their company
acquired a reputation for quality, dependability and good service. It now
counts among its satisfied clients several local government units and agencies
like Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) and companies
like Yamaha and the St. Peter’s group.
Like any other businesses, 21 Designs has had its ups and downs. Surprisingly, the one that devastated it more was not the pandemic, but typhoon Ursula which struck in December 2019, leading to lots of order cancellations, and caused extensive damage to their souvenir shop.
“Mahigit Php100,000 ang talagang nalugi,” Janice says. (We lost more than Php100,00).
Then
came March, and Covid-19 dealt them a further blow with schools canceling
T-shirt orders and other services like printing souvenir programs and
book-binding.
But,
with their innate resilience, Janice and Rex found ways to cope. They took on
other printing jobs, and with his photography skills, Rex even worked as wedding
photographer to generate additional income for their family.
Janice,
on the other hand, embraced public service and has been busy dreaming up and
executing projects for Batuan like installing street lights, buying mono bloc
chairs for the barangay hall, school supplies for children and medicines for
senior citizens, and acquiring a grass cutter and initiating “Regalo sa Basura”
to promote cleanliness.
Most
recently, Batuan bested all barangays in Balasan when it won the Communal
Garden 2020 award initiated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development
to address malnutrition.
The
jobs of running the barangay, helping out in the business and looking after her
children have taken their toll, says Janice, “kaya ang payat ko na.” (That’s why I am so thin now).
But
she has no regrets. Having survived six years working as a domestic helper
abroad, and a longer time setting up a business, starting her family and taking
up public office, there is no doubt she will continue to survive, and thrive.
Her advice to OFWs still dreaming of going back home and starting their own businesses shows her simple secrets to success: “Magsipag at magtiyaga, at siyempre, manalangin din. Kasi iyan ang pinaka powerful sa lahat.” (Work hard and persevere, and of course, pray, because that is the most powerful [weapon] of all).
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