Corned beef in sachet, anyone?

Did you know 1: There are about 60 applications for restaurant licenses currently being processed by Tagaytay City Hall.

Mind you, the rental rates there aren’t cheap (read: Manila rates).

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Did you know 2: On a weekend, the wash rooms inside the University of Makati are cleaner than those found in Ateneo de Manila University.

Oh, yes, the toilets of this school funded by the local government of Makati flush.

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Did you know 3: A kilo of unbranded powder detergent sells for P59.95 at PriceSmart. The detergent comes in a plastic bag.

If the customer wants the same unbranded detergent in a nicer container, the price goes up to almost P100 – still cheaper than the cost of half a kilo of well-known detergent brands whose early sponsorship of radio dramas (and now, the telenovelas) have kept these soap operas primetime fare.

As everybody knows, the cost of producing a kilo of detergent (inclusive of that fresh, clean fragrance that Filipino consumers like) is only P20.

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Did you know 4: In Davao, corned beef is now being sold in sachet. The retail price is P12 per sachet.

Davao is also the hometown of this funeral parlor, which is franchising the idea of a five-star hotel ambiance for grieving families and their friends.

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Punongbayan & Araullo principal Antonio Herbosa has become an advocate for what he calls the farm model for the Philippine economy. The premise here is that the Philippines should position itself as the supplier or breeder of people with high EQs to the world market.

That means, among other things, a shift in educational focus from liberal arts degrees and management majors to technical-based courses and anything that requires a one-on-one relationship such are caregiving.

Right now, there are an estimated 2.8 million Filipinos working abroad. In 2003 alone, government data showed 867,969 were deployed aboard. During the same year, remittances totaled $7.6 billion, which account for only 70 percent of total money sent back home. (The balance 30 percent does not pass through the banking system).

Because the farm model is basically consumption-driven and budget-conscious, Tony Herbosa has come up with a list of winning businesses to get into right now:

• fast food;

• strip malls and tiangges;

• sachets and tingi-tingi;

• pre-paid cards;

• nursing schools and English tutorials;

• shorter degree courses;

• manpower agencies;

• multi-level marketing;

• midnight madness sales; and

• remittance and reverse migration sales.