Entrepreneur succeds in "pungko-pungko" trade

CEBU, Philippines -  “Bisag ginagmay ra ni among negosyo, ang kita kanunay man,” (Even if our business is small scale, at least we have a regular income), this according to Ricardo Espellarga, a 47-year old vendor.

Espellarga has been into the food business for two decades already. What makes him distinct in such industry is how he sells his products.

Over the years, he started out vending food that were placed inside a basket, then through a pedicab and a tricycle that was eventually transformed to a roving food store through his multicab which is then referred as mobile pungko-pungko.

Pungko is the Cebuano term of “squat” and pungko-pungko is popularly known as a way of eating wherein customers sit on small, low benches along the roadside with a container or several trays containing a variety of dishes on top of the table.

With an initial investment of P500, Espellarga spends P5,000 for his daily capital and earns P800-P1,000 as his profit every day.

He cited that since they do not observe holidays nor day-off, the family-owned business yields an estimated of P30,000 per month.

With his revenues from the business, he was able to invest on a two-story house and two multicabs.

He added that food vending has provided the funds to be spent for his family’s daily consumption, other needs and the education of his children.

Espellarga has two children of which his youngest would finish a nautical degree program by October of this year.

Taking into account that his mobile pungko-pungko would go around Barangay Lahug, he said that he already acquired a business permit from the city hall.

His mobile pungko-pungko would often stay in Salinas Drive, Lahug, Cebu City from 5 PM to 5 AM.

He cited that before call centers became a hit, his customers would include taxi and jeepney drivers, construction workers, and students.

Now, considering his business is situated near Cebu IT Park, a growing number of call center agents would usually flock in his roving food store, thus increasing his sales.

He added that he was thankful for the emergence of the Business Process Outsourcing Industry since most of its employees are his regular customers.

His family serves an estimated of 100 customers every day, he continued.

Espellarga cited that they prefer to stay at night so as not to provide inconvenience for the motorists and add to the traffic jam which is frequently observed at daytime.

His mobile pungko-pungko offers an assorted food selection that includes hard-boiled eggs, ginabot or deep-fried pork intestines, longganisa, hotdogs, fried chicken and pork, crab meat, shrimp, and fried meatballs paired with puso or hanging rice and sauce made of vinegar and sliced onions.

Aside from the variety of affordable dishes that he serves, he also sells cigarettes, candies and softdrinks.

“Naay mga adlaw nga mahurot jud og kahalin tanan namong baligya. Naa sab mga adlaw nga naay mabilin, kasagaran mga duha ka tray sa sud-an. Pero kon daghang pirming salin, di mi magdugay og baynte dos ka tuig kay kami man ma-alkanse,” he told The Freeman. (There are days that everything we have prepared would be sold-out. There are also times that there are left-overs, usually two trays of food. But if we often have left-overs, we would have not stayed in this business for 22 years.)

His multicab also has a huge barrel of water on top to provide water for dishwashing and has large-sized umbrellas prepared for rainy days.

Struggles in such business, he cited, include customers who do not pay for what they ate, irritated customers who cause trouble or fight with them, and customers who use fake money as payment.

He noted that they are not bothered with the competition since they have less rivals in the industry and even encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to venture into pungko-pungko business.

He also admitted that he is pleased to be in such business since he considered being a pungko-pungko vendor better than being an employee.

“An employee would usually receive a fixed amount of salary. And how much is a worker paid nowadays? Normally, it is in minimum rate. Having a business varies how much you earn as an income. There are times you have less profit but mostly, it is higher. At the end of the day, you will make profit.

If I were an employee now, I couldn’t have a car and a house. It’s really a big difference. And with this pungko-pungko business, I am grateful and happy,” Espellarga stated in vernacular.  (FREEMAN)