A life within one's means

CEBU, Philippines - There is plenty of lessons to learn in the farms of Cagayan de Oro  the real Farmville where one can harvest not only physical produce but values, as well, to last a lifetime. Ceferino "Archie" Achivida, his father's farmhand, connects to the wisdom of the old: Fields that turn to gold start with a small grain on a small parcel. So, "never be afraid to start small" becomes his guiding principle.

This writer is a living witness to how, in seven years, he has nurtured his freight forwarding company in Mandaue City to flourish to what it is today. He would wake up early, cook a homemade meal to bring to work so he wouldn't be spending much. He said that to be a good steward of your finances, you must deduct the savings first from your net income. Then, your budget would work within what's available. "If unsay mabilin, kana na maoy imong i-spend. Don't ever spend beyond what you can earn kay malubong gyod ka ana sa problema," he said.

As he grew up in the farm, he knows how precious money is. "I used to make cakes from root crops and fry sweet potatoes to sell. This sustained schooling kay wala man ko mo-give up on schooling even if my parents told me they did not have the means to send me properly to school," he recalled.

"I had already foreseen it that an unschooled gay would be more discriminated in many places. Nya bayot pa ko, di pa gyod ko kahuman. So I said to myself, I must graduate," he added.

But life proves to be very pleasant still to this kind fellow. Despite a school life which sent him crying a river of tears triggered by agonizing moments and miserable situations, his on-the-job training at the Cagayan de Oro branch of the Social Security System opened wide opportunities.

"I couldn't even figure it out now how I survived reporting to work sans pocket money. Mobaklay ra man sad ko sa una. Naanad man ta’s bukid molakaw. So the training went on for months nga wala gyod ko’y allowance. Pero I had to endure. I told myself I had to start small. There will always be an opportunity, and it would come in the most opportune time."

Indeed, a boss spotted him and had only high praises for him. "She told me they saw how patient I was. How determined I was to learn from them. Wala daw ko’y reklamo. Dili pod ko sapoton. Naluoy kuno sila nako and so later on, I was provided a stipend."

In Manila, while he was applying for a job in line with the proverbial greener pasture, he had to stay with a relative. It was the hardest part of the struggle because he had to please the entire family by sharing in household chores and finances.

"Maikog man sad ta. So instead nga makapahuway ka gikan sa work, magbantay pa kag tindahan. Magbantay pa kag bata."

However, he had to look at the positive side to things, as unlike the rest who had a hard time looking for jobs, his initial attempt got him a position in a firm as a bookkeeper. "Bookkeeping man ang akong area sa OJT, so during the interview and written exam – handling of accounts, booking of accounts on sales and expenses, ingon ana. May mga questions which I answered pretty well, dawat dayon ko."

Archie started with P900 a month in 1986. "As a bookkeeper, this particular lesson in life taught me to handle my finances well. I would divide my salary according to the amount I had to pay for utilities. So I had small envelops where I would set aside money for rental, for water, for electricity, etcetera."

He never indulged in any night life. "There was the urge, of course, kay daghan na pod tag friends didto. But I had to restrain myself because I was keen to developing projects out of the money I would be saving."

He sought a better post in his next job stint as audit assistant in a construction company. For 15 years, he handled various accounts from mining, to construction, to trading and warehousing for a boss whose family-friend treatment made him stay from the 1990s to the surge of the new millennium.

His decision to leave was hastened when his boss got implicated in a controversial road rage incident in the 90s where the victim was the daughter of a high-profile family. "Nahadlok ko nga ang media would later on pry into the books of my boss. Nya ipatawag kog inquiry ba, nya parehas anang naa sa TV karon nga imbis in aid of legislation, in aid of humiliation na hinoon." So he applied for a post at a freight forwarding company seeking personnel willing to be assigned here in Cebu.

“As an auditor, I ran into documents containing discrepancies so na-shock ang boss sa Manila. There was a loss of income worth P400,000. I didn't mean to hurt the branch manager though. I was just taking my job – to heart. Later on, the Manila office opted to replace my boss. I was the replacement," Archie revealed with a sheepish smile.

Archie thinks that aside from having the gift of proper management of finances, discerning what should be his priority is another precious gift of learning from the ways of the farm. "I thought of starting my own freight forwarding business then, but I felt I had to study more the risks para kamao ko mo-manage and para I would be flexible in handling crises, of sorts. Kumbaga, calculated risks."

So, he again started small.

As a witness, I was one of his former ka-boardmate who saw how his cramped-up room (merely a 10 feet by 15 feet space) would metamorphose into his workstation equipped with a telephone doubling as fax machine, a filing cabinet, a makeshift receiving area, an industrial fan, and two errand boys as helpmates.

"Di man wise move if mo-rent kog building space pa kay mas dako ang rental sa building kaysa income mosulod. So, I had to convert my rented room into an office. I told myself, there will always be better days after this. Some things may appear to be very difficult to pursue, but not impossible," he said, now with a big laugh. 

For seven years now, he has demonstrated assertiveness in carving a name for Quiksilver Freight International Services the "most trustworthy, reliable, and dependable, on top of prominence, stability, dynamism and the strong performance to deliver." Beginning with three people manning the intricacy of the operations, Quiksilver has grown to provide 15 people with real-work environment experience wherein the desire to serve "quick as a lightning" is superseded by optimum efficiency.

Archie is not keen on competing. He said he has done well by considering mergers, tie-ups, diplomatic ties with other vital industries. "Di pwede makigkompetensiya kay gamay ra ang sector, kaila mi tanan. I would rather build bridges than walls," he said. "I seek to continue upholding a spirit of interdependence among varied sectors moving the economy to grind, and the enthusiasm to learn more through further exposures to logistics solution. The Filipino's resiliency and the instinct to survive will continue to serve as our model on a global scale as to how to properly face adversity and adversary." (FREEMAN)