Sun Cellular powers one of the largest chains of blind massage clinics

MANILA, Philippines - From a mere capital of P8,000, VIBES Massage has grown to become one of the biggest massage chains in the country with 45 branches nationwide.

Its founders, Dante Tiosan and Angelino Pangan, said they decided to establish the business to provide an opportunity for their fellow visually impaired. BothTiosan and Pangan are fully blind.

“There is no comprehensive program available for the employment of the disabled. After undergoing free training from the government, many still find it hard to land a decent job. This is why we decided to put up VIBES,” Tiosan says.

VIBES stands for Visually Impaired Brotherhood for Excellent Services. Their initial capital was derived from money earned through Christmas caroling. 

Starting with a staff of just eight massage therapists in Harrison, Pasay City, 18 years ago, they now have over 450 massage therapists employed all over the country. “We do not only provide livelihood for the blind here in Metro Manila, we also give opportunities to any visually impaired person in key cities and provinces where there is a market for our services,” Pangan says.

As their chain of massage shops continue to grow, communication remains vital in their business. “Sun Cellular addresses that need for us. We are visually impaired so we are not as mobile as our sighted counterparts and competitors. Teleconferencing and phone conversations are ideal for us. At least we don’t need to rush our conversations because we are subscribed to the unlimited services of Sun,” Tiosan explains.

They find Sun Cellular’s services perfect for receiving calls for home or office massage services. “We are especially happy with the Sun Double Unlimited Service, which allows our clients with landlines to call us, and vice versa. Now we can give our customers the option of getting in touch with us either via landline or mobile, and the same goes for our inter-office communication,” Tiosan shares. VIBES claims that they save up to more than half of what they used to spend in their communication needs given that the whole chain is now connected to Sun. “Our massage therapists and support staff are also equipped with their own Sun Prepaid lines,” Tiosan adds.

Interestingly, members of VIBES can also send and receive text messages. How is that possible? Tiosan relates how they have tapped a software application that allows the blind to use Short Message Service in their cellphones. The software reads aloud text messages (down to each letter typed), and address book content, and dictates to the user anything done with the phone like what particular menu one is navigating, or which profile is displayed on the screen.

“All our phones are equipped with this software, which has helped us make the most of Sun’s services,” Pangan says. 

Founders Tiosan and Pangan say they established VIBES to provide job opportunities to their fellow visually impaired.

Sun Cellular is just happy to be part of VIBES’ success. “We take pride in not only helping struggling businesses grow, but also in empowering people to be productive members of society,” shares Ricky Pena, Sun Cellular’s senior vice president for Postpaid, New Business and LEC Marketing. “This is an inspiration for us to continue providing greater opportunities for other entrepreneurs to grow their business without having to worry about high communication costs, while ensuring a good source of livelihood for their employees.”

VIBES Massage branches can be found in leading Metro Manila malls, and airports such as the Manila Domestic Airport and Puerto Princesa Airport in Palawan. It has recently opened new branches in Cybermall Eastwood, SM City Muntinlupa, and SM City Masinag.