The Philippines’ chief salesman? Indeed so. When Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez was appointed in September 2011, his first order of business was to come up with a catchy tagline for the country. Thus, “It’s more fun in the Philippines” was born.
Having vowed to make Philippine tourism the “people’s business,” he likened the country to being “as easy to sell as Chickenjoy.”
Jollibee was, in fact, among Jimenez’s clients; he helped sell the fast-food brand when he was working in advertising.
“Being the DOT secretary is an awesome responsibility, but the responsibility of the job is made easier by the fact that I have such a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives,” adds Jimenez. “It’s not every day that one is given that opportunity.”
The DOT’s sales pitch has been so successful that tourist arrivals in the Philippines reached 4,833,368 by the end of 2014.
After a full day at the office, what makes life fun at home, we ask. “Going home to my wife and our four dogs,” quips Jimenez.
DOGS RULE
On the Sunday Pet Life visited him at his home, we got to meet his furry kids — an Alaskan Malamute named Atka, his wife Abby’s dog Chico, a Westie; his elder daughter Nina’s dog Bobo, a Maltese; and his younger daughter Sassa’s dog Buddy, a Harrier.
“I grew up in a very large family and we always had a dog,” recalls Jimenez. “But, as you know in traditional Filipino families, the dogs were always outside the house. They were mostly aspins.”
Jimenez shares that it was Sassa who first introduced him and his wife to dogs in the house. Sassa owned a Shih-Tzu named Fuji, who passed on at the age of 17.
“My wife Abby and I really, really fell in love with dogs because of our daughters,” says Jimenez. “ When our daughters studied in the States, they left their dogs with us. We had to learn to take care of them. When they came home after studying, they took their dogs back and we became sad.”
Since Jimenez’s daughters opted to live Makati instead of their family home in the south, he and his wife became empty nesters who had to contend with borrowing the dogs on the weekends. But they soon realized that this was not enough, and got their own dogs. That was almost eight years ago.
On one of their trips to the States, Jimenez and Abby decided to buy a dog each. He contacted a friend who put him in touch with an Alaskan Malamute breeder in Ontario, Canada.
“Through correspondence and watching videos, I chose Atka,” he says. “At four months old, they put him on a plane — para akong bumili ng business-class ticket! — to get here.”
Jimenez discovered that since there are no real quarantine facilities for animals in the Philippines, he was asked to quarantine his Alaskan Malamute. He signed a waiver promising that, with the possibility of a spot inspection, the dog would not leave his house for 14 days.
Atka, which means “warrior” in Eskimo, has been with Jimenez since he was four months old. The same is true for Abby’s Westie Chico (“little boy”), who was imported from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“In Sao Paulo, Chico boarded a KLM flight to Amsterdam,” added Jimenez. “Magaling ang KLM, they walked the dog around the airport before they boarded him on the plane again from Amsterdam to Manila.”
Buddy is a Harrier that daughter Sassa took from a home that could no longer care for him.
Bobo, an 11-year-old Maltese, was born in San Francisco and lived with other daughter Nina. When Nina came back to Manila, Bobo came with her.
WEEKENDS ARE FOR DOGS
On the Sunday that we were at the Jimenez home, the couple, the four dogs, the house help and the gardener had just arrived from Batangas.
“We like to go for rides,” said Jimenez. “On weekends, all four of them go for car rides. It is a very big treat for Abby and me to go out with the dogs whenever we can.”
Jimenez proudly related that “pinagkakaguluhan sila.” They used to go to the Fort every weekend but can no longer do that because there are too many people now on weekends.
“For Atka, it became a nightmare,” he says. “He would be walking down and everyone wanted to have a photo with him. Walking with Atka is like walking down the street with a Taylor Swift — people would really follow us and Atka doesn’t like people taking pictures of him.”
So the couple has started to take their furry kids to Tagaytay or somewhere outside Alabang, like Filinvest. But taking four dogs of various sizes and breeds is a major operation. “Abby and I can’t do it by ourselves,” Jimenez says, “so we travel as a posse — the helpers, our gardener, Abby and the dogs and me.”
The Jimenez posse is always the center of attention wherever it goes, largely because of the four radically different dogs. Everyone wants to meet the dogs.
“Magkapatid ho sila?” is a question often asked.
“Opo,” says Jimenez. “They are brothers from different families.”
I ask how far they’ve traveled with their dogs, and he says the farthest is Quezon by car. “But Chico has ridden a boat. He has gone to Alabat Island. Chico loves to swim; he is like a kid. We put on his life vest and he goes straight into the sea.”
When they went to Gumaca, they made two stops at large parking lots. “We enjoy our stops because we are like the ambassadors of goodwill. There are many people who enjoy seeing us and the dogs. That’s nice,” he adds.
Jimenez’s van is a Town and Country, which has seats that fold in, making it look like a delivery van. “It is always like we are with kids,” he says. “When they are in the car and like the music that is played, they also howl along. They are our babies.”
ATKA’S DAD
“Look at Daddy,” says Jimenez to Atka as he demonstrates just how well-behaved Atka is. “I am Atka’s alpha. He obeys me.”
Jimenez adds that he is lucky that his security guard at home loves Atka so much he even takes care of him while Jimenez is away. In fact, Jimenez feels the guard is closer to Atka.
“I am really his dad, ganun ang relationship namin,” Jimenez says. “I started training him from the day he arrived. Every day when I see him, we go through the same obedience training. And, if I miss it tonight, I have to do it tomorrow.”
Because of Atka’s size, training is necessary. He has to follow commands, even if Jimenez’s back is turned.
The relationship with Chico the Westie is different. “The joy of owning a Westie is that we are always saying no. ‘Chico, no, Chico, no,’ because Westies are so willful.”
But he adds that Chico is very malambing. He sleeps beside them at night and doesn’t leave Abby’s side.
BoBo, the most affectionate of all the dogs, can sleep anywhere. And Buddy, who is the newest in the household, is the quietest.
“We are very fortunate that our entire household loves dogs,” says Jimenez. “Our helpers love our dogs more than we do.”
They hold a quarterly ice cream party in the house and the four dogs get vanilla soft-serve ice cream. “This is their biggest treat,” quips their owner. “The dogs wait for it once every two months. When I say, ‘Who wants ice cream?’ nasa ‘wants’ pa lang, nagwawala na sila. They come running to me. Chico always ends up finishing his first and then he eats the leftovers of Bobo, because he never finishes his. Atka and Buddy, of course, finish theirs.”
BETTER DOG
“I started training Atka from the day he arrived. I am Atka’s alpha, also his Dad. He obeys me,” says Jimenez. Photos by FERNAN NEBRES
Jimenez is a silent partner at Better Dog, run by Jojo Isorena. “I don’t understand the school at all, but I just love being there. Like most dog lovers, I love just sitting around watching the dogs — hindi ako naiinip. And, of course, we are very proud because Better dog is unique in the Philippines.”
Better dog, on Pasong Tamo (Chino Roces Ave.), is a canine behavior center. It is an institution that helps people learn how to enjoy their dogs. Jimenez likes to say that it is the humans that learn how to live with their dogs. The dogs just continue to be themselves.
“Better Dog is a place where dogs learn to enjoy their humans,” he says. “The human learns to enjoy being with the dog, whether that activity is watching TV or sitting in a coffee shop.”
Jimenez is proud of what Better Dog has done for pet owners in the country. “We have one of the best, if not the best, hotel facilities for dogs. Before Better Dog, a lot of the expats always had a problem because they did not want to leave their dogs in their homes when they were going on leave. Now they have a place to take them.”
But many of the dogs get attached to Better Dog when they stay for a month, much like a child going on the best camping trip. They get used to walking together with other dogs, and when their expat humans return, they go back to being the only dogs in the house.
“Sometimes I go to Better Dog just to watch how excited a dog that boarded in Better Dog is when he gets to make a visit,” added Jimenez. “The dog will go directly to the hotel and greet everyone he sees. It’s as if all his best buds are there.”
BEAUTIFUL CREATURE
Most people who own dogs say that they are loving, but Jimenez’s love for Atka begins because Atka is a “beautiful creature.”
“He really makes my life much more beautiful,” the tourism secretary says. “Of course, there is the affection. All our dogs are very affectionate.”
“Who are easier to handle, people or dogs?” we ask.
“Dogs will always be easier to discipline than kids,” Jimenez says. “Raising our dogs is like raising an apo. We have only one obligation; it’s just all love naman.”
Five things about you that only your dogs know
1. I think my dogs know me more when I am happy because most, if not all, of the time that I am with them, that’s what I am.
2. They probably know my scent better than anybody else.
3. I think they have memorized my voice.
4. They know the way I walk.
5. They know that I am perfectly capable of loving more than just them. They accept it, but not necessarily agree to it all the time. They can get jealous.
The Philippines is for pet lovers
If you were to recommend a destination to foreigners who are pet lovers, what would this be?
I think most of the highly developed resort areas will always have a place for pet lovers. Most of our cities have a lot of pet lovers and therefore a lot of pet facilities, vets, grooming shops. You will find grooming shops all over southern Luzon, as far as Naga.
The majority of tourists are not comfortable with pets. It is not because our hospitality establishments are not prepared; it is because people are not prepared to share their space with pets. We are trying to develop pet-friendly rules, which we already have but which the hospitality facilities will have to decide on their own.
Is the Philippine market ready for tourists with pets?
There are a lot of restaurants in the Philippines that will not accept pets. In fact, some of the most popular coffee shops accept pets only if they have outdoor facilities, which is good.
Part of the development is the training of pet owners. There are pet owners who go out and are not prepared to clean up after their pets. When we take out dogs out, we always have plastic or newspapers so we can clean up after our pets.
The reason a lot of pet owners get a bad name is because they go out and do not clean up after their pets. If the pet owners are responsible, establishments don’t mind that. There has to be an ongoing educational program so that pet owners are also responsible pet owners, so that people who don’t like pets will not disapprove of a pet’s presence.
There are establishments or malls that allow pets up to a certain size only — in SM Malls, Ayala Malls, and Power Plant Mall — so long as the dog is carried, it can enter the mall.
Can the Philippines become a pet-friendly destination?
Yes, because we are very affectionate people. There are many grooming places, pet shops and people are spending more and more time with their pets. A lot of the new property developments like Nuvali are now pet-friendly. Also, more and more people in the Philippines have started owning pets. This is a sign that pet ownership is something that is not a passing fancy, but is here to stay.
We have to manage our pet developments very well and our standards have to be very high.
Pet ownership is a function of the expansion of the middle class. One of the economic indicators is pet ownership. When there is a rise in pet ownership and pet businesses, then we know for sure that the middle class is expanding.
There are families without children, but if they have money they will get a dog. Or they have a child and he is looking for a sibling, so they will get a dog. It involves money. They have kids, but if the kids are bored, they will get a dog. You need to be middle class to be able to respond to those needs, because there is a cost.
And for as long as the middle class continues to expand — more so because there are more one-child or two-children families — there will be more pets and pet facilities.