Frugality, hard work pay off for 'Tipid-Sulit Idol'

MANILA, Philippines - Before she was 10, she started working as a house helper because her family was poor. She persevered, seeing herself through school and earning the trust and admiration of her employers as well. Today, she owns and runs the only buntal craft business in Bulacan and is a respected member of the Baliuag community.

For being an inspiration to others, Rosario “Rosie” Decasa got the highest overall score in the nationwide search for the Talk ‘N Text Tipid-Sulit Idol. She showed how making the most of one’s limited resources can lead to a better life.

Frugality, hard work, ingenuity, perseverance - these are the traits that the telecommunications brand wants to promote, says Perry Bayani, its marketing head. The search for “tipid-sulit idols” was held in celebration of the company’s 10th anniversary.

The young Rosie worked in the household of a wealthy childless couple. She was assigned to dusting furniture, a task she did attentively, knowing that her mistress was a stickler for cleanliness. She also cleared the manicured lawns of leaves. 

In addition, she accompanied her employers to Mass every day - at 4 a.m. She often dozed off in church, she mentions lightheartedly. But she carried on, never complaining.

In her teens, she kept to a house-school-house routine, spending her free time studying instead of socializing.

Around this time, she started to learn about buntal craft, her employers’ business. The husband inherited it from his grandfather, who started it in 1920.

Rosie learned to weave hats. Her employers, whom she called Ate Ester and Kuya Joaquin, would also take her along to the town plaza every market day when they traded with individual weavers, selling raw materials and buying finished products for export.    

Being a trustworthy servant, she was treated like the couple’s own daughter.

In 1974, when Kuya Joaquin died, Ate Ester made Rosie industrial partner of the buntal business, entitling her to 50 percent from every shipment.

Then in 1987, Ate Ester succumbed to bone cancer.   

Rosie not only lost both her “adoptive” parents, she was also faced with a dilemma. She was aware of the challenges of running the business by herself, but she also knew that the workers would end up jobless if the business shut down.

“It took about a year before I decided to continue the business,” says Rosie, who used her own savings and whatever materials were left by the previous owners to get production going again.

With the modest resources, she could only afford to rehire 20 weavers initially. With 100 percent of the capitalization coming from her, Rosie had to find ways to save on expenses like scouting for less expensive raw materials.      

Her tipid-sulit ways extended to her personal lifestyle. She shopped only for essentials, even though she could afford a little luxury now and then because she also had a regular income as employee at the Baliuag municipality. She remained faithful to her “Mag-ipon muna” motto.

Her first “car” was a jeep, which she later replaced with a secondhand van. She could have bought an expensive car but she put the money instead into the business. (Now she has a 2009 Mitsubishi Adventure.)

Today, hers is the only buntal business in Bulacan, employing some 500 weavers. She supplies the Tesoro’s chain and exports hats to Australia. Her clientele includes the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Philippine Military Academy. She also participates in trade fairs.

“It’s tough to manage this kind of business,” Rosie concedes. “From the sourcing of the materials, to the delegation of work to the weavers — it all contributes to the never-ending challenge of this business.” The survival of Bulacan’s buntal industry depends a lot on Rosie and her workers.

As demand grows, so does the need for workers. Fortunately, she can infuse additional capital using her P100,000 cash prize.

Life has significantly improved for the now widowed 55-year-old mother of five, whose hard work not only put her through college (she is a BS Commerce graduate), but also helped finance the education of her eight siblings. Today, she stays with her children in the house she and her late husband built in 1987. The family also owns three hectares of rice fields.

But what Rosie finds fulfillment in most of all is being able to help improve the lives of others, her workers in particular. She also conducts trainings for women’s organizations in remote barangays and out-of-school youth.

“Some of my weavers were with me during the Talk ‘N Text awarding, and when my name was called, they started crying tears of joy,” she exclaims.

The other individual winners of Talk ‘N Text Tipid-Sulit Idol are Ana Maria Bacudio of Singalong, Manila; Jovito Uy of Calapan City; Leonarda Dicdican of Cebu; and Vilma Bonifacio of Sultan Kudarat.

The winning communities, each receiving P200,000 cash, are Kabalikat Para sa Diyos at Bayan Cooperative (KAD-BAYAN) of Odiongan, Romblon; Damayan Barangay Tangos Inc. of Baliuag, Bulacan; Mindanao-based Books-4-Guns Project; and Kumpas Kapatiran Upang Maglingkod sa Bayan of Taguig City.