Women OFWs Prop Up Spouses, Business

By MARLENE H. ELMENZO

TAGUIG CITY—WHEN two men here felt a great financial need, they turned to their wives, proving the resourcefulness of Filipino women even when they are indirectly involved in business.
Take Leticia Marrero, for one, who worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong to prevent her husband from selling a lot that he inherited from his parents.
The couple now owns and operates a resort in the Mountain Province, far north of here where they were awarded by a government-backed group for their inspiring business story.
There’s also Didi Dayag who went to Kuwait in 1986 and whose salary she received for working as a nurse there helped build more capital for her husband Eugenio’s cattle business also in the northern Philippine province of Cagayan.
What the two women had in common was having a focus on the reasons for working abroad and their subsequent decision to come back after having achieved their goals.
Dayag, for one, was able to buy eight hectares of rice land aside from supporting her husband’s ranch expansion.
The Dayags now own a fully mechanized plantation with three tractors, a stockroom, and a solar dryer. These allow the couple to manage fourteen hectares of rice farm, forty-three hectares of sugar cane and seventeen hectares of cassava.
They have also ventured into seed growing.
The couple’s business created jobs for around 68 families relying on seasonal farm work for income.
Marrero, on the other hand, was able to augment her husband’s work as postman, ensuring their children graduated college.
The grasping of a bachelor’s degree by her youngest, the last of four children, marked the end of Marrero’s stay in a foreign land.
With her savings worth less than a hundred thousand pesos, her family decided to develop their land into a garden resort with three swimming pools, picnic cottages, a lawn tennis court, a playground, and a convenience store.
It was the first of its kind in the province.
“Masaya ako dahil mayroon konting pinagkakakitaan,” Marrero said. “Pag wala na kami, merong maiiwan para sa mga anak ko na naumpisahan na namin mag-asawa.” (I’m happy we have a steady source of income, however small. At least, we could also leave something to our children when we pass away.)

To read full story, visit the OFWJC Website