1. One of my friends from the business community added me to their Viber group. They are very cautious in joking about the present administration unlike before, ang dami nilang Erap jokes, Korina jokes, Binay jokes and Pnoy jokes. Ngayon they are careful kasi baka daw kainitan sila. Some of them advised it’s better nowadays to either stay abroad or stay home.
One of them is moving his headquarters to Florida where his family has been keeping a house and some rental apartments since the 90s. His office, according to him, need not be in Manila. The internet, Facetime, teleconference, etc. allow him to manage off-site. Since he has another office in HK, he thinks it will not affect his business because the bulk of his business is coming from China and exporting to the US and Canada. He’s into garments.
2. Their food business is growing leaps and bounds. Although they are American citizens, their whole family lives in Manila. They like the neighborhood, the comforts, the festive spirit of Filipinos. of course their business is thriving. However, after the 100 days of Duterte, they forced their one and only child (daughter) to study abroad for their peace of mind. She likes to go out at night and the parents are worried that it could no longer be safe. She wouldn’t listen to them to stay home so they decided it would be best for her to live abroad till it’s safer in Manila.
3. Mr. S is considered semi-retired because his eldest son is now the one managing the day to day operations of their trading business. They import LED lights from Taiwan and HK and distribute to the Philippines. He and his wife spends more time traveling to all parts of the world, but mostly in Asia. They hate long hauls so their trips are limited to Hongkong, Singapore, Taipei, Bangkok and once in a while Japan. When in Manila, they just stay home except when going to church. Since their house is in San Juan, the only place they go to is Greenhills Commercial Center. They are in their mid 70s and I think they should not worry that the tokhang officers will accuse them of peddling drugs. Alangan naman pagbintangan sila na drug addicts.
Stay home, Be safe.
