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Miguel "Mike" C. Bolos, Jr |
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Debiting Luck & Crediting Perseverance
While most OFWs invest on jeepneys and sari-sari stores or migrate to the ‘West’ or ‘Down Under’, one man dared to head back home and braved to make it big in the local enterprise.
His success was more than a work of a fairy godmother or winning in a game of fortune. Apart from being a hardworking individual, he has a gift—recognizing a wise investment when he sees one. Believe it or not, Miguel “Mike” Cayanan Bolos, Jr. was ‘one of us’ for 25 fruitful years. Until he decided to retire, go back to the Philippines and reinvented himself to become one of the most promising OFW-turned-entrepreneur in the country.
CRUNCHING DIGITS
Sticking with numbers did him well; very well, actually. A son of then fish distributor Gliceria and carpenter Miguel Bolos Sr., young Mike got an early start in commerce. Aside from taking part in the family business, he engaged in part-time jobs in order to sustain his education. His valedictorian award from Betis National High School in his hometown Guagua, Pampanga became his passport to the University of Sto. Tomas where he took a business course. However, his schedule as a working student prompted him to transfer to the University of the East where he graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in the late 70’s.
Compared to his contemporaries, Mike was likewise ahead when it comes to his family life. This early responsibility prompted his move to leave the country in 1980, shortly after he passed the CPA boards.
PROBABILITY AND ACCOUNTING
The odds of Mike ending up abroad are more by accident than design. “My working in Saudi Arabia was serendipity. It was my younger brother who was supposed to go abroad but he was a victim of illegal recruitment. I went after the recruiters and they ended up sending me abroad instead of my brother,” he says. Mike was assigned as an accountant in a travel agency two years before he joined General Arabian Medical & Allied (GAMA) Services Ltd. which proved to be a quick route up the ladder. For the next two years, he was promoted from senior accountant to manager.
Yes, a twist of fate brought him to the Middle East but there’s nothing coincidental about his success. Apart from being a Certified Public Accountant in the Philippines, he was likewise able to obtain the same eligibility in the United States. His unlimited pursuit of knowledge is mainly ignited by his inclination to reading. His thriving investment in the US stock market is attributed by his self-acquired knowledge in its schemes. His patience and keen understanding molded him to develop his savoir faire in whatever circumstance that comes his way. And after being a committed finance executive in GAMA Services Ltd. He retired as corporate assistant comptroller, one of the highest-paid Filipino in the Kingdom, Mike decided to continue the Philippines the life he left behind 25 years back.
JEWEL IN THE ‘CROWNE’
With savings far more than covering the rainy days and a potential career awaiting him in the United States, his patriotism urged him to return to his home country June of 2005. But he did not just come with several balikbayan boxes and dollars for his relatives’ delight; he came with a promise to his countrymen. He started with a business close to his heart—a SPA Salon. “I got into the Spa business because I like going to Spas whenever I am back home on vacation in the Philippines when I was still working in Saudi Arabia. As such, I have somehow gained knowledge of the industry which I applied to the business to make it work. It took me a while to make it profitable. Maintaining quality that keeps the customers coming back in spite of the numerous competitors that have sprung up around us is a constant struggle. That I am able to provide a decent job to at least twenty people that enable them to earn enough to stay put in the country is my greatest success.” True enough, Bay Spa (strategically located along the Diosdado Macapagal Highway, near SM Mall of Asia) provided work for 20 masseuses who are merely high school graduates but are now given the chance to earn as much as Php 20,000 a month from tips and commissions. These individuals would have ended up working abroad as domestic helpers had they not been employed at the Spa. With the help of Mr. Bolos, they were able to stay put in the country and be with their families—a privilege which Mr. Bolos redeemed with his working years away from home.
His aim to bring livelihood to his fellow Filipinos didn’t end there. In 2007, he opened the One Crowne Plaza—a three-storey mini-mall; conceivably his most ambitious and big ticket project specially established for the purpose of opening doors to OFWs who plan to put up their own businesses and locals who are searching for worthwhile source of revenue. “At the very least they are providing employment to a number of people and serving as catalysts in stimulating economic activities in the community,” says Mike referring to the opportunities waiting to be tapped with his new undertaking. Situated at the heart of Guagua business district, the One Crowne Plaza (distinctly adopting the British word ‘crowne’ and Middle Eastern feel with its infrastructure) is now a prominent edifice signifying the hard work we all succumb into in the Middle East. The mall also houses Mike’s franchises of 7-eleven Convenience Store and Netopia Internet Café. Aside from these big names, he has other businesses that are still in their infancy and remains to be seen if they’ll be able to reach the same success.
THE OVERSEAS ‘PINOY’
Back in the Saudi Arabia, he was one of the conveners of the International Coalition of Overseas Filipinos’ Voting Rights in Riyadh that advocated for the absentee voting right. Since he is more financially rewarded and was able to enjoy the fine things in life than most of his compatriots, he obliged himself to be of help to his fellow OFWs who are in distress.
He was a member of the V-Team, an OFW rights advocate, and Pusong Mamon Task Force, an organization that provides immediate assistance in various forms to distress OFWs in Riyadh where he stayed most of his 25 years in the Kingdom.
Now that he is back in the Philippines, he is an advocate for various ‘wiser’ investments. He was one of those who proposed to sell the NAIA Terminal 3 to the overseas Filipinos once the Supreme Court has passed their decision on its appeal. “It is a tangible project that an overseas Filipino can easily understand and identify with, being the last place that sticks to mind upon a person’s departure for foreign lands and the first place that one sets foot on, upon his return. Other than that, it is psychologically perfect because of the feeling of ownership that goes through the mind and the senses as one passes through its portals,” as mentioned in his ‘The Overseas Filipinos Hold the Key’ statement on April 2005. Another project of the same nature that he is looking into is the United Coconut Planters Bank whose ownership was recently adjudged in favor of the government. “The NAIA Terminal 3 and the UCPB are just two in an endless list of possibilities where the enormous potential of overseas Filipinos’ capital can be deployed to generate economic activities that will lead to other economic activities the economic benefits of which will trickle down to a greater number of beneficiaries and will remain in the country rather than be repatriated abroad if the said projects are sold to foreigners instead.”
For us who stayed behind, he would like to share the formula for his success. No, it doesn’t require solving equations and balancing figures. “Being an OFW, we are in most part given an opportunity to improve our situation in life in many aspects. We should make the most out of it and learn whatever there is that we can learn. We should not squander the opportunity presented to us and we should also keep in mind that one day soon we will go back home for good,” he advices. When we do something, we have to do it well. We ought not to waste time on doing nothing because there will always be something we can do. As Filipinos, he believes that it is innate in us to achieve great things because we are good in whatever we do due to our nurturing attitude. When asked whether the overseas Pinoy is at par with the other foreign expats in terms of work, talents and skills, Mike’s answer is short but sweet: “Definitely at par if not better.”
Article by:
Nikki Famador
Star Studio Magazine, Middle East Edition, March 2008
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