AT TIENDESITAS along C-5 near Ortigas Avenue, parking becomes a problem especially at dinnertime on weekends. Filipino families, balikbayans, and tourists flock to this shopping and entertainment village to buy locally made items (handicrafts, clothes, and more) and to eat.

The choices are varied—you can have sisig, inasal, bibingka, Cebu lechon, tuna panga, kare-kare and more at the many stalls and restaurants. At the Activity Center, there is even a cultural dance presentation, with dancers showing off the traditional dances of the Igorots, Tagalogs, Visayans and Muslims.

Recently, there seems to be a boom in restaurants specializing in Filipino cuisine in the country. On the fine dining and casual dining side, we have Abe and Fely J of the LJC Group; Chef Laudico’s Bistro Filipino at the Fort; Travel Café Philippines, Café Bola, and Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt; Adarna on Kalayaan Avenue in Quezon City; KKK at SM North Edsa Annex and Mall of Asia; Serye in Parañaque and Quezon City Circle; Pamana in Tagaytay; and so much more. On the fast-food side, Davao Tuna Grill is attracting loyal diners.
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THERE REALLY is no easy way to break somebody’s heart (just ask James Ingram and all the sawi sa pag-ibig right now), and this is true too in the corporate world.

My balikbayan friend from the US was just telling me last Sunday how her friend, also a Pinay, agonized going to work every day at Lehman Brothers before the big collapse, not knowing if she would still have a job the next day. I also heard of another friend who worked at a California bank which has closed shop last year, and yes, it is hard to be told you just lost your job.

But just as it is so heartbreaking to be told you have been fired or have lost your job through no fault of your own, it is equally, if not more, heartbreaking to be the boss having to decide a subordinate’s fate and tell him about it.
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WITH THE expected slowdown in the Philippine economy this year as confirmed by the International Monetary Fund, entrepreneurs are finding ways to deal with the global financial crisis.

“When the economy is down, nobody spends,” says Karat World top man Felix Gorriceta III. The times thus call for streamlining of inventory. “Stock up on what sells. We don’t experiment much on new merchandise, which we had the luxury of doing so before,” he says.

At publishing company Adarna House, Emelina Almario, president, shares these strategies:
1. Streamline business processes. “We are auditing current business processes and looking at ways to improve them in terms of cutting costs.”
2. Manage risks. “Our various sales channels present different levels and types of risks and we are also looking into these.”
3. Practice prudence with resources. This goes for “electricity, paper and gas (even the small things count!).”
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I WAS buying a loaf of bread from the bakeshop on the way home today. After I picked my choice loaf and added a small tub of herb cream cheese to go with it, I fell in line. Well what do you know, two big men came in, grabbed a couple of chocolate soy milk and some bread, and plopped them all on the counter.

So when the guy ahead of me finished paying for his purchase, I stepped up and stopped the cashier from punching in the two big men’s purchases. I came in first and lined up first, I said, so isn’t it just fair that I be served first?

I know it may sound like just a petty little thing, but I don’t know if I’m incensed more at the fact that the cashier didn’t notice who’s next in queue, or that chivalry is dead.
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RECENT CHATS with family and friends based abroad revealed that one of the foremost things in the minds of most people these days is how the crisis is affecting us. My friend Sean based in Australia asked me if it is true that companies based here in the Philippines are laying off people. Another friend, Cheryl based in the US, wanted to know how the Philippine economy is doing.

On the other hand, we here in the Philippines are curious to know how life is abroad. My sister based in the US reported that home stores are closing, and car dealerships are not doing well. Publishing companies abroad are discontinuing titles. On the other hand, my friend Nenette said her brother-in-law in the US is not affected by the crisis—since he is in the auto repair business, business is booming with lesser people buying cars and more people just opting to have their old cars repaired. Health care is not as hit by other industries because, well, people get sick whether or not there is a crisis.

Entrepreneurs are coping with the global financial crisis in their own ways wherever they may be. Rossana Llenado, president Ahead Learning Systems, Inc., the company behind Ahead Tutorial and Review Center in the Philippines, reveals they are very much aware of what is happening, but are not quite as frazzled about the crisis as most. “We try to remain as optimistic as possible, always searching for the silver lining behind the dark clouds. I remind my staff that we had already been in this kind of situation during the Asian financial crisis so I am very confident that we will be able to weather this storm. We recall what we learned in the past and apply those lessons in the present situation. I’ll make sure as well that we all learn more from this experience,” she says.
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