⌛ Fact or Fiction

I don't know about this, but maybe I just got lucky, or there is a different work ethic for each region of this country.
I have found that if I need laborers who will work consistently, I have much better luck bringing them in from Mindanao.
I have tried a lot of local "good workers" and all they seem to be interested in is being paid.
We hired a 20 year old Housekeeper from Ozamis and couldn't be happier, she isn't greedy, rude, sloppy or lazy, which is what we ran into in hiring Cebu area laborers.
We also recently found a man in his late 20's to do the body work on our car and all he asked was round trip transportation, meals and P200 a day for 8-10 hours labor popping out dents, puttying them and sanding the whole car.
He sleeps out on a mat in our car port and could sleep on our couch, but he says the carport is better than his home in Mindanao (imagine that!).
He figures there is 3 days worth of work, materials and his transportation included, I expect to have to spend about P3,100 (maybe P400 more for meals) on this job which local workers wanted P5,000 to P10,000 up front before they even got started.
He started yesterday and to my untrained eye, the car looks nearly finished, but I do know there will be a lot more sanding, buffing and fine tuning before it is ready to paint.
Anyway, from now on, I think I will hire people from Mindanao for a while longer, as 2 good hires in a row from there versus 10 bad hires in a row from Cebu seems to be telling me something about local work ethics.
I can't explain the differences in the people from each region, but there is definitely a difference in their attitudes and work ethics as far as I have been able to tell so far.

 

But there are benefits to the extended family!

So that is why there are so many aged americans dying lonely in "retirement homes," their children are too busy to care for them avoiding starvation and the big freeze.

 

The only old folks I know of dying in nursing homes are those that the doctor says are too unhealthy or unstable to be taken care of at home.
My 84 year old Father lives with my sister and if his home health care worker and nurse say he is not able to receive adequate care at home, he will also go to a nursing home (as per my Father's own wishes).
Maybe some families take advantage of the "babysitting" services nursing homes offer, but most really are there as per doctor's orders.
Not to argue, but I think you might be a bit misinformed due to the fact you say so many die in nursing homes there.
My mother died at home under the watchful eye of my Father and my sister is kind enough to repay him by trying to do the same for him if it isn't too uncomfortable for him.
I know that you didn't say all old folks are dying alone in nursing homes, but by the same token, you seem to be implying it.

 

Your pathetic rebuttal had nothing to do with what my points were.

Besides that, you are disillusioned. I've seen plenty of elderley Filipinos who have been ignored by their children.

 

I think I understand Pedro's point even if it is a bit of a stretch. He seems to be pointing out that in the Philippines the extended family provides the safety net we in the West expect from government. Just as the safety net programs provided by government are often abused, most families have their hangers on.

As far as care for the elderly go, I would rather depend on the Filipino tradition than the tender ministries of the American assisted living, nursing home system. When she first arrived in the States my daughter worked in a better assisted living facility. As she didn't have a drivers license yet I drove her to work. To my way of looking at it those older folks had chosen an early check in to Hell.

 

How do you go about locating your workers from Mindanao? Do you advertise somewhere?
In some parts of Mindanao, there are quite a lot of Ilocanos who immigrated there from Luzon, particularly to the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat. I've read and been told they have the strongest work ethic of any in the Philippines. Curious if your repairman is an Ilocano.

 

The folks I hired are from Ozamis, my sister in law lives there and knows them and their families.
I haven't heard anything about Ilocanos, but am sure your information is accurate, as it is hard to get local help here one can depend on if they were raised locally (at least that has been my experience).
The body worker finished the job and an American friend is going to shoot it with paint as soon as the weather dies down, he doesn't like high humidity and I trust him, as he retired from auto painting recently, owned his own shop for years.
All in, the entire job will be less than P10,000 and I was quoted P18,000 to P23,500 by different shops for the same work in all types of shops here in Cebu.

 

Thank you Bruce, for your reply. Having a reliable contact there is a good way, maybe the only way to find good help like you did.
So, you are in Liloan? We were going to move there when we came down from Luzon. Nice little place by the beach and reasonable price. The reason we chose Dmgte instead was they wanted a minimum of 6 month stay at the place in Liloan and hard to commit like that sight unseen. Here it's month to month, and the landlord just asks for a 30 day notice, if possible. If not, as much as possible.

Sorry for going off topic.