Lugaw Queen: Beverly Aquino

MANILA, Philippines - Who would have thought that selling a bowl of lugaw that costs P10 can earn you as much as P50,000 per day?

On ABS-CBN's "My Puhunan", Beverly Aquino, owner of "Lugaw Queen", told Karen Davila how she started Lugaw Queen back in 2007. She only had a starting capital of a little over a thousand pesos -- money that she was supposed to use to pay for her family's electric bills.

"Nagsimula lang kami sa puhunan na P1,100," she said.

Then, she rented a small kiosk with just three chairs for her customers in San Pablo, Laguna.

But Aquino had a plan and a secret recipe that she and her mother came up with.

"Umisip kami ng mga sangkap na ihahalo namin sa lugaw. Kasi bago ka magpalaki ng business, kailangan mayroon kang secret na sangkap," explained Aquino.

And from then on, after serving their first bowl of lugaw for P10, Lugaw Queen never looked back.

"Pagkalipas lang po ng tatlong buwan, nakapag-ipon po kaming mag-asawa ng pang-renta sa mas malaking lugar kaya doon po nagsimula," Aquino said.

In just a year, they managed to open 12 branches all over Luzon. Even Aquino is surprised at how much the branches make in a day just from selling bowls of lugaw.

"The first day bumenta lang kami ng P1,300. And then nung sumunod na araw na-doble, naging P2,400....Nung nag P10,000 na a day, hindi na ako makapaniwala," Aquino exclaimed.

Now, Lugaw Queen sells as much as P50,000 worth of lugaw every day. "Hindi ko talaga na-imagine na bumebenta kami ng P50,000 sa isang araw," Aquino said.

Aquino is overwhelmed by Lugaw Queen's success, especially considering that she was born into poverty.

"Nakikitira lang kami dati. Yung tinitirhan namin noon, walang CR, walang kitchen," confessed Aquino.

According to her husband, Sherwin Aquino, back in when they were in high school, his wife even went to school without money for lunch.

"Pumapasok siya, wala siyang pambili ng pagkain. Pamasahe lang," said Sherwin.

"Kailangan kong magtipid ng baon ko kasi hindi lang para sa akin eh. Hati kami doon sa baon na gagastusin ko," Sherwin added.

Today, with the money she earned from selling bowls of lugaw, Aquino has a two-storey rest house in San Pablo and a land in Nuvali, Laguna where they're currently building their dream home.

Aquino felt that the hard times she experienced prepared her for the harsh realities of life.

"Sobrang laki ng naitulong niya kasi parang yung times na ganun, yun na pala yung training ko sa buhay," said Aquino.

The Lugaw Princess

Ginalyn Moguer, who also hopes to alleviate her family from poverty through cooking, was approached by My Puhunan and Aquino as part of their program to help the less fortunate kick start their own business.

"Gagamitin ko po sa pamilya ko para kahit papano hindi na po ako mahahagilap kung saan saan," Moguer tearfully said while she accepted a small kitchen package from Aquino.

"Malay mo ikaw naman ang maging lugaw princess dito," quipped Aquino.

Aquino reminded Moguer that consistency is key when running a food-based business while she taught her the recipe for her famous lugaw.

"Kahit pa maliit ang puhunan, malaking puhunan na yung kaalaman at kakayanan mo," said Aquino.

With the help of My Puhunan and Aquino, Moguer managed to open her own little "karinderya" selling, not only bowls of lugaw, but as well as dried fish and other kinds of dishes.

from: ABSCBN

Millionaire Garbage Collector

MANILA - A grade school dropout turned garbage collector is living proof that one can make money from trash.

Trining Climaco is now a junkshop owner, who made her millions sorting through garbage and turning discarded bottles and scrap metal into thousands of pesos every week.

On ABS-CBN's My Puhunan, Climaco tearfully related to Karen Davila how she worked hard to make sure her children would never experience the hardships she endured at a young age.

"Nag-aral ako ng Grade 6, nagtitinda ako ng gulay. Iniisip ko lang paglumaki ako, ayaw ko yung buhay namin ganito. Magsisikap ako para pag nagkaroon ako ng pamilya, ayaw kong maranasan ng mga anak ko ang nararanasan naming hirap," she tearfully recalled.

At the age of 11, her grandmother brought her from Aklan to San Juan in Metro Manila. Every day for 12 years, Climaco had to clean and fix whatever garbage she could find in their family's junk shop.

"Yun bote may uuod, sabi ng tiyuhin ko, di ganyan ang pag-hawak. Sabi niya, yun kinakain natin, nanggagaling sa basura, kaya nawawala rin ang pandidiri ko," she said.

Climaco met her husband Cesario, who also pushed a kariton and collected scraps. The couple, who has eight children, decided to start their own junk shop

"Mahirap... pero masarap din kasi malalaman mo paano i-budget ang pera," she said.

But starting out is never easy. They would wake up at 4 a.m. every morning to work at their shop. They employed three men to use their pushcarts and collect bottles, newspapers, scrap metal and paper.

Climaco and her husband would buy the junk from them, and in turn re-sell them.

For instance, they would buy old newspapers for P5 a kilo, but sell it for P6 a kilo. They buy scrap metal for P14 a kilo and sell for P15.20, and plastic is P15 a kilo and sold for P16 a kilo.

Every week, they earn thousands from the bottles, scrap metal and newspapers collected.

A truck of metal junk can yield P8,000, a truck of plastic can be sold for P2,000, and a truck of paper can earn then P1,500. In a week, they earn P18,300 or more.

"Maganda kasi ang puhunan namin P2, tapos binebenta namin ng P3," she said, pointing to a beer bottle.

Her business now has 3 trucks for garbage collection and 6 employees.

Climaco showed off her home that she bought with the money she earned from her junk shop. The 3-storey "dream" home has 9 rooms and costs around P2 million.

"Noong nagpagawa kami ng bahay, nagulat na lang ako at naka-ipon siya," her husband Cesario said.

Climaco also managed to provide each of her 8 kids with a college education with the youngest currently living out her dream of studying law.

"Natutuwa ako dahil yung pangarap ko noon, natutupad ng anak ko," she said.

Climaco, who remains as simple as ever, did not incur any debts, even when building her house.

"Sabi ko sa Mister ko, magpatayo tayo ng bahay. Sabi niya, papatayo ka ng bahay, wala ka naman pera. Sabi ko haligi lang, kaya pa-isa isa kaming haligi hanggang nagawa," she said.

First Episode of MyPUHUNAN ABS-CBN TV show.