Leo Revita, Tagum’s finest salon-trepreneur

sept 12-18, 2013

Her pangmasa salons employ 231 hairstyling workforce

Leo Revita, undoubtedly a successful and finest salon-trepreneur in Tagum City, is currently employing 231 hairstyling personnel in his eight salons and the figure is growing as she sets her eyes for a franchising launch next year of her modern Leo Revita Salon & Spa.

Her success of establishing hair salons one after another in 11 years is a star-struck awe among beautician and gay communities.
She started with one raw beauty parlor in 2002 at Quezon Street in the city, and now she has modern, cozy and elegant salon branches in Claveria and Bolton streets and Matina area in Davao City and at Sto. Nino in Panabo City.
Her four salons in Tagum City were all assumed from owners who failed to weather in salon business.
This September 18 she is launching her 9th branch in Panabo City.
“These 231 personnel I have are composed of senior hairdressers, junior hairdressers, auditors, bookeepers, maintenance and utility personnel,” enthuses Leo Revita, 33 years of old, born in the zodiac sign of Cancer, which has a mantra of being lovable and loving.
She is a proud Tagum-born gay, and she is not hiding it in the closet in the way she runs tarpaulin billboard ad campaign for each of her salon. Her salon’s billboard carries “Gandang Leo Revita” slogan with her, exquisitely beautiful, as the model.
“My income sharing with hairdressers is 60:40, with the 60 percent for me as I shoulder the cost of medicines, facilities, gadgets, water, light, cable TV, Wifi, business permit, taxes, etcetera, etcetera,” she says.
“Their share is given daily, automatic! and shares of those regular ones are deducted of the day’s percentage for their SSS contributions,” she shares.
Leo is playing a Big Sister to her personnel during emergencies, as when they borrow or ask for cash advance for problems like “nagkasakit ang anak or bana, pang bayad sa enrolment, etcetera”, or even during their birthdays.
She says responding to them in times like these is inescapable part of Filipino small and micro business.
And what makes her hairstyling business as “pangmasa” and her clients to keep on coming back? Leo says her “quality in service and quality in result” salon adjusts on customers’ affordability by doing hairstyle based on their budget.
“Say if their budget is P500 or P1,500, we adjust by using the brand of hair color priced lesser or higher in the market. We don’t use one product only, like such salon advertised on TV that uses only Schwazkopf,” she says.
Her salon’s shelf stocks other hair color product lines such as Wella, L’oreal, Matrix and others.
The Leo Revita Salon & Spa always tries to keep up with latest hair trends and styles and strives to always meet each client’s needs and affinity, without closing the door of introducing hairdressing innovations and creativity.
For these to be done, her own haute couture of hairdressers are considered professionals as they passed in Leo Revita’s own standards of hair styling, coloring, care and salon treatments including the giving of professional yet personalized hair care advice and guidance to clients.
“They can’t cut and style hair unless they pass in my own rigid training. There should be no guesswork from them. This is the most important human factor in Leo Revita salon,” she declares her human resource etho.
“Hair clients value their money’s worth by the result our service brings. It’s a flop when they are not satisfied, and they won’t return,” Leo says.
Still, her loyal clients have been buoyed by the discount coupons she is giving. The discount is spread across in salon’s range of services which include personal, facial beauty care, cosmetics, make-up, aesthetics, aromatherapy and day’s spa.
For next year, she is setting her eyes for the franchising of Leo Revita Salon & Spa in Mindanao areas, and she wishes to have a salon in each downtown or proximate miles from the downtown of major cities in the island.
“It would be 10:20:70 percent sharing based on net income in favor to the franchisee. The 10 percent goes to the salon’s manager, and the other 20 percent for me. To ensure implementation of standards, it’s me who would manage and direct overall. The franchisee has close monitoring and we’ll have online point of the sales counters,” Leo shares her initial business concept.
By the count of salon branches and growing clientele base she has thus far established, Leo-entrepreneurial, trendy, creative, savvy, and innovative – is certainly building a brand of her own and a unique program of care for hair, beauty and wellness of the clients of Leo Revita Salon & Spa. (Cha Monforte)

The Life & Salons of Leo Revita

Leo Diamante Revita, finest salon-trepreneur in Tagum City, has been enterprising to earn money since his high school days. 

He climbed coconut trees to get matured coconuts to be able to cook bukayo jam which he would consign to vendors to his school canteen. Or he would bring ice water to the canteen. When he was in college taking up BS in Elementary Education, he was working in beauty parlor the whole day and would go to school by late afternoon ‘til the evening.
He is the 4th child in a brood of five. He was born in Tagum City on July 5, 1980. His father Legorio is retired policeman now, while his mother Elizabeth is still teaching.
“I discovered I’m a gay when I was between 10-11 years old. I liked to have female barkadas and play girls’ games,” Leo confided. He is she, not he.
When she graduated in college in such course, she first taught cosmetology in the city’s trade school. But wanting to earn more bucks, she out from her savings set up his first beauty parlor in 2002, which lasts until todate when she has already a total of eight Leo Revita Salon & Spa outlets located in the cities of Tagum, Panabo and Davao. One more is coming this September.
“All of my salons in Tagum City after the first were assumed. It’s in salon business where you can earn money easily at less capitalization. It’s God’s providence that I managed to have many salons now,”Leo confided in an interview.
“I am not like those who wrested ownership of beauty parlor. Ang swerte ihatag gyod diay sa Ginoo dala sa diskarte (Luck would be given by the Almighty, when you ask and exert creative efforts),” she said.
Leo is “Kokoy” in the household; she’s fondly called “Madam Ley” by his over 200 on-shift hairstyling personnel. “Nasanay na silang magtawag ug ‘Madam’ sa akoa,” she said.
Those salons she assumed were all referred by her suppliers of hair colors or beauty products. They tipped her about the salon’s locations and status and Leo then assessed the salons’ potentials to bounce back.
Asked on why her clients keep on coming back to Leo Revita Salon & Spa, Leo said: “My salon is not for the high-end. It’s for all- pangmasa. We go for low, medium and high. Kung mao na imong budget, say P500 or P1,500, among paigoan ang pag-hairstyle sa imoha, pero mas gwapo gyod ang result kung branded. (We adjust with the client’s budget, but the result is better if we use branded product).”
“We always strive for quality in service and result. In each of my salon, clients can expect the same result and accommodation,” she said adding that each of her hairstyling personnel has undergone rigid training under a Leo Revita’s hairdressing standard. “They are trained in both theory and proper application. They have always to follow the rules.”
The first Leo Revita Salon & Spa in 2002 in Tagum City was located in Quezon Street. It operated for 4 years until it had to be closed as the building had to be renovated. It transferred location in 2006 to Bonifacio Street, infront the SP Building, City Hall.
In 2005 her 2nd salon, the first branch, opened at Rizal Street, in 2008 her 3rd opened at Sto. Nino, Panabo City, in 2010 her 4th at Rizal St., near the Christ the King Cathedral.
2010 ushered expansion of her salon to Davao City as in March that year she established the 5th branch at Claveria St. In 2012 she opened three salons- the 6th along the highway, Tagum City, the 7th at Bolton St., and the 8th at Matina area, Davao City.
This coming September 18 her 9th salon will open in Panabo City, at the night market area.
Next year, Madam Ley is setting her eyes to launch a franchising program in Mindanao for her quality-in-service-quality-in-result pangmasa Leo Revita Salon & Spa.
Indeed, the salon-treprenuer aims higher while she gives employment to many people around with her as an exemplar of beauty, wellness and industry. In her entrepreneurial endeavours, “I always think positive,” she said. (Cha Monforte)

“Barangay merely watching PDAF being implemented” – topnotcher PDAF accessing brgy captain Eliot

sept 12-18, 2013

TAGUM CITY- The barangay chairman of the second most populated barangay here topped in getting Priority Development Allocation Fund (PDAF) from congressmen and a senator, accessing a total of P6.1 million during his two terms of serving his current post.
Barangay Visayan Village barangay captain Engr. Ronald “Nono” Eliot said that while he successfully got many PDAF, barangay officials are just consigned in the role of “merely watching and monitoring” particularly the PDAF-funded infrastructure projects being implemented by private contractors.
The PDAF funds he got mostly for hard infrastructure came from Davao del Norte 1st district Congressman Anthony “AGR” del Rosario (P2 million for barangay hall multipurpose building, and drainage), Senator Manny Villar (P1 million for drainage), Bayan Muna (P1 million for brgy. hall multipurpose bldg.), ABA partylist group (P1 million for brgy. hall multipurpose bldg.), Ating Koop (P500,000 day care center), and Coop-Natcco (P300,000 for energization project) and Kalinga partylist group (P300,000 worth of medical goods and services).
“Senator Koko Pimentel’s PDAF for another infra projec for our barangay is coming,” Eliot bared.
He said that the entry of PDAF funds to his barangay starts with barangay officials requesting the congressman or senator. usually through personal representation with them bringing a written proposal.
If the congressman or senator nods to the barangay proposal, later on they would receive written letter from him informing them his identification of the infrastructure project, then next, the implementing agency, say the DPWH, would conduct inspection to the site and prepare the program of works (POW).
The next information the barangay would have is a copy of the SARO (Special Allotment Release Order) from Dept. of Budget and Management, and then they know from DPWH the schedule of the bidding.
The bidding is next held under the DPWH district engineering office’s calling and system but “in here we are not present during the bidding,” he said.
Next, the barangay would then learn of the Notice to Proceed issued by the DPWH to the winning contractor, and “we will just see and monitor the project being implemented by the contractor,” barangay captain Eliot bared.
At times though the barangay’s proposal during the project implementation is entertained, and hence a change or deviation order is effected.
When the project is completed, the barangay would then issue a certification accepting the project.
After all those accessing efforts he made, Eliot is now about to inaugurate the P5-million two-storey multi-purpose barangay hall project that he started in 2011.
He said there is no question on PDAF in his barangay.
But he proposed that in order for the PDAF “to be transparent, much clearer and easy to be monitored, it should go directly to the local government unit, while project identification should be itemized with identified beneficiaries like the particular barangays.“
He added that LGUs have already specific priority projects and plans identified and made by barangay development councils to which the PDAF can easily match.
“In this case mas klaro ang PDAF ug dali ra mamonitor kay daghan mang mata ang nagtan-aw, and misuse is avoided (PDAF becomes much clearer and can easily be monitored because many eyes are watching it and misuse is avoided),” Kapitan Eliot said. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

OPINION: Naisahan kay nagtinanga man gud

sept 12-18, 2013

HASHTAGS BREW

By Cha Monforte

Don’t count Daneco-CDA out yet.
It is still operating despite that it lost in the battle at the Court of Appeals. Last Monday it filed its MR- motion for reconsideration. It looks like they want to go to the Supreme Court if the MR will be junked by the CA.
They are buying time. Still in this scenario, Daneco-CDA despite that it stopped collecting electric bill payments from members, and hence it is draining of resources, will last until the confirmatory referendum in the second Saturday of January 2014. That’s January 10, 2014, to be exact.
I see the next three months and a half as crucial, and there’s another battle to be won for either of the both sides.
The Daneco war is still ongoing, only that Daneco-NEA won in the battle at the CA? I say maybe. A battle is not at all won and closed by mere declaration of decision. The defeated must surrender, waive flags of surrender, sign surrender papers, or be subdued, put on rest, unresisting, tamed, chained, encaged, made as prisoners of war, made to walk in death march, put in garrison, annihilated. I’m not being literal here.
In the world, many wars have been won not by sheer coup de grace force but by diplomacy amid heightened warring while one is already losing.
There are wars that the losing force ended up winning in the negotiation table following diplomatic offensives. Naisahan ang modaugay kay nagtinatanga man gud. Again, I’m not being too literal here.
******
Daneco-NEA has a problem in its Institutional Services Department. Its head is Jhona Abaquita. I donno why she failed to make immediate press releases after the CA decision last week of August. Or call for a press conferences right after. Or makes radio hopping. She’s content in only posting the CA decision in Daneco-NEA official FaceBook page, many days after for the media to lengthily decipher. But then the CA ruling is gone now, at presstime, lol!
It seems she’s inutile in functioning as the ISD head. She’s better be sacked, NEA Project Supervisor Engr. Godofredo Guya. Mas maayo pa sa imo si Oliver Autor, Daneco-CDA information officer kay mohatag pa dayon ug kasayuran sa media bahin sa Daneco-CDA bisag sa dalan.
******
BMs Dujali, De Veyra, Aala
DavNor vice gov potentials
Catching up with the lambast on pork barrel is the speculation on potential vice gubernatorial contenders in Davao del Norte by 2016 polls.
Talks abound under some political grooves that independent Board Member Alan Dujali is running for congressman in the second district knowing that Cong. Anton Lagdameo is in his last term now. This, as no new name yet from Floirendo/Tadeco has been dropped as potential successor of Cong. Lagdameo. Vincent “Enteng” Floirendo seems to be not interested in politics as he resigned from his two posts- barangay kapitan and FABC provincial president- reportedly to go fulltime in Tadeco’s business conglomerate. It seems his world is not in tumultuous politics.
But BM Dujali is also talked about to be running for vice governor to tandem with Vice Gov. Baby Suaybaguio Jr., who has no more lofty post to run for by 2016 except for governor (or for first district congressman). But Cong. Anthony “AGR” del Rosario has still one more available term by 2016. But why not also Cong. AGR for gov in tandem with BM Dujali for vice gov while ally VG Baby runs for cong? This, so that whoever Tadeco tosses up for 2nd district cong, even if most neophyte and youngest Floirendo, can have no opponent in the name of BM “Aldu” Dujali. This corner sees that even ex-FABC president Vincent can have a so much difficulty in beating a long-serving and capable Dujali political heir considering changed electoral parameters and factors like the automated election, the phenomenon in the winning of Sto. Tomas Mayor Bobong Andamon who defeated a Tonyboy-backed mayoral candidate last May (include also the phenomenon of victory of now Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon), plus the pork barrel issue that can make and unmake reigning politicians. Dujali is one such great political name and institution in the province.
Rugged popularity and closeness with the people can also be a winning factor. This is proven in the winning of 1st district BM Dr. Fred De Veyra, who, no matter how a well-oiled slate led by Gov. RDR wanted him to slide down out from the five-man winning circle of BMs in pre-election surveys, managed to persist at the middle in the list. And the “eyes of the people” won as independent candidate, not once but twice. BM De Veyra turned out to garner the most improved voting record among all BMs, with the increase of his 2013 votes from 2010 by more than 30,000! Which makes him also a strong vice gubernatorial contender by 2016.
The other strong vice gubernatorial contender is a woman- BM Shirley Belen Aala. This is because she is a consistent topnotcher of all BMs in the 2010 and 2013 polls. A tandem with woman, articulate and strong, is every male gubernatorial candidate’s sweet-best wish.
TAGS & HASHES: Like or unlike Comval politics by 2016? Amatong for gov in tandem with VG Way Kurat for reelection vs. now BM Gentugaya for gov, no vice gov or ? for vice gov or he runs for reelection- while BM Tyrone Uy for 2nd district cong and 1st district Congw. Maricar for reelection (Gov. CK Uy on political furlough for a term). This is because Gov. Uy’s Uswag Comval politics has been known already- it’s based on accommodation, unity, pragmatism to the bones. This is what we call as “Don’t rock the boat” best political scenario in Comval. What only dilutes is Ramil’s running for a top post….. Beginning this issue Valley & City Chronicle has changed color from blue to orange in its logo. Blue is for tranquility, peace. Orange is more representative of forewarning that the climate change is in us now. We need to adapt and combat climate change now. That’s why we chose orange to be always be reminded of the climate change.

Daneco-CDA files MR

sept 12-18, 2013

Daneco- CDA stops collecting but keeps on operating

The Daneco-Cooperative Development Authority faction has stopped collecting but it keeps on operating as it filed Monday a motion for reconsideration against the Court of Appeals decision favouring Daneco-National Electrification Administration faction.
“There’s no case for cancellation of our CDA registration. There should be revocation first. We are continuing to operate, otherwise we would be sued by the general assembly,” Oliver Autor, Daneco-CDA information officer said in an interview Monday morning.
Autor is one of the Daneco-CDA officials who were cited for contempt for the fine of P10,000 each by the Court of Appeals in its 39-page decision promulgated last August 22, 2013 that ruled many things to favor Daneco-NEA.
The decision ruled that numerous acts of the involved officers of Daneco-CDA and their representatives that caused for the birth of Daneco-CDA and its registration with the CDA were allegedly without authority and illegal from the very beginning.
“We are not yet paying the P10,000 fine because the decision said it would be paid on finality,” Autor added.
He said many things have yet to be done like the reconciliation of accounts of those who have paid to Daneco-CDA.
At press time, there is a report on complaints and confusion among member-consumers trooping in Daneco-NEA offices and collection centers as the Daneco-NEA started launching massive power disconnection of delinquent members.
“At this moment we are prioritizing to disconnect those members who have taken advantage of the crisis , those who did not pay to Daneco-NEA or Daneco-CDA,” said OIC GM Benedicto Ongking of the Daneco-NEA during the Sangguniang Panlalawigan session Monday afternoon.
Ongking was invited by the SP to shed light of the daily rotating brownouts which have been hitting more frequently Daneco’s franchise area for a month now. Areas put under brownouts frequently last for as long as half-day duration.
He informed that the rotational brownouts are caused by varying deficits of power supply for Mindanao from Agus and Pulangi sources.
“Next year may rotational brownout gihapon, I’m sure dako ang curtailment level,” he warned.
On the CA decision, Ongking called on all those who have paid to Daneco-CDA to bring all their receipts in paying to Daneco-NEA “to be audited” vis-a-vis the latter’s billing figures.
“Nobody is winning in this case,” said Daneco-CDA official Nilo Lariosa in a chance interview Monday afternoon at the SP building.
Lariosa, a Tagum resident, is a former Energy Regulatory Commission official and has been reportedly acting as consultant of Daneco-CDA since the faction broke away from the main Daneco-CDA last year.
He said that they filed Monday the motion for reconsideration to Court of Appeals 23rd Division in Cagayan de Oro City by their legal counsel Glenn Blair Carnicer.
“It’s the Supreme Court which would decide on this,” Lariosa said, adding that while Daneco-CDA has stopped collecting but they would still continue operating, citing that the Daneco –CDA remains to be a legal entity despite the CA’s decision.
He bared that a memorandum of understanding between Daneco-CDA and Daneco-NEA is still to be finalized and that the confirmatory referendum has to be conducted on January 10, 2014 as agreed during the meeting with the Dept. of Energy Secretary and NEA board chairman Carlos Jericho Petilla at the Waterfront Hotel Davao last August 30.
A joint audit is currently being made in Daneco-CDA and in Daneco-NEA per agreement in that meeting.
Asked on what would happen to the collection that is already in Daneco-CDA, Lariosa said that it is only the collection function that stopped starting last September 5, and that Daneco-CDA is continuing the rest of the functions.
“It’s still status quo and it’s only the collection that is stopped,” he added.
He said he himself had his electric bill accounts reconciled by Daneco-NEA recently adding that it turned out that he still had excess payment.
He said that the Daneco-CDA had not included in its billing the surcharges only and that Daneco-CDA had used the basic electric rates the same as charged by Daneco-NEA.
Daneco-CDA had then been charged of underbilling to sway many member-consumers to its side.
On the other hand, Daneco-NEA officials interviewed said that the MOU sought by the Daneco-CDA is “dead as it would dilute the decision of the CA.”
Following the CA decision and DOE meeting, the MOU was sought by the Daneco-CDA with the reported refereeing of the Comnpostela Valley Gov. Arturo Uy and Vice Gov. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora.
But the MOU was not realized when the provincial legal counsel reportedly failed to draft the MOU when Daneco-NEA board officials and Daneco-CDA board officials met at Gov. Uy’s office at the Capitol, Nabunturan the other week.
It is not known if Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario is closely involving himself as also a top stakeholder in Daneco’s affairs following the CA decision.
The Valley & City Chronicle tried but failed to get a copy of the CA decision. The ruling was posted sometime in the Daneco-NEA’s official FaceBook account but at presstime it is already gone, deleted for unknown reason. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

DANECO-NEA only to manage DANECO in DOE-forged agreement

sept 12-18, 2013

In dramatic turn of events, an agreement was reached by key stakeholders to put the conflict- and debt-plagued Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative into one management only and it is the Daneco-National Electrification Administration which should and not the Daneco-Cooperative Development Authority starting the coming September 1.
In a conference initiated by the Department of Energy and NEA board chairman Carlos Jericho Petilla last Aug. 30, Friday at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao , governors, congressmen, mayors, CDA officials and the officials of the two electric coop factions engaged in a hostile two-year row agreed to put Daneco’s management under the Daneco-NEA entity. It followed after the Court of Appeals handed its 39-page decision last August 22, 2013 that ruled many things to favor Daneco-NEA.
Petilla informed conference attendees on the need to have one management to immediately respond to the rising power supply payables of Daneco, stressing that there is an urgent need to avert Daneco suffering the same fate with the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) which earlier had its power disconnected by Power Sectors Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).
Attending the conference were CDA Chairman Emmanuel M. Santiaguel, NEA Administrator Editha Bueno, Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario and his Vice Gov. Victorio Suaybaguio Jr, Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy and his Vice Gov. Manuel Zamora, Comval Cong. Maricar Zamora and Cong. Rommel Amatong, Davao del Norte Cong. Antonio Lagdameo Jr, 1-CARE partylist representatives Edgardo Masongsong and Michael Angelo Rivera, and the management and board officers of Daneco-NEA and of Daneco-CDA.
Conference attendees also expressly agreed that both the factions would be subjected to a mandatory financial audit by an audit them to be composed of auditors from NEA and CDA, which would be continuing even after the Sept. 1 assumption of Daneco-NEA as the sole management of Daneco.
“A referendum would also be conducted on the second week of January 2014 to finally resolve whether Daneco’s member-consumers would opt to be stock cooperative or not, strictly following the law and its procedures on how to duly conduct a referendum on conversion of electric cooperatives,” said Gregorio Ybanez, chairman of the board of Daneco-NEA’s directors.
Mayors present also agreed to campaign to member-consumers in their respective areas to pay to Daneco-NEA.
“With the expressed agreement, this means that Daneco-CDA will die a natural death because it can no longer function after August 31, 2013,” Ybanez added.
Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperative (Amreco) president Sergio Dagooc hailed the agreement reached as the “ultimate solution” to pestering problem besetting Daneco.
The Daneco-CDA faction sprang up after NEA in April 2012 dismissed nine members of Daneco’s previous board of directors and former OIC general manager after they were found guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty. Those dismissed were initiating to convert Daneco into stock cooperative.
Daneco-CDA faction sought refuge under the CDA after it conducted its own series of referendum where they claimed the option of converting into stock cooperative won. It was was assailed in court by Daneco-NEA.
The Court of Appeals 23rd Division ruled last May 10, 2013 recognizing solely Daneco-NEA and its officers as the legitimate representatives of Daneco pending resolution of an consolidated special proceeding case pertaining to the legality of Daneco-CDA faction and its CDA registration.
DANECO covers the provinces of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley serving 160,601 member-consumers.
Once a top performing electric cooperative, it is now currently considered an ailing electric cooperative beset with myriad of problems because of the two factions competing.
It turns out, however, that Daneco-CDA is not paying its power obligations as it does not remit its collections to Daneco’s coffers, even while it is not recognized by other government agencies such as the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Since Daneco-CDA has not remitted its obligations for consolidation of payments, it is Daneco-NEA which pays power obligations but is unable to pay the full amount due to the situation.
Todate, Daneco has an outstanding power accounts obligations to power suppliers PSALM, NCGP and Therma Marine amounting to over P300 million. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)