If you were amazed by the photos of a young man who recently went viral for filling a 30-liter drum with 20-peso bills, wait until you get to read his inspiring story.
January of this year, 22-year-old Tondo, Manila resident Gerdan Tolero thought about saving every 20-peso bill out of the daily earnings he got from his modest ‘gulaman’ and fish dealings.
“Yun kasi pinakamaliit na perang papel at nasiyahan din po ako dahil tugma rin po sa sinasabi ni Mayor Isko (Moreno) na ‘etneb’,” said Tolero.
While he seems to be currently doing well for being able to maintain two decent ventures, Tolero went through a lot in trying to regain everything that they lost during what was supposed to be a discouraging experience last year.
Tolero’s family which includes his mother Gemma and stepfather Roy was one of the more than 400 families who lost their homes during a huge fire that broke out one Saturday morning last April 2020 in Happy Land in Tondo, Manila.
“Ubos lahat ng gamit namin. Ang natira lang yung isang alkansya ko na puno ng barya. Binasag namin, umabot ng halos 1,000 pesos. Mahilig na talaga akong mag-ipon noon,” recalled Tolero in an interview with Manila Bulletin.
While it would be understandable for their family to feel downtrodden after the incident, Tolero had other things in mind that turned out to be good enough to start their recovery from that painful experience.
“Sa akin ang nasa isip ko, opportunity ito. Nung mga panahon na yun, nakita ko sa lugar namin problemado mga tao kasi kulang sila sa drum. Scheduled kasi ang tubig sa amin kaya nagkakaproblema mga tao mag-ipon ng tubig,” said Tolero.
Tolero thought of buying all the used drums he could buy from bakery stores around their area then sell them to their neighbors who are in need of water containers.
“Binibili ko siya 100 pesos kada drum tapos tutubuan ko para kumita. Hanggang isang araw nakakita ako ng sirang sidecar. Binili ko, pinaayos ko tapos doon ko sinimulan naman yung magbenta ng gulaman,” said Tolero.
Because of his hardwork, Tolero’s gulaman business clicked as he was able to expand his trade by eventually acquiring three more sidecar units.
“May tatlong tao na ako na nagbebenta ng gulaman pero imbes na hayaan ko sila ang magbenta, opportunity na naman yung nakita ko kasi nagpagawa ako ng kariton sa stepfather ko dahil naisip ko, magbenta naman ng isda,’ said Tolero.
It was through selling fish that Tolero apparently is giving his all as he sleeps only almost two hours a day just to make sure he would claim success in his latest venture.
“8 p.m. nasa Navotas fishport na ako bibili ng isda. Uuwi na ako mga 1 a.m. tapos gising ulit 3:30 a.m. para ilako mga isda sa mga suki ko, karamihan sa kanila carinderia,” said Tolero.
On January 3, 2021, Tolero saw one, unused 30-liter drum in their house and made it into, initially, a coin bank.
“Halos kalahati na ng coins yung drum pero naisip ko, kung mapuno hindi ko na kayang buhatin. Ang ginawa ko, lahat ng 20 pesos na kita ko sa gulaman at isda, parang inisip ko walang halaga kaya ipinapasok ko lang lahat dun sa drum,” disclosed Tolero.
Tuesday last week, April 27, Tolero had some concerns regarding the bills he was saving inside his drum.
“Natakot kasi ako baka nabulok na yung iba kaya binuksan ko na. Tapos binilang at inayos ko. Hindi ko naman alam na ipo-post ng mother ko yung pictures na yun,” revealed Tolero.
Tolero declined to reveal the exact amount he was able to save but the hardworking young man, who is still single, said it was good enough to buy a decent, second hand car.
“Ngayon ang gusto ko sana magnegosyo ng Pisonet kasi marami din dito mga bata naghahanap ng internet. Hindi ko pa lang alam talaga paano simulan,” said Tolero.
Tolero said the pandemic is actually serving him in good stead as it remains as a constant reminder for him to work hard.
“Mayroon naman dumating na ayuda pero kulang pa din. Kaysa i-asa namin doon, yun nga, tingin ko sa mga ganiyan opportunity talaga na mag-isip ng paraan para makaahon sa mga problema,” said Tolero.