The Global Filipino Magazine TGFM Issue 12 - April 2021

22-year-old finishes Filipino Institute’s MBA program, offers victory to parents A Philippine-based 22-year-old has successfully finished the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in the Filipino Institute and is offering this momentous victory to her parents. Leonel M. Franco took the virtual MBA program after graduating from college with a course of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. Franco, who is reviewing for his CPA board exams, told The Global Filipino Magazine took the program in an effort to improve his professional skills, especially his leadership and practical knowledge about establishing a business. A young business-oriented individual, he said that he chose the training institution because the primary aim of the latter is to empower Filipinos who are finding it difficult to thrive abroad. Franco is also probably one of the…

‘People told me my goals are impossible’: Pinoy photographer in Dubai reaches new milestone Filipino professional and travel photographer John Ruzz Cabayan Merca, despite receiving criticisms that he would not be able to reach his goals, is celebrating his ‘biggest achievement’ from his Instagram account. Merca, the photographer behind viral Dubai photos, has recently reached 10,000 followers on the photo-sharing app two years after creating the account. Through his IG account, he posts a series of great sceneries found in the city. In a short video he shared on his social media accounts titled ‘10k Love Letter’, he shared his journey which he embarked on two years ago. “It all began 2 years ago. There I was just a random dude who fell in love with photography and decided to…

‘Couple goals’: College sweethearts successfully complete professional diploma courses in FI They say relationships get stronger when both are willing to grow together. Living by this adage, Dubai-based couple Mike Joshua G. Villanueva and Kwin Twinkle Ubante enrolled themselves in the Filipino Institute and acquire a professional diploma to fulfill their dreams to work in the United Kingdom ‘in the near future.’ Villanueva, a service crew for McDonald’s UAE, took the Caregiver Professional Diploma program, while Ubante currently works in a trading company in Sharjah, took the 24-week program Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Both 24 years old, the couple met in 2015 when they were only second-year college. “We are always in the same class as we have the same course,” Ubante said, adding that they have already been…

A former overseas Filipino worker, who had an ultimate dream of owning a resort back in the Philippines, has finally fulfilled her dreams. Vagelyn Tumbaga-Pacio, the former HR director of Dusit Thani Hotel Dubai, established J&V Holiday Homes & Resort in the heart of Sevilla, San Fernando City, La Union. “Don’t be afraid to start again, this time you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience,” the CEO of the holiday homes and resort wrote on her Facebook post. From an employee to an entrepreneur, Pacio, along with her husband, has also simultaneously opened their carwash last month. A global Filipino achiever, the former OFW has also become an icon of womanhood, a trailblazing lady of charity, community patroness, and a worldclass hotelier. While in Dubai, she rose from…

‘I found my purpose as a Financial Literacy Evangelist’By Nina Eloisa Leuterio These days, investing is all the rage when it comes to earning more money. You’re encouraged with the same words: “You should invest because investing is making your money work for you. You should invest because investing is earning money while you sleep. You should invest because you can earn Php500,000 with just Php10,000!” Following the trend feels inviting and the promise of profit seems tempting, but Jay Adrian Tolentino’s story seems to suggest otherwise (not yet at least). Tolentino, 33, a sales manager for Ayala Land International Middle East, and an independent financial coach, shares that he had made quite the investments before—investments that made his finances a “mess”. “I joined a Ponzi scheme, I invested on…

From merchandise stock controller to owner of online retail clothing business in UAE Lemuel Garrido Africa revealed that ‘not in a million years’ he has thought to work abroad as he was happily pursuing a career in marketing in the Philippines. However, when he was asked by his brother if he wanted to join him overseas, he jested that he wanted to. Africa, thinking that his brother got the joke. Unknowingly, his brother was already preparing for his visa and was surprised to know about it. Back in the Philippines, he pursued a career in marketing as a marketing assistant for a cookware company and then moved to a different company as a marketing services assistant for a donut company. “I really love to pursue a marketing career since I…