I am writing this for couples who are living and working together overseas and who are already planning to reintegrate back into Philippine society. I am thankful that my subject, ex-Gulf News reporter Janice ‘Jaja’ Ponce de Leon-Francisco, has provided a lot of quotable quotes and tips to complete this column.
After eight years in the UAE, Jaja and Albert ‘Abet’ Francisco, who were married on December 15, 2011, have returned home for good on March 14, 2020, a day before the Philippine government declared a lockdown. They are now based in Palawan where they have three businesses: ABG Apartments, House of Lemonade Palawan at Robinsons Palawan, and Akriveia Construction.
“We build homes, apartments and retirement homes. We cater mostly to OFWs who have land in Palawan,” Jaja said. While in the UAE she worked with Gulf News throughout her eight-year stay. Her husband Abet, who is a licensed Civil Engineer, first worked in Saudi Arabia for almost four years before moving to the UAE as Site Engineer and then as Sr. QAQC Engineer for a total of eight years.
Jaja provided these compelling tips for couples:
· Planning for retirement from overseas work is crucial. You and your spouse have to plan on what your future will be like in the Philippines. This time, you get the chance to choose, to design your dream life, that is if you plan early and plan well.
· Two or three years before going home for good, decide on these three things: the kind of lifestyle you’d like to have, the kind of job or business you’ll engage in, and the kind of impact you’d like to have so you can give back to the community.
· If you choose to go back to media work, then make sure that your relationship with friends and colleagues back home is solid. It’s best to be able to bring something new to the table as you’ll be competing with the younger generation who are more familiar with current trends.
· If you prefer to start your own business or consultancy, study your market as early as two or three years before you go home.
· Invest in yourself before anything else. As the saying goes, the biggest room in our house is always the room for self-improvement.
· As early as now, immerse yourself in learning about the life you want to create in the Philippines and make a step-by-step plan on how you will fulfill them until you come home. This way the transition will be smoother for you.
· Set aside your 6-month Reserved Funds. Others call this Emergency Funds. Make sure your house and all other necessities are covered.
· But money is not the only capital you will need to start with. You’ll also need so many things but most importantly the know-how.
To view the businesses and activities of JaBet, short for Jaja and Abet, visit their YouTube channel Pause Pray Simplify
Jaja added: “I am now enjoying life as a housewife, by God’s grace. I’m also helping my husband grow our own construction firm here in Palawan, aside from the two businesses we’re running on the side.”
She also warns that there will be plenty of problems along the way as ‘returning expats will always find reasons to compare the Philippines with the UAE where everything works, where the government’s goal is to make its people happy’.
“Keep the faith and entrust your journey to God. Once you get past your first few months, you’ll be fine. Once you’ve created the life you want by God’s design, you won’t even think of going back to the UAE to work anymore. You are now your own boss. It’s your chance to give back all that you’ve learned abroad and make the Philippines a better place to live in,” Jaja summarizes their reintegration journey which could also be your own story dear readers. Keep the faith, indeed.