Clean toilets and a family concern

Since when have clean toilets become a finance secretary’s concern?

Since Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima decided that unclean toilets, beginning with government buildings and public facilities, are the country’s “broken window,” referring to the adage about how one broken window in a building left unrepaired would inevitably lead to more broken windows because it is a sign that nobody cares.

“If you visit the Ninoy Aquino International Airport these days,” says the finance secretary, “you’ll notice that the restrooms are now clean, and that new carpets have been laid.”

The toilets, after all, were the focus of much of the criticism against Naia which was rated among the top 10 “worst airports” in the world in a recent poll. His aim, Purisima told Inquirer reporters, editors and columnists the other night, is to make sure that “one can have access to a clean toilet anywhere in the country. We plan to start with government buildings.”

As if the finance secretary doesn’t have enough on his hands trying to raise government revenue (without raising or imposing new taxes per P-Noy’s pledge), he is now also campaigning to make the Philippines a cleaner, sweeter-smelling place. All this, he pointed out, is part of the “good governance” pillar of the Aquino administration.

Well, this taxpayer hopes at least that if officials care enough to keep a keen eye (and sharp nose) on the toilets in our midst, then they would care enough to keep their own noses clean and meet their own targets before the goodwill P-Noy earned with his election fizzles out.

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This, at least, was part of the message delivered by Winnie Monsod, professor emeritus at the UP School of Economics, former Neda director general, and Inquirer columnist. Invited to share what she thinks P-Noy should say in his State of the Nation Address on Monday, Monsod instead analyzed the Aquino government’s performance so far, vis-à-vis the President’s own campaign promises and the roadmap he laid out in his first Sona last year.

Touching on the “pretty good” economic performance in the first year of the P-Noy administration, Monsod attributed the rise in investments, particularly domestic investments, to the “goodwill” generated by Mr. Aquino’s win and the public trust generated by his initial efforts, particularly his promise to keep to the “daang matuwid.”

But the lackluster performance of the administration with regard to keeping its own promises and meeting its own targets bodes ill for the future, she said. Purisima, in contrast, said it is “only a matter of time” before the initiatives they have taken finally take off and take root.

Well, time is a limited commodity, much like clean toilets.

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Shortly after “Liberation” and the end of World War II, an enterprising couple, Nestor and Salud Tesoro, put up a native apparel, handicraft and souvenir store in Escolta. They called it “Tesoro’s,” a name which has become synonymous with “Filipiniana.”

The business was rooted in Salud’s network of suppliers and crafts people around the country, built during her years managing an uncle’s hat store in Intramuros before the war, her merchandising and marketing know-how, and Nestor’s expertise in financial management and “backroom” operations.

In the 65 years since the founding of the first Tesoro’s, Salud and Nestor managed to found a family of 10, the youngest of whom, Maria Isabel or “Beng,” is now CEO of the Tesoro Group that includes not just 12 retail outlets but also export and real estate operations.

But an established name and reputation for quality just won’t cut it in today’s competitive atmosphere, especially with a slew of stores catering to the tourist market and Filipiniana enthusiasts.
To mark its 65th anniversary, Tesoro’s is embarking on a new marketing thrust, with the help of two third-generation Tesoros: Robby and Raffy.

With Beng, the two young men are crafting a spanking-new image for their family enterprise, one edgier and more youthful, and designed, says Beng, to promote the idea of Philippine apparel, crafts and goods “as part of our everyday lives, not for display but used as part of our day-to-day existence.”

A visit to the Tesoro’s Makati store shows that aside from the usual souvenir items, their line includes exquisitely embroidered shirts and shawls that can be paired with modern pieces for a more contemporary look; sea shells, ostrich eggs and mother-of-pearl embellished with gold- and silver-plated handles and edging that lift it from the usual handicraft; and colorful woven banig mats that can, with the use of strategically located loops and pegs, be converted into bread baskets.

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Truly an inter-generational enterprise, Tesoro’s, says Beng, has survived through the decades with the collective efforts of her parents, siblings and nephews and nieces. It is inter-generational even with their suppliers, with Beng now dealing with the children and grandchildren of the original weavers, carvers, jewelry craftsmen and other artisans who first found an outlet in Tesoro’s. Even some of the sales clerks have been with Tesoro’s for decades.

But to prevail and not just survive, Beng says Tesoro’s will have to be responsive to the times and to shifting tastes and trends.

For today’s generation of shoppers, Beng Tesoro promises “more branches of Tesoro’s being built, or pocket outlets even, in accessible gateways so they’d catch us where they need us. We intend to keep updating our merchandise—to keep looking at things differently, globally, while staying authentically Pinoy. Tesoro’s will go on focusing on packaging and shipping worldwide. We will continue to change from one exciting season to the next. And of course, our prices will remain the same: friendly.”