You Gotta Love It…

You gotta love Filipino ingenuity… We can be fairly handy when it comes to fixing things, or coming up with solutions on the fly. Our mariners around the globe are reputed for their abilities on ships and engine rooms, and our crews and professionals all over the place likely come up with ingenious solutions time and again. So one has to wonder why we don’t invent more things, formally improve on existing products, and go all the way and patent these so we preserve the value of the intellectual capital. Instead, we are often known for simply just copying the latest and greatest craze. Take “boneless lechon” for example. A product I and wrote about in 2008 (a simple modified porches with local flavorings) and officially launched in 2011 as a “Boneless Liempo” and later “Boneless Zubuchon” is now ALL OVER THE PLACE, in at least 300+ locations in Cebu, the Visayas and Luzon as well. And just look at those street side examples where one guy offers something and within a year 14 neighbors are offering exactly the same thing…

But I digress. Just take a look at this novel approach to moving around the city in a wheelchair. This guy altered his motorcycle so he could be wheeled up and drive himself to work or wherever he wants to go. Amazing. Loud applause from our car as I spied this on a major street in Cebu! It probably doesn’t meet ANY safety standards or rules for transport of persons with disabilities, but do you really think a cop is going to stop this guy and give him a hard time? For nearly a year, we used to have a guy in an electric wheelchair drive himself on the MAIN ROAD (we have no sidewalks) at 10kph to reach our Escario branch to lunch on some lechon. And he was in his 80’s! I wonder if he would like this contraption or if they would race down the avenue at full throttle… :)