MANILA, Philippines - Marcelito Quintos is a 57-year-old businessman and a former overseas worker. He worked in Japan as a pianist from 1976 to 1987 to support his family and broaden his expertise as a musician.
Quintos’ experience as an OFW was not that easy. “You will leave your family and loved ones behind. You have to stick to a budget from what you earn abroad so that you can send enough money to your family here in the Philippines,” he says.
“Next is the communication problem because technology was not advanced in my time. I can only call my family four times a week using a call card because there is no Skype or Wi-Fi. But being an OFW will also teach you a lot about life because it will open your mind to many ideas about different cultures,” he adds.
Quintos is now back in the country with his family, and his daughter Leila now works as a pre-school teacher in a Qatar mall.
Through the SM Global Pinoy Center, Quintos can contact his daughter via Skype. “In my time, telephone is the only means of communicating with my family. I’m thankful to SM for putting up a Global Pinoy Center because it makes communication faster and easier through their Skype and Wi-Fi services. I can call and e-mail my daughter anytime in Qatar whenever I’m in the SM malls. The Global Pinoy Center is a big help to all OFWs,” he says.
The SM Global Pinoy Center has become a “one-stop service hub.” It educates, informs and helps bring families together by offering free Internet services, free mobile phone charging, free voice calls, BDO remittance pick-up services and foreign exchange services at the SM Department Store, and even free refreshments.
Through the Global Pinoy Center, SM honors the country’s modern-day heroes by continuously serving them and helping improve their lives and bringing them closer to home and to their families.
SM currently has 28 Global Pinoy Centers in SM Supermalls nationwide. There is also an SM Global Pinoy Counter at the OFW lounge at the NAIA Terminal 1.
To become a Global Pinoy, OFWs or their relatives should show proof of remittance and pay P150 to avail themselves of a GPC card which is valid for two years.