I was born here in Canada.

My parents were born in the Philippines. When they got together, they wanted to start a family with more opportunity towards a better life. A place where they could plant their roots. They hoped that going to Canada was in the right direction. That’s how they started.

They moved here before I was born. I’m actually the second child. My older brother passed away – he was born in 1991. As a seaman, my dad did not permanently move until my brother was born. He was touring the world while working, having been in twelve countries and all that stuff. But when he found out that my brother was born and sick with cancer, he decided that it’s time to settle down here.

Both my parents did multiple jobs back then. My mom, she was...let’s see. If I remember correctly, babysitting was one. She started off with babysitting probably a couple of kids. I can’t remember all her jobs, but I know one was in a Real Canadian Superstore as a cashier. Some of the jobs she had in the past few years were housekeeping roles at the Vancouver General Hospital. She also does housekeeping now at Fair Haven, a long-term care home.

My dad started in Vancouver as an apprentice. He learned to be a mechanic, working in a shop for many years. Eventually the shop owner decided to hire him as a full-time worker. Then the owner decided he wanted to sell the shop. My dad ultimately ended up taking over this shop with a partner, building the Vancouver clientele and a Filipino community from there. That's how we got our footprint into the Filipino community, with my dad’s name being known as the mechanic in the area.

They sold the business shortly in 2013. I’ve kept mentioning this to my dad for many years then: “Why don’t we start our own shop?” So we finally did. I was in Grade 12 at that time. We started out Pro-Tech Auto Repair in Surrey, BC…weird enough that we even found a great deal from someone outright selling their business on Craigslist to start our own.

I wanted to be part of the Canadian dream.

My dad was already partaking in that dream. But even at the age of ten, I saw my dad working and started suggesting things: “Why don’t we do this, why don’t we do that?” I would just toss up things to him. Obviously, I didn’t have that kind of say – who would listen to a ten-year-old kid about anything business, right? But I just wanted to be part of that dream: to be someone successful, to be someone who can help out in the community. That’s where I feel like my entrepreneurial journey started from.

I opened up our Burnaby location in September 2019 from scratch. This place started off as a run-down, really cheap-quality automotive parts store. After a while, I found out that the clientele was not anyone I would want to keep as customers. It would always be a constant, “Can you give me a good deal? Can you give me something cheaper? There’s still something cheaper out there.” That’s definitely not what I’m looking for.

So through the years, I built the clientele here to be more educated of exactly what they’re buying. As the saying goes: “The poor man pays twice.” That often is the case with being cheap, and I have to inform clients of that. I’ve built the reputation of this shop since then. People now know that this is a place of education without pressure. Whatever decision they make, they know that they’re making the proper decision for themselves, for their vehicle, and for the future.

What does “Filipino” mean to me?

I think it means resilience. Perseverance. Respect – probably one of the biggest things I would say. Being happy. I really don’t know if I can put the way I feel it into words. It’s just that drive to keep on going, for a lack of a better term.

I opened up this Burnaby location just before COVID. Things were promising then. When COVID hit, it became absolutely dead. I had to lay everybody off. Here at Imperial Street, one of the busiest streets in the afternoon, I remember sitting dead centre in the middle of the street for five minutes. No cars were in sight. I only had to move because an ambulance would come down my way. It was one of the hardest times, especially in the automotive industry. No one was driving, no one was allowed to travel. So I just kept that positive mindset: “It will be okay, just keep going.” Always looking in that positive direction got me to keep that resilience.

I feel like community has been pretty strong with us.

My parents grew up in the village. They have their small communities in Davao and Dumaguete. I feel like, if I went out of my parents’ house across the street while hungry and asked neighbours for some barbeque, I could just grab that barbeque. And if they come across, it would be reciprocal. It would definitely come across because of the community they were brought up in and the people that they’re around. And my parents have brought that spirit here too.

It goes back and forth even within our family as well, especially when it comes to business. I would go to my dad’s location in Surrey when he needs something to happen. And then vice versa, he’ll come here. I’m stronger with electrical work. My dad is better with mechanical work. We trade spots every now and then. I’ll do that, he’ll do this. It’s probably more transactional because that’s labour for labour, but the roots are still there.

What utopia can I imagine for Filipino Canadians?

I would say, it’s simply seeing a place where people help each other out. Going back to the sad tragedy that happened at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival* – as sad as it sounds, it has brought many people back together to root for each other. There’s that level of pride passed around, not hiding Filipino culture and heritage. I’m proud of my Filipino roots: I want to see the Philippine flag carried across stronger. And a split flag with the Canadian flag as well, so that they see that flag of opportunity. After all, people come to Canada for that Canadian dream – to be successful, to be somebody, to do good.

To those aspiring to be entrepreneurs: have a positive attitude. Remember that there are no problems, only solutions. Surround yourself with positive people. Once you have them, you can keep on going because you’re always going to get that encouragement. As long as people with the same values will keep you in check – that “you’re going too far,” “that’s not the right direction” – stick with them and just keep on going.