Cebu Honesty Stores... ?

[Sand Man]

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Saw a glimpse of this this on the news but didn't get the whole story, so I searched in the Net.

Good to know this:

Batanes Honesty Coffee Shop wow foreigners, local tourists

IVANA, Batanes, Philippines – “I write to express my admiration to you for establishing your unique store called Honesty Coffee Shop,” then Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay now Vice President wrote on Feb. 23, 2009.

Reading a report about the store, Binay added, it was “a welcome treat to me, with all the corruption scandals, and unspeakable crimes that have dominated the news. It gives us reason to believe in the inherent goodness of every human being, that there is still hope for our moral recovery as a people.” Binay added, “I hope that you will remain undaunted by adversity and continue to nurture your shop so that it will remain a proud symbol of values of honesty, trust, and integrity among the Filipino people.”

Binay, now vice president, praised Elena Castaño-Gabilo for setting up in 1995 the unique store in this seaside municipality 12 kilometers south of the Batanes capital town of Basco in Batan Island. Later to be named Honesty Coffee Shop, it was put up by Mrs. Gabilo upon retiring as a public school teacher as a “Stop and Drink!” place for her transient island-mates from Sabtang while in the adjacent main island of Batan.

What makes the store one of its kind in the world is that nobody tends it, as Lola Elena, now 76, and her husband Jose, 71, do their regular farm chores and other day-to-day activities. The Gabilo couple grow agricultural crops (kamote, banana, sugarcane, corn, garlic, vegetables) on their farm nearby.

Here are the Honesty Shop rules, as listed by the couple and hung on the wall: Get what you need, please pay whenever you get. (Drop payment in a money box). If you have no change, knock at the next door. If no one answers, sorry, give more than the price. May your tribe increase, and remember – Honesty is the best policy!

The shop has become one of the “must-see” in Batanes, which is known worldwide for its picturesque and breath-taking scenery.

Tourists and visitors express their admiration for the store in a scrapbook.

Christopher Delma of the seaside Iloilo town of Miag-ao gushed: “Ang ganda talaga dito. Ang bait ng mga Ivatan.” (Batanes people are known as Ivatan).

Gee and Toffee, who dropped by last Aug. 14, asked: “Possible po bang magtayo kayo ng branch sa Maynila? Is it possible you set up a branch in Manila?)

The Batanes provincial government has also conferred the “Outstanding Ivatan Award” on Mrs. Gabilo in recognition of her “exceptional contribution and goodwill in preserving the time-tested Ivatan value of honesty through her Honesty Store.”

The store offers food items such as young coconut (buko – a visitor has to open it with the shop’s bolo), coffee, sugar, creamer, biscuits, soft drinks, noodles, etc. There are also souvenir products such as vakoul (the famous Batanes headgear), handicraft, and t-shirts.

Public service and not profit is always what’s on Lola Elena’s mind in maintaining the store. Anyway, she said, she has her retirement benefits while her husband (a former councilor and barangay captain) tends their farm. In fact, she does not record whether she is profiting or losing. All she knows is: “Hindi nauubusan ng pambili” (or replenishment items, which she buys in Basco).

“I do not want to find out (that some people are dishonest) because I don’t want to know that people are cheating me,” she said. Sometimes, a few people take advantage of the untended store.

Once, Lola Elena recalled, while scooping the proceeds from her money case, two women came in. As she had other things to do, she left them in the store. She later found that two of her t-shirt wares (costing 250 each) were gone. “Naawa ako sa manloloko,” she lamented. She somberly smiled when we volunteered: “Baka babalik sila para bayaran yung kinuha nila. Otherwise, they will not go to heaven.”

Bear the admonition posted on the store’s wall says, “This store is too small for dishonest people.”

source

Pero I think the one I saw in the news on TV today wasn't in Batanes but somewhere in Manila. According to the owner the Manileños have been honest, so far.

I hope someone puts up a similar store in Cebu, just so we can gauge how honest Cebuanos are nowadays...

[florida.blanca]

this is unattainable

this is not feasible in urban areas due to the fast paced life.

and not to mention, the fast paced pangawat

di man gani ka mamliti sa jeep TS!

sa coffee shop pa kaha nga free coffee and aircon na kaha!

[JezzyCalm]

wow jud.. nice kaau naa diay ani nga store... ma-test gyud imu self kung unsa ka.. kung mu-cheat ka, u lose.. kung dli, feel nimu winner ka, achiever!..

[ranaticsrule]

Magkalisod di pa man gani mamayad o kung sa jeep pa, mamukong hehehehe

[Sand Man]

this is unattainable

this is not feasible in urban areas due to the fast paced life.

and not to mention, the fast paced pangawat

di man gani ka mamliti sa jeep TS!

sa coffee shop pa kaha nga free coffee and aircon na kaha!

Wow. I guess you're basing your post from your experience on how you were brought up and on the immediate area where you live.

So much sadness and fail.

If hope and honesty does not start with you, Juana Mangga, then where should it start?

[Sand Man]

Magkalisod di pa man gani mamayad o kung sa jeep pa, mamukong hehehehe

How many ang mamukong as compared to those that are actually honest? You wanna hinge your opinion on the minority? Go right ahead.

[koralstratz]

this is unattainable

this is not feasible in urban areas due to the fast paced life.

and not to mention, the fast paced pangawat

di man gani ka mamliti sa jeep TS!

sa coffee shop pa kaha nga free coffee and aircon na kaha!

Kanyahay ra kang nailhang "UTOK BOLINAO" diri sa Istorya.. tungod sa imong mga posts.

Oy ondo bisan pa diri sa atong syudad or bisan pa sa ato mismong mga slum areas/ squatter areas dili tanan taw diha tikasan o kawatan....minority ra kaayo ning mga tawhana nga mangawat..

Parehas ra gud na nimo kun 'UTOK BOLINAO" ka ayaw damaya ug parehasa ug tanaw ang uban taw sama nimo.

[valleoliver]

Hala, please watch your words.

[florida.blanca]

Kanyahay ra kang nailhang "UTOK BOLINAO" diri sa Istorya.. tungod sa imong mga posts.

Oy ondo bisan pa diri sa atong syudad or bisan pa sa ato mismong mga slum areas/ squatter areas dili tanan taw diha tikasan o kawatan....minority ra kaayo ning mga tawhana nga mangawat..

Parehas ra gud na nimo kun 'UTOK BOLINAO" ka ayaw damaya ug parehasa ug tanaw ang uban taw sama nimo.

kinsa kaha nato ang utok bolinao run nga INDAY man ko!

sunod gani basaha akong profile. kay female ko! dili ko undo!

gets mo? or you want me to send you to kindergarten para makat.on kag basa?

i have lots of money and i can slap those money to your fes!

[florida.blanca]

tinuod man sad nga unattainable na nga in.ana nga business diri sa cebu oi!

such kinds of business are not feasible! kung ikaw ganahan ka magtukod ug in.ana nga business TS, expect a lot of deficit in your part! most people living in urban areas are focused on getting more benefits! they want discounts, or free items! so kung magtukod kag honesty cafe or whatever that is, expect a lot of people would take advantage out of it

now that's what you call intellectual posting, dili kay magsigi kag attack nakog personal!