Promoting and Empowering Small and Medium Sized Enterprises In Aklan

Boracay, popular for its white sandy beach, long coastline, rich marine life, and crystal clear waters, has been in the local and international headlines for quite some time due to its closure to give way to rehabilitation. Its success story is living proof that political will can make the impossible, possible. The feat sparked the clean up of Manila bay and inspired concerned Filipinos to work hand in hand to revive it and return it to its glorious state.

Boracay is part of Aklan and has been the source of tourism for decades. Unknown to many is the reason for the province’s source of development, thanks to local entrepreneurs and micro-enterprise– small businesses centered on community development that helped alleviate poverty. Aklan is backed by a person whose guiding principle has been the old adage “Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime”. Teodorico Haresco Jr, more commonly known as Nonong, has helped his fellowmen to not only feed themselves but to thrive amidst poverty. His recognition through the years speaks for his excellency in entrepreneurship and humanitarian causes.

• He is the only Visayan and Aklanon to receive the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Businessman of the Year Award in 2007.
• He was People Asia’s Person of the Year of 2008.
• He is acknowledged as one of the Modern Day Filipino Heroes of 2008.
• His company Winsource Solutions Inc., has been a 5-time recipient of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

Haresco started in business at an early age and has a good story to tell. He would buy shrimps in Bicol and would sell them in markets in Manila. After finishing his studies in De La Salle University, he pursued AB Economics / BSC Accounting which sparked his interest in entrepreneurship and later on finished an M.A. in International Economics at the McGill University in Canada. After that, he participated in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development -International Trade Center in Switzerland. Later on, Haresco Trade Specialists Co. and Silver Thread Inc. was born which exported Capiz shalls to the European continent.

As Congressman of Aklan, Haresco proved to be a great pick by his constituents for authoring and co-authoring more than 60 house measures including HB00111, an act establishing a mechanism for the sustainable development, use of the island of Boracay and HB 3366, an act penalizing anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position and anti competitive mergers.

His most notable and impressive contributions are: Conceptualizing the President’s Bridge Programme (PBP) as a a parallel interention tor regular government infrastructure programmes and Developing a nationwide scholarship fund for the children of slain journalists (which has put 34 young scholars through school since 2007). The former is so successful that this reengineering model is replicated in countries like Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Siberia and other parts of Asia.

From all achievements and accolades bestowed upon him as well as his contributions to Aklan and to the Philippines, nothing else gives Teodorico Haresco Jr. more fulfillment than being happily married and fathering four children.