Long hours for taxi driver with multiple businesses

“Trabaho way limit mintras nagginhawa pa ta. Gamiton nato atong maayong lawas nga lig-on pa (Work without limits while we are still alive. Let’s take advantage of our good health).”
This is the personal motto of Reynaldo Palatulon, a Criminology graduate who drives a taxi and engages in multiple businesses on the side.
Palatulon is used to working hard. As a college student studying Criminology at the University of Cebu, he supported himself by doing odd jobs, delving into the networking world and investing in some stocks. He graduated in 1995 and applied to become a policeman, but was not accepted. So he drove a taxi instead and set up his businesses.
He now works long hours, starting his day at 3 a.m. by heading to the Carbon Market to shop for ingredients for the small eatery that he and his wife own. Palatulon and his wife, with the help of four workers, cook the food they serve at their eatery.
When the cooking is done, he leaves to work as a taxi driver until midnight while his wife runs the Repal’s Eatery in Banawa. As a taxi driver, he earns an average of P500 a day.
“Right now I am concentrating on my eatery because of the sales,” he shared in Cebuano. He is also a public utility jeepney (PUJ) operator and engages in a buy-and-sell car business.
The eatery earns about P5,000 a day. In a month, he said they net P14,000 to P15,000 from the eatery alone. Foot traffic at the eatery is good. Palatulon also requires his PUJ drivers to eat at least twice a day at the eatery.
“Di mo mukaon, adto nalang mo sa lain. Sugot ra sad sila. (If you don’t eat at the eatery, drive a jeep for someone else. Thankfully, they agreed),” he said.
His buy-and-sell business started only three months ago. Palatulon said he earlier purchased a used Land Cruiser and sold this for P90,000 more. Another car is available in the market, selling it for P380,000.
With the revenues from his businesses, Palatulon supports his parents, wife, and child.
His daughter is studying to become a medical technologist and plans to further study medicine. For this, he must keep working.
“Naay uban driver nga makakwarta na gani, musuyop na, mag-inom na. Ako? Ang goal is makahuman akong anak. Ma successful siya. Mao na akong goal. (Some drivers spend their earnings on their vices. My goal is for my daughter to finish college, for her to be successful),” he said. Despite working long hours, Palatulon said he finds time for his family.
“Family bonding is most important,” he said.