Carlos "Botong" Francisco's ancestral home is located at 217 Doña Aurora St., Angono, Rizal

Who is Botong Franciscso?

You cannot miss Botong Francisco's house, you can see this in front of his house

The "Mutya ng Pasig" artwork is the one on the right

Botong Francisco's bust

National Artist Award

Carlos "Botong" Francisco's medal as National Artist. It was awarded to him posthomously

Angono, Rizal as Botong's Hometown

It's easy to spot the street where Carlos "Botong" Francisco lives, it has an arch and a marker

Botong's Ancestral Home

Photo op with Carlos "Totong" Francisco II. You can see his artwork at the background

I love visiting zoos. It's my way of seeing animals that I don't see on a daily basis. I want to see animals with my naked eyes instead of seeing them from books. I also want to see these animals alive than seeing them in museums. 

Whenever we visit zoos, I also try to avail of the 'extras' in the zoos, like having a photo with the animal, feeding the animals, etc. because I know that maintaining a huge number of animals costs a lot, and availing of the extras will help augment in the overall maintenance of the zoos.

I also like Kib to have a passion for animals. Bringing him to zoos is my way of teaching Kib about these animals and for him not to have any fears with them. It is also my way of teaching Kib to have a passion for animals. 

Kib and I had visited zoos both locally and internationally. We had been to Ark Avilon, Avilon Zoo, Mini Zoo at Residence Inn in Tagaytay, Manila Zoo, Kinder Zoo, Manila Ocean Park, Hong Kong Ocean Park, Ueno Zoo in Japan, Davao Crocodile Farm, Puerto Princesa Crocodile Farm, Zoobic Safari, Malabon Zoo, Las Farolas, Island Cove, among others. We also visited some animal sanctuaries like the Bohol Bee Farm, some butterfly gardens, fruit bat sanctuary in Boracay, tarsier habitat in Bohol, the pawikan (sea turtle) sanctuary in Bataan, Sta. Elena Fun Farm among others. I wanted Kib to have the best travel experience by going to places where he would learn a lot. This is part of our homeschooling adventures. 

Manila Ocean Park experience with the sea lion

Posing with a fruit bat in Boracay

Kinder Zoo inside Manila Zoo

Palawan Crocodile Farm

Bohol Bee Farm

Lyger Animal Sanctuary in Pililia, Rizal

I know, some of the animal rights activists will disagree with me, but I also have valid reasons for liking zoos.  

1. Zoos, in a true sense, are not only meant for entertainment. They are established to provide valuable information about animals to visitors. Zoos are also places to study the behavior of the animals and to provide experts with answers they needed to further help the animals of the same kind in the wild.

Ocean Park in Hong Kong

2. Zookeepers make sure that the animals have good living conditions. It may not be the ideal one, but they make sure that the animals have enough living space for them to grow and get the daily exercise they need.

Flamingoes in Ueno Zoo, Japan

3. Zookeepers also find a way to know the animals. They know if the animals are in good mood or not. It is also part of educating the visitors. They also remind the visitors to treat the animals with respect even if they are in enclosed areas. Visitors can ask any questions about animals to the zookeepers.

4. Animal rights activists will say that animals are better in the wild, but with what's happening in the world (modernization, illegal killing, and selling of animal parts), do you think animals still have a fair chance to live on their own? 

We already heard of animals dying because they do not have enough food to eat. We also heard seeing wild animals roaming on the streets. This is because they are looking for food. These animals have no food in their usual territory, that is why they go out of their comfort zones to look for food. Moreover, most wild animals do not include humans in their diet and they only resort to eating humans when there is no more food to eat in their territory. 

For me, it's better for animals to live under the care of humans because their health will be closely monitored and they will be fed well instead of them living in the wild with uncertainty because of the poachers who are interested in selling their parts in the black market.

Now that we are in a pandemic, visits to zoos are limited. As a result, zoo management is having a hard time coping with the expenses of feeding the animals. Animal rights activists say that the animals should be released in the wild to give them a fair chance to hunt for food. However, wild animals that have been fed by humans for a long time do not have hunting instincts anymore. What is the assurance that these animals will survive in the wild?

5. Zoos are also places for animal research. There are zoos that have facilities where they can study the animals more. Not all the time zoos are regarded as evil places for animals. The people working in the zoos are also finding ways to release animals bred under their care in the wild, especially the endangered animals. 

Pawikan Conservation Center in Morong, Bataan

Let us not demonize zoos. I support zoos because it is my way of learning about the animals that I only see in books. I want to see these animals alive than seeing them in museums. If zoos are not invented, safari or jungle trips will be very costly and only a few people can actually see these animals in the wild. I know that some people will disagree with me, but let us agree to disagree, okay? 

Every woman is extraordinary and has different needs. Despite the differences among women, each woman is beautiful in her own way.

When it comes to hair care, every woman has different needs for different types of hair. Some have colored hair, wavy hair, straight hair, curly hair, among others. Each hair type needs special care. Moreover, the hair is what makes the woman fantastic, confident, and strong.

Pantene 3-Minute Miracle has different products in this line that can cater to a woman's hair care needs. It can be either Collagen Repair, Keratin Smooth, or Biotin Strength. If paired with Pantene Total Damage Care Shampoo, a woman can have a Salontastic-kind of hair!

Let's take a look at Anne Curtis-Smith, Kylie Versoza, and Gabbi Garcia, the chosen Pantene women for Pantene's latest campaign.

Strong like a Biotin Beauty

Anne Curtis-Smith is a classic epitome of beauty and strength. A multi-talented host and actress, Anne is currently busy taking care of her daughter, Dahlia. She is currently using Pantene Biotin Strength for her hair because it keeps her hair strong. She does not have to think about hair breakage and hair fall anymore.

Pantene Biotin Strength 3-Minute Miracle does wonders by repairing three months' worth of hair damage in three minutes! It strengthens and nourishes the hair from root to tip.

Smooth like a Keratin Beauty

Confident like a Collagen Gal

I am all up for growing your money. I am now in the stage where I need to prepare for my future needs, like saving up for Kib's college, retirement, and critical illness. 

I am now exploring all options available for me to grow my money. I have been asking friends and consulting bank managers for the best option to grow my money actively and passively. As you know, I have a full-time job and I also do side hustles like blogging opportunities, writing opportunities, selling stuff every now and then, and maintaining our online business, Katsa Co.

One of the things that I prepared for the future is getting life insurance with VUL and critical illness rider. Insurance advisors advised me to add up to the current insurance policy that I got, but I have to review my finances first if I can still afford to get another policy.

You see, while having life insurance is a must for everyone, it is not also easy for some to pay for it for years. The first life insurance policy that I got when I was in my 20s lapsed after four years of paying because I didn't fully understand the importance of saving for the future. Maybe I was still young at that time. I got single pay insurance nine years ago because I preferred a one-time payment instead of paying for it for years. I only got a full insurance policy four years ago when I was financially ready to pay for the insurance for 15 years.

Why did it take me so long to get an insurance policy and be serious about it? 

To be honest, there were some agents who tried to offer me insurance in the previous years, but I didn't avail of it because of a lot of reasons. First, I still couldn't afford to get a new policy since my income was not stable at that time. Secondly, I got intimidated by the amount that was quoted to me. The insurance agent didn't believe that I couldn't afford that amount and even jested that I was just being humble. Thirdly, I lost faith in the insurance. The insurance agent who offered me my first insurance policy didn't really guide me after my policy had lapsed.

Good product but bad agents.

Despite my bad experiences with insurance agents, I still opted to get insurance after the death of my father. I started to realize its importance since I'm a single mom. I do not want my son to be left behind with nothing should I pass away unexpectedly. 

Sadly, not all agents sell insurance with integrity and honesty. There are still insurance agents who do not disclose everything about insurance. They will only highlight the good points. While I understand that they are also salespeople, I just don't like that they are sometimes pushy and will make you feel that you made a wrong choice if you didn't sign up for an insurance policy.

I became a part of the insurance industry for a short time too, so don't think that I don't believe in insurance. I educated myself about the ins and outs of the industry, but sadly, I can say that it is not for me to make it a career. 

I had a short chat with a friend and we talked about finance. She mentioned that the first thing that people must learn first is to study their cash flow and budget before leaping into getting an insurance policy and investing. People should learn first how to spare an amount without being forced to do so. 

Don't get me wrong. I will still encourage people to get insurance, but get a policy when you have already established your cash flow. Insurance can be costly too, and paying it for 10-15 years is a long commitment. Be mentally and financially ready to pay for the policy that you will be getting so that your money will not go to waste. A lapsed insurance means that you are giving away your premiums to the insurance company for free. It's a loss at your end because you were not able to sustain the payments.

Again, insurance is good, but it has limitations. Let me point it one by one:

Insurance is good, but it is not your ultimate source of financial freedom in the future. There are lots of ways to grow your money, ranging from short-term to long-term financial goals. Like any other investment option, the investment component of an insurance policy depends on the market performance. It still depends on what kind of investment you chose for your insurance, so it is not guaranteed. Moreover, you can only enjoy the fruits of your labor in insurance when you paid your insurance in full and didn't withdraw any money. Meaning, insurance is considered a long-term investment plan.

Insurance is good, but do not put all your money into it. Diversify your liquid assets. Insurance is a long-term insurance plan. Diversify your assets by having short-term, mid-term, and long-term investments. 

Insurance is good, but you have to learn first how to do budgeting and managing cash flow. Before getting an insurance policy, make sure that you have good cash flow. Getting insurance is a long-term commitment, so if you do not have enough budget for that, do not commit to getting an insurance policy no matter how hard the agent convinces you and makes you feel guilty about not getting it early. Do not be pressured on getting insurance if you really cannot fulfill paying for it for a long time.

Insurance is good, but it is not always an investment. It can be also considered as an expense. For the first few years of paying insurance policy, it is an expense. Your money will not yet start to grow because, for the first three years, you are paying for the administrative charges of the company. Only a small portion of the premiums that you pay are invested. You will only start to feel the earnings on your policy from five years and up, but it still depends on the kind of funds you have put your money into it. As a policyholder, you must also be knowledgeable about the market trends. Your insurance agent will not give you tips on where to place your money, not unless you asked for their advice. 

Insurance is good, but it is not liquid. Liquidity means that you have cash that you can easily withdraw or use during emergencies and pleasure. While insurance policies promise growth in your money, you cannot easily take some of it. Withdrawing from insurance takes a lot of paperwork. It is not like you go to the bank and fill out a withdrawal slip and go home with cash. Withdrawing from your earnings from the insurance needs several days of processing. Moreover, you cannot enjoy the earnings from your insurance policy in its early years. As I've mentioned above, it takes time for your money to grow.

Insurance is good, but not all financial advisors are adept at discussing finance topics with you. Yes, not all insurance advisors are knowledgeable in discussing finance with you. Like any other professionals, insurance advisors also study to know more, and not all of them attend masterclasses to be better in their craft. There are some who already settle with what they know. Moreover, there are classes offered by the insurance companies that are paid.

Insurance is good, but the claiming process is tricky. During the process of signing up for the insurance, the advisors would make you feel that it's easy to file a claim as long as the requirements are complete. However, there are cases that the death of an individual is in question, like suicide or accident, which makes the claim a bit complicated. The beneficiaries have to provide other proofs to prove that there is no foul play. Moreover, the documents that need to be filled out for the claim are a bit complicated. 

Insurance is good, but it is not always cheap. Yes, insurance policies can be expensive if you decided to get them at a later age. That is why financial advisors tell you to get insurance while you are young. There are also cases that an individual may have additional premiums depending on the kind of lifestyle he/she has. However, there are what you call term insurance as low as Php100,000 that you can renew annually if you cannot afford full insurance from big insurance companies. You can get this from micro-insurance companies. SingLife (under GCash App) can offer insurance as low as the amount mentioned earlier. It's still better to have minimum protection than nothing.

Again, insurance is good, but I would advise you to explore different options to grow your money. I will be coming up with another blog to give you ideas on where you can invest.