FIRECRACKERS INSPECTION. Personnel from the Licenses and Permits Division of the City Mayor's Office of Gen. Santos inspect one of the stalls selling fireworks at the Oval Plaza. Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. has decreed a ban against the use and sale of the more dangerous firecrackers.
PAMASKONG PAMBATA. Representative Darlene Antonino-Custodio, of the 1st Congressional District of South Cotabato, hands out a gift to one of the kids from St. Gemma's Orphanage during the Pamaskong Pambata: Alay ng Kongreso affair at the Oval Plaza Children's Playground last weekend. The kids were earlier treated to games and entertainment courtesy of the office of the congresswoman who has been doing this annually to a number of the city's underprivileged kids and orphans.
NEW LGU DANCE GROUP. Dr. Arvin Alejandro, City Chief of Hospital (front) leads his group from the Livability Cluster perform their dance moves during the Employees' Christmas Party of the local government of Gen. Santos last weekend at the KCC Mall Convention Center. Also in him in the photo are (back, L-R) LCR Assistant Department Head Inday Tablizo, CSWDO Head Becky Magante, LCR Department Head Elena Sarino and City Health Office Action Officer Dr. Lalaine Calonzo. More than 2,000 employees and their family members who showed up for the festive occasion cheered their lively number. Later on, Mayor Jun Acharon distributed cash gifts of P10,000 each to his workers.
CHRISTMAS CASH GIFTS. General Santos City Mayor gives out cash gifts of P10,000 each to the regular employees of the local government unit during their Christmas Party on December 21, 2007 at the KCC Convention Center. Assisting him are (L-R) Councilors Jane Calunsag, Nephthali Natividad, Meggie Santos and First Lady Dr. Rose Acharon. A total of P10million was appropriated by the Sangguniang Panlungsod for the said Christmas gifts.
BANK PRESIDENT AT CITY HALL. Land Bank of the Philippines president and chief executive Gilda Pico during her courtesy call on Gen. Santos City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. on December 20, 2007 to discuss his priority environment-protection related projects. The Land Bank of the Philippines is offering a loan facility of about P300million to the city to finance its Sanitary Landfill Project in Barangay Sinawal .
BEACH VOLLEYBELLES. SK Federation-Gensan President Jane Calunsag, representing City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. gives the thumbs up with volleybelles of Gen. Santos Doctor's Hospital Foundation (left) and Holy Trinity College - Team A at the start of the 2nd Beach Volleyball PBA Jr. Cup Tournament at the Queen Tuna Park (Lion's Beach) on December 19, 2007. Also with her are (extreme left) Rodolfo Yu and Christian Gonzales (extreme right), both from the Sports & Games Development Division of the City Mayor's Office. The Trinitarians won this first fight of the tournament which is an official event of Pasko sa Gensan 2007. (GenSan CMO/avel manansala)
TABLE TENNIS PBA CUP. Dr. Arvin Alejandro, Tournament Director of the 1st PBA Jr. Invitational Table Tennis Tournament congratulates the winners during the awarding ceremony on December 16, 2007 at the Oval Plaza Gym while Event Manager Christian Gonzales listens behind him. Players from various high schools of Gensan were pitted against those from Davao, Cotabato City and North Cotabato during the 3-day tourney which was part of the Pasko-sa-Gensan calendar.
BBC REPORTER. Gen. Santos City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. orients British Broadcasting Corporation Reporter Andrew Harding and his camera man Darren Conway (2nd & 3rd from left) on the current state of the Tuna Industry in the city during their courtesy call on him last week. The award-winning BBC Asia Correspondent was in town to do a special report about the aforementioned matter and meet up with some of its major stakeholders.
PARANGAL NG KAWANI. Chief of Staff Ernie Quisay of the City Mayor's Office of Gen. Santos is flanked by emcees City Assistant Administrator Glennville Gonzales and City Population Program Officer Judith Janiola while welcoming the 75 honorees from the local government to the Parangal ng Kawani, a tribute-of-sorts for their 20 years of service. Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. later awarded a Nokia cellphone to each one of them as a token for their longevity and dedication.
LCP MAYORS IN MSU-MARAWI. Mayors from various areas representing the League of Cities of the Philipines is shown here during their courtesy call on Mindanao State University President Dr. Ricardo De Leon recently, as part of their LCP Caravan in Northern Mindanao. From left to right are Tagum City Mayor Rey Chiong T. Uy (LCP Representative for Region 11), Gen. Santos City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. (LCP VP for Mindanao), Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos (LCP President), Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham Tolentino (LCP Treasurer), Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz (LCP Representative for Region 10), Muñoz City Mayor Nestor Alvarez (LCP Focal Mayor for the Millenium Development Goals), former Samal Mayor Roger Antalan (LCP Program Coordinator), and Mr. Ram Sitaldas, President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
ADMIRING THE FIREWORKS. Kagandahan GenSan Chairperson and GenSan First Lady Dr. Rose Acharon and City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. observe the Fireworks Display in the sky above the Oval Plaza right after the latter led the countdown signalling the formal start of the Pasko-sa-Gensan 2007 during a jampacked Opening Ceremony of the Pasko-Sa-Gnsan 2007 Festival.
BEST LUPONG TAGAPAMAYAPA. Outgoing Barangay Apopong Captain Delia Rabanes (2nd from right) proudly displays the mock check of P50,000 she received from Gen. Santos City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. and DILG City Director Rodolfo Bernardino (1st & 2nd to her right) which her barangay won as the Best Lupong Tagapamayapa of the city, besting 25 others and giving it the right to compete in the Regional Finals sponsored by the DILG. Republic Act 7160 known as the Local Government Code of 1991, mandates in its Section 399 the creation in each barangay a Lupong Tagapamayapa and in Sec 402 the functions of such body for dispute settlement and conflict resolution. Also in this photo taken during the Barangay Councilors' Oathtaking last week are (from left) City Councilor Ramon Milleza and Vice-Mayor Florentina Congson.
FIRST LADIES. Gen. Santos City First Lady Dr. Rose Acharon with the wives of some of the members of the Border Committee of the Republic of Indonesia at a Welcome Dinner hosted by Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. on December 4, 2007 at the Sydney Hotel prior to their tour of the Pasko-Sa-Gensan Grand Reef festivity at the Oval Plaza. To her left is the wife of Major General Jenderal Tni. Djoko Susilo Utomo, head of the delegation. They were in the city for a joint border patrol meeting with their Filipino counterparts.
BORDER TALKS. GenSan City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. addresses the 35 members of the Indonesian Border Committe during the Welcome Luncheon he tendered for them at the Babes Bar of the East Asia Royale Hotel on December 4, 2007. They and their Filipino counterparts from the Philippine Navy and Philippine Army are in the city for their joint country 26th Chairman's Meeting on December 5-6.
THE MAYOR & SK CHAIRS.
ACHIEVERS ALL. Gensan City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. strikes a happy pose with members of his clan, all newly-elected barangay officials after administering their mass oath-taking ceremony along with 205 others from the city's 26 barangays on the morning of November 28, 2007 at the Lagao Gym. Photo shows (L-R) Brgy. Dadiangas West Councilor Yolando Acharon, the mayor, Barangay Sinawal Councilor Ricardo Acharon, and Barangay Dadiangas West Captain Edgar Acharon. 
PEACE FORUM. Gensan City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. acknowledges the crowd at the opening of the Peace Forum at the Sarangani Capitol Gym on November 26, 2007. The forum is part of the celebration of the Mindanao Week of Peace which is an initiative of the Office of the President under Honorable Jesus Dureza, Secretary of the Peace Process. Photo shows (L-R) General Vicente Luna (Eastern Mindanao Command Chief), Secretary Dureza, Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez, Mayor Acharon and Sarangani Vice-Governor Steve Solon.
SARGEN LEADERS IN INDONESIA. Gen. Santos City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. and Sarangani Province Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez (1st & 2nd from right) stand in attention during the arrival honors for the Philippine delegation at the Tahuna City Airport in Sangihe Island, North Sulawesi on November 21, 2007. The leaders were in this Indonesian island for trade talks and to witness the culmination of the 3-day joint border patrol exercise between the two countries. Also in photo are (from right) AFP Eastern Mindanao Commander Gen. Cardozo Luna, Chair of the Philippine panel overseeing the border crossing agreement and Regent Winsulan Salindejo, Regent of the Sangihe Islands chain. (avel manansala/foto by edwin espejo)
JUNIOR OFFICIALS TAKE OVER CITY HALL. Photo shows Gen. Santos City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. (seated) and the Junior Officials tasked to take over the duties of the elected local government leaders during their first day of office at the city hall on November 19, 2007. Selected from more than 75 applicants from various schools in the city, these high school students will perform the basic functions of the mayor, the vice mayor and the councilors for a week. Also in photo are (L-R) Hope Christian School's Ruby Jane Ong, Stephanie Chu, Sharla Billena, Kenn Derik Sy (Junior Vice-Mayor) and Mary Rose Torrijos; Notre Dame of GSC's Dennis Marigon and Eva Cynthia Flores; MSU's Boni Brendi Abuyog (Junior Mayor); Leoncio Enobio, Jr. of GSC National School of Arts and Trade; Trixia Marie Ebol of MSU; Ivan Dimadid of RMMC; Angelica Rose Dellosa of NDDU-IBED and City Youth Affairs Division Chief Elmer Cequiña. Not in photo is Jamie Villamor of Holy Trinity College. This undertaking is an annual project of the YADO which is under the City Mayor's Office. 
WASTE MANAGEMENT COURSE AT UP FOR ACHARON. GenSan City Mayor Pedro Acharon, Jr. (extreme left) during a break at his class on "Toxic & Hazardous Waste Management" at the University of the Philippines Diliman from November 9-12, 2007. This is the first of the four-module training course which the mayor, a licensed civil engineer, enrolled in under the Certificate Program on Toxic and Hazardous Waste Management of the UP's National Engineering Center to strenghten his administration's implemention of the city's Integrated Solid Waste and Waste Water Management Plan. With him in the photo are (L-R) Phil. Batteries, Inc.'s Jayme Gonzales, Course Director Dr. Gene Peralta of NEC, Globe Telecom's Beth Tamayo, Team Enery Sual Corp.'s Eric Legarda, Phil. Abatement Systems Specialist Inc.'s Lito Pogon and Carlito Cabanela, also of Team Energy. 
TOKEN FOR MS. UNIVERSE-PHILS. GenSan City Mayor hands over a token to Ms. Philippines-Universe 2007 Michelle Escuin during her last day of visit in the Tuna Capital on November 16, 2007. The 24-year old Fil-Am beauty whose family hails from Bacolod was in town to belie negative reports about the peace and order situation as usually reported in the US press. She toured the Fishport Complex, the world's largest pineapple plantation of DOLE in Polomolok, South Cotabato and the white beaches of Glan, Sarangani, among others. She also hobnobbed with the students of the Dole International school and a class of specially-abled kids at the SPED School in Gensan.( GenSan CMO/avel manansala)
Bing's family has been in the bakeshop business for over twenty years in Gensan at that time and it was inevitable that he himself venture into it. But not after resigning from the NFA in Davao City and marrying Armie two years earlier who was then managing her family's furniture business in Gensan that he saw it fit to start their own Rolee Bakeshop outlet.
Luckily, their sixty square meter outlet with 5 workers was right smack in the middle of a high traffic area along the city's business district, Santiago Boulevard. Three months later, they opened their second branch at the Central Public Market.
The couple did not leave anything to chance and personally supervised the operations of their two outlets.
"With an old Toyota Tamaraw which I borrowed from my family, we personally did the purchasing of raw materials and helped in the delivery of our finished products to the two outlets," Bing says.
The newly-weds were sticklers for quality. According to Armie, "We made sure that we use the highest quality ingredients for our products available in the market. And we do not let our breads stay on the shelf for more than 24 hours including our flagship brand, the Rolee cream bread."
Armie who has Kapampangan roots even enrolled together with Bing at Asian Baking Institute in Manila, immersing themselves into discovering their own signature bread. She and Bing paid considerable attention to learning from other bakeshop outlets during their travels, tasting their bestsellers, hoping to ascertain what made them become such, and ultimately trying to produce their own versions.
The couple's efforts on R&D eventually paid off and from a product line of 20, Rolee's now boasts of 60 types of breads and pastries.
One current favorite is the La Crema with its soft-willowy crust and sweet-pastel filling. Armie recalls, "The first time we came out with it, our customers immediately liked it but were dismayed by the price. We had to come up with a solution where we made it a wee bit smaller but still we did not scrimp on our ingredients."
Just recently, they spun off the NATURA line of breads, for the health-conscious bread eaters. Bing, who visits the gym daily, considers this his baby.
"We're giving the consumers more reasons for patronizing our bakeshop. We want them to know that we value their health and well-being, hence this new line of baked goods. We never stop innovating; we never stop improving on our offerings to provide our clients more value for their money."
Armie, who has a degree on Master in Entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management to her name said that this desire to constantly give their clients the best also moved them to come up with a premium version of their successful cream bread to which Rolee was known for.
She explains, "When we felt it was time to upgrade our flagship product, we knew we had to increase its price because we will be using more expensive ingredients and better packaging."
They however did not want to abandon their old customers who were loyal buyers of the classic cream bread.
"Although we have come up with first-rate products, we decided to keep the old cream bread bestseller because this was how Rolee became known for. Besides, why fix it if it isn't broken?" Armie opines.
So now if you visit any of their outlets, you will notice the old reliable variety still sitting side by side with the more pricey upstarts on the shelves.
From a mere 5 employees in 1992, the couple now supervises over a hundred workers, some of whom have been with them for more than ten years.
According to Bing, "We consider our employees as family members. We want them to feel that whatever success we reap is all because of team work, because of the individual contribution of each member. This business is also theirs as much as it is ours."
Now on its 13th year, Bing and Armie consider this phase of their business as their "second wind".
With their two kids going off for college in the very near future, the couple is now getting ready for their eventual involvement in the family business but not before instituting more radical changes on their operations.
With 13 outlets including one franchise in Metro Manila and counting, they are now working on professionalizing the ranks of their workforce, hiring well-trained managers in the process. Simultaneously, a total upgrade of their Accounting and Inventory Systems will also be carried out.
"Our goal is to establish two additional outlets every year and the need to come up with more cohesive and fool-proof systems to better manage them is now on the pipeline," Bing explains.
"We could have actually built more outlets than we have now at a faster pace early on but we felt that this could get in the way of providing quality time for our children," he says.
That is why, in envisioning a future which requires minimal involvement from them in running the business, the couple couldn't help but smile at the prospect.
"We have been working so hard at it ever since we started. Although we have managed to balance our lives between our business and our kids, still it would be refreshing if we could delegate more and worry less," Armie adds.
Their advice for young entrepreneurs?
First, is to never sacrifice family on the course of earning a living. Despite what has been a busy lifestyle for the couple, they still had time to supervise their children's education. Their daughter and son are among the top of their classes at a school in General Santos.
Second, practice "delayed gratification" in handling your finances. If they couldn't afford it, Bing and Armie never purchased anything beyond what was in their savings even if it could be had on credit. They lived simply, only buying what they need for their business and their family.
Third, do what you can for your community. Bing is currently the President of the Rotary Club of General Santos City. He has devoted a lot of time in his incumbency in a series of projects to help out the less fortunate in the city. At the same time, Armie has ventured into a scheme for their bakery outlets which gives a percentage discount on purchases made by Senior Citizens. Both have also involved themselves in tourism-related affairs of the city government like the Tuna Festival.
"That is the least we could do bearing in mind the graces we have received from above. All of these were just loaned to us by our Maker and for anyone who wants to succeed in what he does, he should always be humbled and guided by the fact that to whomever much was given, much is also expected," Armie explains while husband Bing nods in agreement.
