“A Million Peso Catch”

A Story Behind the Success of San Jacinto Sardines

By: John Paul D. Arranzado

In Masbate Province specifically in San Jacinto, tamban or “awol-awol” according to

locals is considered as a garbage fish. Why? It is because of its abundance that you
can see it always available in the market that most of the households are tired of eating
this kind of fish. It has also a strong fishy odor with scaly and slimy texture. Due to its
characteristics, the fish is really inexpensive and almost no value at all, for others. But
for Mr. Norman Meteoro, tamaban is really worth a million-peso catch.

Mr. Meteoro belief on the value of tamban started during his college days. Ever since
he saw the tamban thrown away by fisher men or being neglected by his co locals, on
that very moment he envisioned that someday, someone will make use of this tamban
and show its potential as a valuable raw material.

Not for long, Mr. Meteoro started to produce sardines in 2008 just in their backyard.
With his enough knowledge, he was able to produce his own line of sardines with
unique taste and texture compared to other sardines already available in the market.
But it did not push Mr. Meteoro to put up an enterprise. For him at first it is not his
destiny to become an entrepreneur. One of the reason perhaps was that his family were
not into business. Booth his parents were a government employee. Until then when he
realized that engaging in a business doesn’t mean you are always into profit. It may
become a way to help others and give impact not just for yourself but for the whole
community. This has been Mr. Meteoro’s fuel to burn that passion to become
entrepreneur. He established Ticao Masbate Products where the brand is the San
Jacinto Sardines with only one one objective, to create employment in their locality.

And true to his heart and humble desire to help his community, San Jacinto Sardines
are now on its peak of success. But evidently, it has not been an easy journey for Mr.
Meteoro to achieve such momentous event. He faced many challenges and hurdles for
him to clinch such a victorious moment on his life. One of the obstacle he faced was the
price of his product. His target market which was the locals could not afford and the
reality that tamban was inexpensive. Aside from that he also encountered problems
such as customer’s complaints about itchiness they experienced after eating the
sardines.

This was the time when he asked for help to the experts. He seeks advice from DTI,
DOST and BFAR to resolve this problem. It took him 2 years to solve the problem and
when he was ready to mass produce, there comes another problem. BFAR halted all
fishing activities on there are in 2010. With this he has no choice but to close is
business and find another source of income.

But after three years when BFAR gave permit that allowed fishing of tamban on their
area, he continued producing the sardines. He joined different trade fairs and product
showcased just to promote his product. Unfortunately, for him it not yet enough to feel
the presence of his product. He felt that that there was something missing about his
product. Then, comes the KMME Batch 1.

At first he reluctantly joined the program because he felt that it was just a waste of time.
But he was wrong. After the 10 Modules, it changed his perspective as an entrepreneur,
360 degrees. It was really a game changer according Mr. Meteoro after completing the
modules. It helps him improve the packaging and labeling of his product. It taught him
how handle finances and people. It provides him the information on the papers and
documents necessary for him to penetrate in the high end grocery. And indeed it was a
very fruitful journey for Mr. Meteoro.

At present, Mr. Meteoro double his production from two thousand bottles per month to
four thousand. He joined different national and international trade fairs that showcased
his new and improved product. The San Jacinto Sardines are now available in
Robinson’s Mall and Ayala Mall and all other OTOP stores nationwide. It is also
available in different online shopping platform like Lazada, and Shoppe.

For, Mr. Meteoro the KMME is a life changing opportunity for an entrepreneur to
discover new things on his product as well as to his self. It opens great avenue for all
the entrepreneurs to develop their product and exposed them into a bigger market.

To the entrepreneur out there, this journey itself taught me that never surrender
in times that everything feels like falling down. Always remember that there are
hands like DTI ready to extend to help you to stand. It is your choice if you will
hold on into it or regret for the rest of your life. Because for me, I embrace it
wholeheartedly. And look at me now, I’m on top my game-Norman Meteoro.