Far East Services and Development Corporation (FESDC) first saw the light of day in the late fifty’s under the name Batangas Services Inc.   As it is named, the corporation has undergone different stages of development before it was  formally given its  name.

Isidoro or Dodoy, a mountain boy from ” Isla Verde” has just married Rosing and needed to start up a business to fulfill a dream of a good life for his upcoming family.

All our mountain boy knew was to be a boat assistant or a household help.   As a young boy from a poor family Dodoy has always worked  during school vacations as a helper in a boat that trades cargoes everywhere around the seas surrounding Batangas, Mindoro and some parts of the Visayas islands in the Philippines.

Now having  just gotten married and nothing but a high school diploma to boast of,  he was raring to go into the world of business.  Thus, he got himself into a negotiation with his former boat encargados to buy green bananas from them so he could  sell them in Divisoria.

He finally has a good source of income!  He was so excited about his new engagement.  Albeit, he thinks it would entail a lot of hard work! Yet he was not afraid of hard work.  He was used to hard work working as alalay(boat aid) to boat encargados. He has survived all the trials at sea and met the most vicious storms working as a boat alalay.  No tempest so huge now could be a hindrance to his purpose!

Just past twelve oclock  every evening after the boats are safely  moored  into the batangas pier,  he would start loading the bananas that he bought at wholesale price from the boat encargados from Isla Verde into a Jeepney bound for Divisoria in Manila. They would arrive in Divisoria after two hours to set up his stall for selling his Bananas to retailers.  Retailers would usually come between four to five oclock even before the sun rises in the morning. Thus,  He would  sleep on top of his bananas and wait for dawn. (to be continued)