Posted on: February 26, 2026
Written by: Josephine M. Ramos
Melca Ombion ensures that her sari-sari store is packed with a variety of products so she can meet the diverse needs of her customers.
“Hindi ka dapat umasa sa isang business lang para if ever na humina ang isang negosyo mo ay may pagkukuhanan ka pa ng pang-araw-araw niyo (If you can, never depend on just one business so that if one slows down, you have another source to cover daily needs),” said Melca Ombion, a 54-year-old mom from Palawan.
During her younger years, Melca gained experience working in a hardware store and a pharmacy, laying the foundation for her later ventures.
A promising start
Her first sari-sari store business started in 1999. At that time, she was one of the first entrepreneurs to open a store in her area, which helped her business thrive and quickly attract customers.
Over time, competition grew, but she remained focused on her business. Gradually, other stores closed, while hers continued to grow, making it one of the longest-running in their neighborhood.
She has never been one to sit back and do nothing. In fact, staying busy energizes her. Rather than slowing down, the thought of establishing more businesses pushed her to work harder. Driven by determination, she opened a barbershop.
While managing her existing businesses, she made time to raise chickens and pigs to strengthen her finances and save a portion of her income.
Melca did all of this to provide for their daily needs and for her child, who was studying in Iloilo. Soon enough, her efforts paid off, and her child is now graduated from college.
Many people told her not to rush, especially now that her child is already working. But for her, as long as she can, she will keep working. She believes that while you are young, you must build and invest so that when you grow older, you will have something to harvest.
There were highs, but there were also their lows. The 2020 pandemic forced her barbershop to temporarily close. By the time she reopened, business had already slowed, pushing her to lease the shop to other barbers in 2025.
Access to additional capital
To increase capital for her sari-sari store, Melca took loans from CARD SME Bank, a thrift bank under CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI). In 2014, she was motivated to join because of the bank’s low interest rates.
Currently, she has an active loan of PHP 500,000.00, which she uses partly as capital for her store and to support her role as a konek2CARD agent. In this role, she can assist clients with cash-in, cash-out, and loan payments via the mobile banking application, allowing them to access services without traveling to the branch.
Years from now, she hopes to expand into the agriculture business. She also dreams of opening a pharmacy, especially now that her child is a pharmacist in Palawan. Melca strives to ensure that her time and resources are put to good use and not wasted.
