Apart from moving into her new home in Alabang next month, Kris Aquino said she is excited about her newest venture in the taxi industry with the help of Luis Manzano and his friends. The Kris TV host admitted she was impressed when they approached her with the idea of joining them in expanding their fleet of taxis.
“Ang ganda nung presentation nila and I trusted Luis. I know that there is a need and he started it three-and-a-half years ago with just five taxis. Now he has 140 taxis in three-and-a-half years. And at the end of this year because of the infusion na ginawa ko there’s going to be 200. So may chance di ba? It’s something exciting. Ano ba yung big six na kailangan, kuryente, bahay, pagkain, transportation, tubig. So pasok siya dun. High school friends pa ni Luis yung mga nagpapatakbo and ano talaga, hands-on sila. And siguro nung hiningi ng lawyer ko na ang pumirma nung promissory note si Luis (laughs). So alam ko na hindi ako tatakbuhan. I’m an investor dun sa expansion nila,” she shared.
Kris said she was also happy when she found out how Luis and his co-investors run their business. “From what I understood because maalaga sila sa drivers kasi binibigyan na ng SSS at ng PhilHealth, may magandang benefits so hindi yung parang boundary lang. So may relationship talaga so aalagan. And lahat ng taxis sosyal ha, it’s Toyota. Malinis, bago, sosyal siya. Yung franchise is for southern Metro Manila,” she said.
Another reason why Kris also agreed to join them was because she did not have to put in as much time running the business herself. “Dito ako na-convince that this is a business na hindi ko kailangan sobrang tutukan pero alam ko na malinis ang returns at wala akong ina-agrabiyado. Parang unang meeting pa lang, nagka-tiwala na ako sa mga nagpapatakbo. Tama kasi when my mom was alive she used to say if you’re going to invest in something, either invest in yourself or invest in something where your sure about the returns and not in something because yung profits sounds too good to be true. So ito stable,” she added.
The 42-year-old host-actress also admitted she has lessened her shopping now that she has invested her money in the new house and a business. “Nabawasan kasi nga sa bahay. Tapos ang cute cute ni Bimb kasi may gusto ipabili si Josh kasi gusto niya mag-badminton. Tapos sabi ni Bimb sa kanya, 'Kuya, don’t you know we have to save and save our money so that mama doesn't have to work so hard. And because mama's paying for our new house.’ Ginaganun niya kuya niya! Sabi ko naman okay lang kasi gusto talaga magpaka-physically fit ni kuya kaya okay yun so sabi ko go. Pati ako mag-e-enroll ako diyan sa badminton, baka diyan may pag-asa ako. Kasi because I might fall. Kasi I’m so lampa (laughs). Pero sinabi sa akin ni Ai-Ai (De las Alas), hahanapin niya si Kennevic Asuncion (International badminton champion) kasi siya nag-train kay Ai. Sabi niya, 'Regalo ko yan sa ‘yo friendship para matuto ka yung champion dapat ang magturo sa ‘yo,' she recalled.
