Meet Girlie and Angelo

Written by Kiana Flores

It is commonly taught that in order to achieve overall wellbeing is to be financially secure, and to be financially secure is to have a well-paying and secure job. A lot of people build their lives around this concept and accept it as fact but for 30-somethings Angelo and Girlie, life holds so much better possibilities than that.

Hailing from the hustle and bustle of Manila, Angelo and Girlie were tenured corporate rats who lived for the weekend. They were great at their job and they’re teetering on several promotions up the corporate ladder, but nothing filled them with excitement than going away for the weekend. “We would do our jobs and then every weekend or long weekend, every time we get the chance to get out of the city, we would do that,” Girlie recalls their systematically planned leaves and weekends off to drive for hours to nearby provinces in Luzon.

But as soon as the weekends start, the sooner it’s over, and the couple find themselves questioning their day-to-day. Girlie recalls the dread that constantly jumps out at her whenever they’d drive back to Manila after their weekend-long excursions: “I have to think about… ‘My God is this really it? Is this really the life that we want?’ where you wake up really early in the morning, get ready for work, buy coffee, work eight to ten hours, go back home, cook your meal, do a little bit of house chores, then go to sleep. And then wake up the following day doing the same exact thing.”

And so driven by their love of adventure, Angelo and Girlie traded the fast-paced grind of corporate life in Manila for the serene shores of Dahican, Mati City where they now own and manage a resort and two cafes.

Silingan talks to Angelo and Girlie about their inspired move to Dahican, bringing their unique flair to the community, and learning everything from scratch.

On visiting Mati for the first time

Mati was pretty new for the couple. Angelo’s friend encouraged him to visit in 2005 but they didn’t make the trip until 2010. Upon their arrival, they were met with a raging storm, and had to brave through lugging both their surfboards atop a pedicab. In the morning, however, Angelo and Girlie woke up to beautiful turquoise waters and the quiet Dahican beach.

Angelo remembers the simplicity of Dahican then: “Everything was so raw, we couldn’t find any restaurants, all we could find for food were canned goods and we had to go to the palengke for our meals. That’s it.”

He adds that the decision to relocate here was a no-brainer because they took a liking to the place and saw opportunities for growth and learning within the community. “The place back then was pretty young in terms of surf culture and other opportunities, and we wanted to grow, learn from, and teach the community.”

And this reeled them in for the better.

On leaving the big city life behind

The great thing about Mati is that it’s a city that’s also only a couple of hours away from Davao City, so in a way Angelo and Girlie did not completely leave their city life behind.

“[Looking back], the decision to move was fairly easy because we had family here [in Davao City] and we knew Ondi, a local na magsasabi sa’min kung sino ‘yung mga taong dapat naming makilala. But it really takes a lot to imagine yourself living that life, knowing that some of the necessities or enjoyments you had in a big city like Manila will not be accessible here.” Girlie explains.

But the couple learned to adjust from that. They recognize that being able to source ingredients not readily available or as easily accessible in Mati affords them the creativity in the kitchen and their offerings at the cafes.

“Now that we have a business, it’s useful because there are some ingredients in the food we offer here that could not be sourced in Mati so we’d go to Davao for that, then we can do our city things, too. Either manonood kami ng movie but then most of the time it will only be just three days kasi after that uwing-uwi na talaga ako ng Mati,” Girlie quips, adding that that was how she knew she liked Mati.

On creating a destination coffee shop deep within Bobon

In the heart of Angelo and Girlie’s cozy cabins is a cafe named after Dahican that offers refreshments and brews to those staying overnight or just passing through. As it’s a little far off Bobon Road, visitors often take the time to stay longer to cool down with the sea breeze, soaking in the vibe of Coral Casitas and Cafe Dahican.

“Our partnership with Cafe Dahican was mostly because Angelo and I had a dream, and we understand how it is to have a dream, so we offered out the spot to Motty and Ferina, who we heard have been dreaming of setting up a cafe here. Plus, Cafe Dahican already had a following and they serve really good coffee so why not give them a chance?”

Motty and Ferina were initially hesitant to accept the offer because of the location but this is where Girlie’s candor and creativity come into play. “I told them that you’ll be a destination coffee kasi they’ll enjoy the place. We’ll make the place beautiful so people will go, plus na lang ‘yung coffee. Ultimately, they’ll go because the place is beautiful, they can relax and chill.”

Their restaurant’s menu eventually blew up because Angelo liked whipping things up in the kitchen. His interest in food was borne out of his family’s love for cooking and hosting, which is reflected in their menu. “It’s all a reflection of what we used to prepare in Manila and most of the food is either Angelo’s or his lola’s recipe,” shares Girlie, who was the first to encourage Angelo to serve his recipes to the public.

On their unique food selection

*An illustration by a customer pinned on their cafe’s bulletin*

During the couple’s first few years in Dahican, they noticed that there were gaps in the food and service industry in the city.

“There’s not much food and cafes here. We need more places to dine, more quality food, because tourists are coming in. Also for the locals to experience new flavors inspired by Mati or even from Mati that they haven’t tried before,” says Angelo.

As for Girlie, who’s adept at making smoothie bowls and refreshers for sun-soaked visitors, she says it’s a matter of cooking something for her husband. She recalls making smoothie bowls in their condo after waking up one morning feeling heavy from what they were eating. “The smoothie bowls I used to whip up from scratch and from whatever available ingredients we had in the fridge was also brought here in Kommunity Cafe, and people are loving it.”

On empowering their staff and fostering community

Since Coral Casitas first opened, Girlie has been hands-on in the operations and management, training their staff on soft skills that they need to develop for a better customer experience. She has inspired a few staff members to go above and beyond their duties, noting how proud she is that one staff now knows how to expertly make pizza dough from scratch.

For Girlie, it’s about the principle of not just working for a boss but being clever and creative in making money and imparting that learning. “We wanted to show locals na hindi lang puro lechon manok ang pwedeng gawing negosyo. We’re not saying that we’re trying to be a big influencing body but that we do these things in our own little ways. For example, in Cafe Dahican we sell jewelry and anik-aniks there. It was more of teaching my staff not just to work for someone, so I said, ‘Tutal mahilig naman kayong gumawa ng jewelry, kapitalan ko ang negosyo niyo so you have capital to buy beads and then you pay me back.’”

On branching out to Kommunity Cafe

This year, Angelo, Girlie, and Ferina opened Kommunity Cafe with an aim to bring together different types of visitors, local folk, and their craft in one place. Right now, they serve as the “bulletin board” for community events or services that are happening in the Dahican-Bobon area.

The offerings in Kommunity Cafe bring a new element of flavor to Dahican, with a focus on nourishing and healthy fare. Their intentions with the menu follow their principle that everything they’re serving is also what they’re eating.

On what it means to be a community

Angelo and Girlie attribute much of their motivation to the place and the community—the shared responsibility and reciprocity. As for Girlie, she emphasizes the sharing of resources and skills by the small number of F&B businesses in Dahican.

Now, Angelo and Girlie hopes for a community in Dahican that is able to grow mutually

“An ideal community would be sana ‘wag nalang tayong mainggit sa isa’t-isa. We have to understand that to be able to grow. Sabi nga nila, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, what more a community, ‘di ba? Everyone should learn how to be kind to one another,” she explains, highlighting the ideal mutualistic relationship that everyone should have and learning from each other without assuming negative things about the other.

“I also think people’s lives are enriched because they’re open to absorbing or learning from people. You just take the good. Be open to learning and absorbing the things that will elevate your life and your skills. That’s how people end up having good relationships with each other.”

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And this is how two people, driven by their sense of adventure, found themselves a home and a community in Dahican. Some adventures are merely adventures, but for Angelo and Girlie, it opened up a greater sense of hunger for growth, learning, and a renewed purpose that’s greater than themselves.