Orion Perez D
last Friday
This is the SERENE HO who has recently been inciting hatred against Zoe Gabriel (the CHARLES & KEITH girl) and her family...
What you can do is to just remind her that her assumptions about Zoe Gabriel and her family are generally wrong and based on her ignorance of the fact that foreigners working in Singapore with school age kids have to pay huge sums of money to send them to local MOE schools.
She doesn't know that for a family of six foreigners with one breadwinner, whatever supposedly "high income" she imagines Zoe's father makes ends up depleted by the high cost of rent (especially now) and the high costs of unsubsidized education for 4 kids.
The second image is a screenshot of a post she made after she read my detailed explanation of her wrong assumptions.
She clearly still doesn't get it.
Pure economics isn't always the basis for decisions like bringing the whole family.
The Gabriel family decided against being like so many other Filipino families where the main breadwinner is in Singapore while the whole family stays behind in the Philippines because it is unhealthy that the family is not intact.
They felt that it was more important, despite the costs, that being together was much more important.
That said, this meant trade offs.
This meant having to be extremely frugal given that they have 4 kids, a single income household, and the kids - being foreigners - would be charged very expensive school fees.
Not much extra money left after all the expenses and the rising cost of rent.
Hence, luxuries were out of the question and this explains why CHARLES & KEITH as a brand is considered by their family to be a big thing.
Orion Perez D
last Thursday
There's a Singaporean girl named SERENE HO who apparently is a contact/friend of a friend of mine (Lennard Chan) who has recently been attacking ZOE GABRIEL (the "Charles and Keith" girl) and Zoe's family as well.
But she's not alone, there's also Elaine Song and a host of others joining in this bandwagon of hatred.
Now, I don't fully blame them because quite frankly, it's easy to get really jealous/extremely envious of a person who - after being cyberbullied relentlessly - ended up becoming a kind of celebrity and an endorser for both CHARLES & KEITH and even AIR ASIA.
They're making a huge fuss about the fact that Donny Gabriel, Zoe's father is a Mechanical Engineer from Mapua Institute of Technology who just recently earned an MBA from AMA University.
To them, they think that status necessarily means that he should be earning big bucks.
Now there's actually quite a huge amount of ignorance going on here.
Let's just say FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT that Donny Gabriel - as a skilled Mechanical Engineer - earns S$ 12,000 per month...
(S$ 12,000 is a figure that another basher, JAMIE KHOO, claims Donny Gabriel earns. I don't think this is even verified. This sounds like speculation to me)
SURE, that sounds like a whole lot of money that is way way way way higher than what most average Singaporeans would be earning. And if that is indeed what he's earning, that's fair given his credentials as a Mechanical Engineer with the kind of experience and certifications and extra credentials he has.
His MBA is recent (2016 to 2020) and I believe this was done via distance learning WHILE WORKING given that - no surprise - AMA University is located in the Philippines, and Donny Gabriel is based in Singapore.
Now...
The bashers think he's rich.
Were they thinking that his MBA is like an MBA from Stanford or Harvard or whatever?
It's an MBA from the Philippines, for Pete's sake. It's not the same kind of expenses involved.
And in one of Zoe Gabriel's videos, she mentioned having grown up not having much.
They're attacking her for that, not understanding the reality of how it is for FOREIGNERS (non-citizens) with 4 kids to try to get kids to school.
Guess what... If Donny Gabriel earns S$ 12,000 per month TODAY, it doesn't mean that back in 2009 (the year he came over to Singapore), he was already earning that salary.
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Donny Gabriel was earning S$ 6,000 per month in his first job in Singapore back in 2009...
That's NOT MUCH if you have one kid and your wife isn't working.
As I understand it, Donny Gabriel's wife is a homemaker.
But see, Donny Gabriel and his wife don't just have one kid...
THEY HAVE FOUR KIDS.
And when a breadwinner starts in Singapore, that person starts off with an Employment Pass.
So that's going to be S$ 6,000.
They need to pay rent for an entire flat.
Once those kids start going to PRIMARY SCHOOL, THE EXPENSES KICK IN.
Those kids will be on DEPENDANTS' PASSES (British spelling, guys).
And this is where the IGNORANCE of some people makes them totally unaware of how Singapore's three-tiered pricing scheme works for LOCAL SCHOOLS.
This in particular goes to @elaine Song who doesn't understand why Zoe Gabriel dropped out of secondary 2 education in Singapore...
Folks:
Singaporean Citizens DO NOT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT SCHOOL FEES.
Singaporean Citizens only pay what are essentially just token fees.
Let's take the example of the school where Zoe Gabriel was studying before she dropped out:
ORCHID PARK SECONDARY SCHOOL.
Singaporean Citizen:
Monthly fees -------------------- S$ 5
Monthly miscellaneous fees ---- S$ 10
Monthly second tier misc fees -- S$ 10
Permanent Resident:
Monthly fees -------------------- S$ 500
Monthly miscellaneous fees ---- S$ 10
Monthly second tier misc fees -- S$ 10
Foreigner from ASEAN country
Monthly fees -------------------- S$ 910
Monthly miscellaneous fees ---- S$ 10
Monthly second tier misc fees -- S$ 10
* * *
See?
If Donny Gabriel - the SOLE BREADWINNER OF HIS FAMILY - is a Singapore Citizen and his daughter Zoe is ALSO A Singapore Citizen, then he would only pay a total of S$ 25 per month to send Zoe to Orchid Park Secondary School.
Only S$ 25 lah!!!!
If Donny Gabriel - the SOLE BREADWINNER OF HIS FAMILY - is a Permanent Resident and Zoe, his daughter, he would have to pay a total of S$ 520 to send Zoe to Orchid Park Secondary School.
And if Donny Gabriel - the SOLE BREADWINNER OF HIS FAMILY - is an Employment Pass holder, and his daughter Zoe is on a "dependant's pass" then he would have to pay - GEEZ - a WHOPPING S$ 930 per month to send Zoe to Orchid Park Secondary School.
SEE THE POINT?
There is an extremely high MONTHLY cost associated with studying in Singapore if the secondary school student is NOT A SINGAPORE CITIZEN.
For Orchid Park Secondary School, that's S$ 930 per month.
And the Gabriel family has 4 kids! Zoe is the eldest. There are three more.
Those of them who are in Primary School, assuming they are attending Yishun Primary School like she did, they'd be spending S$ 520 for the monthly basic fees and S$ 6.50 for monthly misc fees and another S$ 6.50 for second tier misc fees, for a GRAND TOTAL OF S$ 533 per month per primary school kid.
So...
Let's say for the sake of argument, Donny Gabriel is earning S$ 12,000 per month.
S$ 3,000 ---- RENT (especially these days!)
S$ 930 ---- Zoe's Orchid Park Sec School monthly fees
S$ 533 ---- 2nd child's Yishun Primary School monthly fees
S$ 533 ---- 3rd child's Yishun Primary School monthly fees
S$ 533 ---- 4th child's Yishun Primary School monthly fees
S$ 1,000 ---- Any extra monthly school expenses for all kids
S$ 300 ---- Monthly allowance (based on S$10 a day) Zoe
S$ 300 ---- Monthly allowance (based on S$10 a day) 2nd
S$ 300 ---- Monthly allowance (based on S$10 a day) 3rd
S$ 300 ---- Monthly allowance (based on S$10 a day) 4th
S$ 500 ---- Dad's monthly allowance
S$ 500 ---- Mum's monthly allowance
S$ 1,500 --- Monthly groceries
**************************************************************
Did you guys try to use excel on this?
All that already adds up to about S$ 10,229 PER MONTH.
So assuming Donny Gabriel is earning S$ 12,000 per month, with those expenses, the only savings he and his family could end up with would be around S$ 1,771 per month. That's very little.
So this lady Elaine Song who commented on the Mustsharenews FB page to call into question Zoe Gabriel's dropping out of secondary 2 school clearly DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THAT S$ 930 PER MONTH (because a non-Singaporean has to pay that) is really extremely expensive.
And that's why they decided to get her homeschooled.
The funny thing here is that both ELAINE SONG and SERENE HO don't understand that Homeschooling Programmes, EVEN THOSE PROVIDED BY "American International Schools" are way way way cheaper than a PR or a Foreigner going to a local secondary school.
So if Zoe's annual school fees at Orchid Park Secondary School would have amounted to around S$ 11,160 PER YEAR, home schooling even using an American international homeschool programme would be from US$ 700 to US$ 1,800 (S$ 925 to S$ 2,378).
The monthly cost of homeschooling using an American international homeschooling curriculum would be around S$ 77 to S$ 198 PER MONTH.
It just makes a lot more sense for Zoe's family to let her go through homeschooling since it's a lot cheaper.
But ELAINE SONG, SERENE HO, and the host of angry locals who don't understand how all this works kept thinking that because the homeschooling curriculum is from an American international school, it must be EXPENSIVE.
NO IT IS NOT!
That's the whole point of HOMESCHOOLING. It's CHEAPER!
*
Make sure that Elaine Song and Serene Ho get this.
They need to know the facts.
*
I hope they eventually understand that because they are local Singapore citizens, they enjoy subsidized rates, and their relatively LOW SCHOOL FEES are only for Singapore Citizens, and NON-CITIZEN STUDENTS will have to cough up a lot of money to attend their schools.
Same thing with HEALTHCARE.
Healthcare costs in Singapore are extremely expensive for NON-CITIZENS.
Something that costs a Singaporean just around S$ 300 might cost an EP holder S$ 3,000.
That's just the way things are.
They don't get it.
They take things for granted and they assume that whatever low costs they enjoy are also enjoyed by PRs, EP holders, and other non-citizens.
*
Some people are probably even wondering why Zoe Gabriel has an American accent.
Simple: She's a Mormon. She and her family go to an LDS church. It's an AMERICAN CHURCH with American missionaries all around.
And being a rather close-knit religious community, they'd hang out a lot, and it's rather easy to pick up the accent. (Plus YouTube, Netflix, etc have all sorts of American stuff, it's not hard to pick up the accent if that's what you watch and on Sundays that's the accent of the people you hang out with growing up.)
*
Other people are angry that she went to Dubai sometime ago.
What they don't understand is that being Pinoys means they have Pinoy RELATIVES, and many Pinoys (including relatives) are in Dubai.
Flying to Dubai is not that expensive because if you have relatives in Dubai you can stay with, then you're fine.
I mean come on, people, you're all getting riled up about stuff you don't fully understand.
*
Another bunch of people got angry that she was learning to drive. The video in question shows her in a LEFT HAND DRIVE CAR, most likely IN THE PHILIPPINES where, no surprise, she has lots of relatives!
They're angry because owning a car in Singapore is extremely expensive (thanks to the expensive COE and expensive taxes), but they don't realize that owning cars in the Philippines is not that expensive. Zoe clearly has relatives with cars which aren't as expensive as owning cars in Singapore, and yet they're taking it against her!
*
Anyway, we certainly don't know all the facts.
We don't really know how much Donny Gabriel earns. He might be earning LESS than S$ 12,000 per month.
What's clear is that when he was starting off in Singapore, he would have earned much less.
And that would totally explain why even BreadTalk would have been something special.
Imagine if back in the early years of being in Singapore from 2010 to 2015, he was earning around S$ 6,000... and there were already 4 kids at that time.
And rent has been quite expensive in Singapore.
ESPECIALLY NOW!
These bashers are probably thinking along the lines of how much it costs to own an HDB flat as a Singapore Citizen FORGETTING THAT all indications point to Zoe and her family NOT BEING LOCALS. (Why else would she drop out from Orchid Park Secondary School? Because it's so freakin' expensive if you're a FOREIGNER!)
*
Anyway, I'm going to need to make a video on this.
*
I did want to thank a lot of the local Singaporeans who stepped in to call out these bashers.
One good Singaporean tried explaining to SERENE HO that he knows a Pinay architect in Singapore whose entire family have all become PRs and live in an HDB flat, and don't have a car, in order to explain that Pinoy professionals have no choice but to live modestly.
(We're not like "Ang Moh Expats", lah... No expat packages for us!)
That said, I think my post should make it clear: PRs still need to pay A LOT OF MONEY for the kids to go to school in Singapore. And it's worse when the kids aren't even PRs (on Dependants' Passes or on Long Term Visit Passes). It's REALLY EXPENSIVE!
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So, guys, it's not about "poverty" per se.
Zoe Gabriel's mention of growing up with "not much" is EXTREMELY PLAUSIBLE given that there are 4 kids, their dad is the SOLE BREADWINNER, and being non-Singaporeans, SCHOOL and CLINIC/HOSPITAL FEES are extremely expensive.
You can earn a "high salary" like S$ 12,000 per month and still NOT HAVE MUCH at the end of the month if you have a family of 6 NON-SINGAPOREANS and you're the ONLY BREADWINNER.
So Singaporean friends...
Don't ever take being Singaporean for granted.
Your Government does a lot to make sure that LOCAL SINGAPOREANS do get the most benefits from Government Schools, Government Hospitals, and anything coming from the Government.
Non-Singaporeans actually have to PAY A LOT. Singapore Citizens pay EXTREMELY SUBSIDIZED RATES.
Serene Ho
· 1,203 followers
· April 11
Appears that the Charles and Keith Pinoy girl is not as poor as she makes herself out to be. Her dad probably earns more than most Singaporeans. How many of us can afford to homeschool our kids? Don’t be hoodwinked by her.
