Philippine News

The hardest working person in public service. Last Saturday, during the launch of Go Negosyo’s newest program, Trabaho@Negosyo, I gladly said this of Sec. Cris Roque of the Department of Trade and Industry during my welcome speech. Imagine my surprise when President Marcos Jr. paid me the same compliment during his speech. To be given such a compliment, by and in front of people I admire and respect, is, I think, a moment I will not soon forget. And what a time to receive suc

It has been many years since I last visited Boracay, but returning this time brought back a flood of memories. The island has undergone significant changes, and its beauty continues to captivate. However, for me, memory is tied not merely to this island’s beautiful beaches or vibrant sunsets, but rather to the experiences I shared with the people during the early days of Cosmos Bottling Corp. In those days, Boracay was where we went to reward our team for their hard work and

As chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), my commitment to making our regional body more inclusive has never been more vital. My goal is to make this ASEAN more inclusive, a task that I started more than a decade ago, in 2017, when I last headed the ASEAN-BAC. We have made substantial progress, but the need to engage every segment of society in the ASEAN narrative is now more urgent, especially when economic growth and poverty alleviation are at stake. Admi

ASEAN is a region of deep entrepreneurial spirit. It is also a very young region, and one that has time and again proved to be quite resilient. In the weeks and months ahead, I will be talking a lot about ASEAN, jobs and entrepreneurship as my days as this year’s chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council become busier and busier. And what a time to do it, too. These are times of rapid change and increasing unpredictability. We are talking more than disruptions in global su

It was a productive weekend in Nasugbu. I brought the members of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council for our 105th meeting for a working weekend, followed by a much-deserved break in one of my favorite places in the Philippines. The fine food, singing, sailing and a round of golf in the scenic coasts of Batangas is just a preview of how the Philippines plans to put its best foot forward as host of ASEAN in 2026. We were lucky to have had with us several of our allies in this

Things work smoothly when you have a friendly working relationship with colleagues. This is one thing I’ve learned over the years. In my work with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), for example, it is always a series of intense meetings with my counterparts from the ASEAN member-states, with the Joint Business Councils, with sectoral representatives and with subject-matter experts. I suppose that is the wisdom behind peppering these regular meetings with excitin

The last few weeks will mark the beginning of what I am sure will be a busy year for me. It will be the culmination of a year of expectant excitement building up since last year: the transition of the chairship of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) from Malaysia to the Philippines. The first of the many activities we will have for the year will begin in the next few days. I will be in Malacañang this week to attend the ceremonial handover of the chairship. Malays

Last week, I went to San Juan to listen to my youngest daughter, Bella, give a TED Talk. TED Talks are apparently a big thing in her generation. When before the topics would be confined to technology, entertainment and design (thus the TED), the topics now extend to anything under the sun, as long as it’s engaging, informative and insightful. I watched Bella practice for a whole month to give the 12-minute talk to an audience made up of mostly young people like her. Needless

I can already tell that 2026 will be an eventful year. In just a few days – only into the first half of January – we will kick off the year with a significant moment: the official handover of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) chairmanship from Malaysia to the Philippines. This handover will be, in many ways, the closest thing to a dress rehearsal for ASEAN 2026. Leaders and council members from all 11 ASEAN member-states will gather to witness the transition, an

In a developing nation’s economy, two gears must turn in perfect sync to generate real, inclusive prosperity: the spirit of entrepreneurship and the dignity of labor. As an advocate for the Filipino entrepreneur for more than 20 years now, and now one who is tasked with the private sector’s commitment to jobs, I am fortunate to have the vantage point at the intersection of policy and practice. Here, I can see that the path forward for our nation is not just more jobs, but a r

The last time I saw Filipino tech titan Dado Banatao was when I had dinner with him and his wife, Maria, at their home in Silicon Valley. It had been a while since I last saw him, and his wife gently told us before we were to meet him that he had been ill and had trouble remembering things. Little did I know then that that would be my final dinner with this great man. He succumbed to his illness last Christmas. I was glad to have visited at that time. Sitting across from Dado

I know, I know. 2025 does not appear to be a particularly wonderful year for many people. To the casual observer or the weary citizen, it is quite the opposite: an annus horribilis, a horrible year defined by loss, tragedy and economic shifts. We have seen the headlines and felt the weight of uncertainty and the heartbreak of disappointment. But as I always say, a successful entrepreneur must be a perennial optimist. This is not a choice made out of naivety, but a necessity b

Without fail, in every major meeting and business gathering I have attended lately, the subject of digital technology always came up. Often, it is the focal point of the event, such as the recent Digital Financial Inclusion Awards, at the meeting with the ASEAN Secretariat led by Sec. Gen. HE Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the SM Job Fair + Skills e-Hub Holiday Career Fest and at our Go Negosyo BalikBayan Summit. My area of concern when it comes to the discussion of digital technology

The corruption scandal still weighed heavily on my mind last Saturday. It was no ordinary Saturday as it was the day of Go Negosyo’s BalikBayan Summit 2025, where we celebrate our overseas Filipinos and help them and their families become successful entrepreneurs here in the Philippines. With the scale of the corruption running into the billions and the thieves unmasked as government officials, it was understandable how some of our overseas Pinoys would be hesitant to trust t

In the choppy waters of Philippine politics, we are now navigating a storm of corruption allegations more scandalous than a telenovela plot twist. Having spent 20 years of my life championing MSMEs as the unsung heroes keeping our economy afloat, I’m here to sound the alarm, but not the abandon-ship kind. No, my call is for stability and continuity. After all, if we start rocking the boat too vigorously, we risk capsizing the whole vessel, passengers and all. And let’s be hon

Back in August 2021, when the COVID-19 Delta variant – the fastest-spreading and deadliest variant yet – rampaged through the population, Metro Manila went into a two-week lockdown to arrest the spread of the virus. It was a hard sell for the business community, coming after months of economic inactivity because of the outbreak. But lock down we did, and it was all to save the most important time of the year: Christmas. This was not for purely sentimental reasons. For million

Last Thursday, I went to Intramuros to attend the National Launch of the Philippines’ chairship of ASEAN 2026. I listened intently as the President shared his vision of what could be the biggest international event of his administration. He would be chairing the government side of ASEAN 2026, while I will chair the private sector. Having assumed the role back in 2017 under former president Rodrigo Duterte, I was familiar with the amount of work ahead for me and President Marc

For too long, it felt that the grand economic pronouncements at high-level meetings seemed distant to the small entrepreneur. It is something I have expressed many times before. Being myself focused on tangible results – as I am sure many a struggling entrepreneur is – I understand how the frequently used jargon of these meetings can go over the head of the everyman. It might help explain why ordinary people feel less invested in these discussions. Yet as the latest situation

The Philippines will begin its chairship of the ASEAN in January 2026. For this, the Philippines has chosen the theme “Navigating Our Future Together.” In his acceptance speech at the recently concluded 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. likened ASEAN to a ship setting full sail toward a shared horizon – anchored in peace, strengthened by prosperity and guided by the empowerment of its people. He further remarked that as the Philippines take

Traveling to Kuala Lumpur last week, I was filled with excitement for the handover of the chairship of ASEAN from Malaysia to the Philippines. I was there specifically for the private sector-led ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) events and Related Summits that were to happen over the weekend. There’s the ASEAN Business & Investment Summit and the ASEAN Business Awards, and the inaugural ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit. There has, so far, been plenty of exchanging of i