When Taipans Speak

Guys,

When rational and non-political people such as PLDT head honcho Manny V. Pangilinan talks, everybody listens. Manny exudes an authoritative air, but not of the despicable kind. A natural-born leader, Manny's one of just a few Pinoys worth emulating.

In Ricky Carandang's interview of MVP, like other Filipinos, he wants to know the truth. He had his time to ponder and what he thinks should be considered, especially by Gloria.

This interview should be read before reading Randy David's article today published in the Inquirer. David said that there should be a resolution of this issue of seeking the truth. Whatever that is, it depends on the people.

For me, the search for truth has ended. This government has categorically said that they are not interested in giving the Filipino even an inch of space to know what the real truth is. The question that we now face is--what should we do about it? Will we just let this government rule us with impunity and without giving us any dignity? Or will we unite to show the world that we condemn such acts of corruption, indecency, impunity and inhumane-ness? God, as what David hopes, should bless us.

MVP: 'Let's find out what the truth is'

(Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of the board of PLDT, spoke recently with Ricky Carandang on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) show, The Big Picture. Excerpts from the interview in Hong Kong, where Pangilinan, also known as “MVP”, is the managing director of the Hong Kong-based investment firm, First Pacific Co. Ltd.)

Ricky Carandang: Millions of Filipinos have left the country to work and live abroad. Their reasons may vary, but most of them dream of earning a decent living and providing a security for their future. Manny Pangilinan left the country in the 1970s to find a job in Hong Kong. Little did he expect that he would succeed beyond the wildest dreams of many overseas Filipinos. Pangilinan’s success may be uncommon, but it is a sign of what Filipinos can achieve abroad.

ON MVP SPENDING MORE TIME WITH FIRST PACIFIC

Q. Is Manny Pangilinan looking for a new challenge?

A. Well, I guess so. It's time we looked at new things. There are two main anchors to our business, mainly Indofood and PLDT. And now emerging is Metro Pacific, which is investments in medical care, in the water system. So we’d like to create a third or fourth leg, if you may, to First Pacific.

Q. Why is that? What’s driving you to look for something new? Indofood and PLDT are both doing well. You could, very well, just coast along.

A. Well, as they say, work expands to fill the time required. So, I’m not as much needed in PLDT as much as I was when I was CEO. [He remains PLDT chairman of the board.--Ed] So, in a way, it discharges my responsibility as well as the CEO of First Pacific. The mandate has been to grow the businesses on a regional basis so I still have to fulfill that mandate.

Q. And this is where you’re going now.

A. That’s correct.

ON HIS BEING THE ‘ULTIMATE OFW’

Q. You started here in Hong Kong, some people could say, and I’ve referred to you once or twice as the ultimate OFW. You came here seeking a job and I don’t know if you even imagined being here and doing what you’re doing.

A. No. I mean, I think for me to pretend that I knew what I was going to do when I left the shores of Manila way back in 1976, Feb. 28 to be precise, with four suits and two pairs of shoes. At that time, I had no idea really where I would be headed. I knew I was going to be an executive director of Bancom International at that time, and thereafter, just progressed towards the founding of First Pacific in 1981. And we started as a banking and trading group, and now, we’re quite different from where we were 26, 27 years ago.

Q. Did you come out here thinking, you know, 'I wanna make a little bit more money, I wanna have a nice stable job. I wanna have decent growth prospects.' Or were you a little more ambitious than that at the beginning?

A. No, no. Well, I came over, well, partly to make money, as most OCWs must be motivated as well. And I had a time horizon equally. Like, I guess, most, if not all OCWs, after spending 5 years or so, I would go back to Manila and you know, that’s really your home. I had certain specific goals in mind both from a wealth perspective and a time perspective. But I spent 22 complete years in Hong Kong, so it just got into you.

Q. When did it change? When did you say, ‘Hey, maybe I don’t mind spending a significant portion of my time here’?

A. Well, age had a factor to it. Certainly, as you grow old, your desire to go back to Manila increases. And at the same time, we made our investment in PLDT in 1998, and that was a significant investment. So I felt duty-bound to manage what I decided upon to invest into. And that was the beginning of a return back to Manila .

Q. But at that point, when you were thinking of acquiring PLDT, I suppose your ambitions got a little larger as well. It’s no longer having a nice comfortable life, it was more of buying this company and making it grow, and buying this company and making it the dominant force. The ambitions, I guess, get grander as you move higher up.

A. I guess so. Although when I went into PLDT in 1998, it was really an extreme focus on the job at hand. And to a degree, my time and attention with First Pacific suffered. There were give-ups in that sense. Now that I’ve relinquished my post there and now spend more time here, I could look at precisely what you’re saying: Look at grander things for First Pacific, and even for PLDT.

ON THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN RP

A. It’s in many, many respects, especially if you sit back and look at the situation in the Philippines from an offshore perspective, like here in Hong Kong, it is sad. A number of people here have commented that these are self-inflicted wounds by you guys out there. In many respects, that’s true.

A number of analyses have been proffered with respect to what the situation is. And they’ve been very, very interesting. Like the analysis of Mrs. [Winnie] Monsod and Chief Justice [Art] Panganiban, their columns and a few other columnists have tried to render a very objective and sober analysis of the situation and what are the options for the country.

And yet, when we watched, was it two Fridays ago [February 29], the rally in Makati? And from our building, from the 10th floor, you’re watching the people stream to Ayala Avenue. And most of the…at least from that stream, on our part of Makati, most of the rallyists were students. And you might intellectualize about the options available to the President or the country, but when you see these young kids out there in the streets, you can’t help feel but emotionally involved with the young people. And you ask yourself: Why do they have to march to the streets? They should be out there in the schools being, sort of being more productive as students. So in a way, the older generation is burdening the younger generation with something they shouldn’t be burdened with. I’d rather we solved the problems as the older folks. Because the kids will have their own problems in their generation.

Q. You mentioned students on the streets. That’s not something we’ve seen in recent years. What does students on the streets tell you?

A. Again, I can’t speak for them. Clearly, there is unhappiness there of what the situation is gonna be. But it looks to me that my reading is, their main concern would be: What is the truth? And obviously, they deserve to know what the truth is.

Q. What do you make of that? People used to complain all the time that students don’t care, they don’t give a damn, they’re not going to go on the streets. The religious largely sought to stay away from affairs like this. The business community, I think you have friends who have been in rallies. I’ve heard you’ve been to some yourself. People who normally don’t get involved are now going on the streets. Do you think that’s a sign that something is a little different this time around? Or do you think is just no big deal?

A. Well, I think it is a sign that the people would want something explained. As I said, it’s good to know what the truth is. My impression, that’s the major, major issue. And it has taken a grip of what…well, I think of a number of important sectors of our society. I think business wants to know the truth. I think the church does, and certainly, the studentry want to know the truth as well.

Q. Do you?

A. Of course, yes.

ON HIS PRESENCE AT AN ANTI-ARROYO RALLY

Q. Enough to go on the streets? The reason I asked that is because I do remember that when Pres. Aquino recently spoke before the business community, you were there. And it was there where she called on Pres. Arroyo to step down again. You were there, and I understand you were seen at a rally.

A. Well, I’m not trying to be an apologist or apologetic about my appearance there. The occasion where Pres. Aquino spoke was…what they call… it was the second anniversary of the Pinoy ME (Micro Enterprise) Foundation which is really a….it’s an institution set up at the behest of Pres. Aquino to help raise funds principally for microfinance institutions or MFIs. And this had been organized a number of months ago, so I was supposed to be one of the two main speakers. Sonny Vistan was there. I’ve been asked to render a report on the activities of the foundation and I consented to it. Secondly, the PLDT SMART Foundation is the biggest donor to Pinoy ME, and it’s frankly uncolored by political considerations. And Pinoy ME Foundation needed an initial anchor lender-creditor to get the process started. And we arranged, together with certain trustees of Philippine Business for Social Progress, to have a credit facility extended by PBSP to Pinoy ME Foundation. And that was P250 million. We donated, as PLDT SMART Foundation, P5 million.

Q. So you were there for that?

A. I was there principally for that. Although I know, I’m not naïve enough to know that in that gathering, there is the likelihood of political statements being made. So but….so be it. If that were to happen, that would happen. If that were not to happen, it wouldn’t happen.

Q. So you were really at the rally or was that just talk?

A. Well, yes and no. I was at the NGO building which is the building right behind the Cojuangco Bldg. which is right on Makati Avenue. And I had to drop by the e-PLDT, in an office in Locsin [St.], which is on the corner of Ayala and Makati. So from there, also, I was curious. I wanted to….magmimiron, susulyap ka doon muna. So when I got out of Locsin, well, I went to the corner of Ayala and Makati and your cameras caught me. Ooops. Ooops, but so be it. I wasn’t part of the rally but I was there, watching what’s going on.

Q. You said at some point, people have to take a stand, and you can’t sit on the fence forever. I don’t know if we’re misconstruing your happening to be at the rally and your happening to be at Pres. Aquino’s speech as taking a stand, but let me just ask you: have you taken a stand?

A. Not publicly.

Q. What does that mean?

A. Well, you know, you have a personal position. And to the extent that you have a public life like I do, not quite the showbiz public life, but as an officer of a public company, you have, as well, a responsibility to your company and to your shareholder and to your employees where, you know, whatever statements you make could impact their welfare. So you have to be very careful what you say publicly as well. So it’s a balance I’m trying to strike as an individual, as a private person, as a Filipino and as an officer of a public company, which is listed not only in the Philippines but as well as in the States.

Q. Albert del Rosario has been to a number of rallies, even read a speech calling on Cabinet members to resign. What was your reaction to that? He’s your friend.

A. Bless him.

ON THE NEED FOR MORE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES

Q. How serious do you think this is? I was talking to some fund managers the other day and the general thinking is that, you know, we get a lot of noise coming out of the Philippines and it never really amounts to much. So there seems to be a sense among some people outside the Philippines, fund managers, finance people that well, here we go, the usual noise in the Philippines but nothing will change, the economy will keep moving at the rate it is, in the way that it is, and sooner or later, people will get tired and we’ll all go back to normal. In other words, we’ve seen this for the last several years, it’s nothing different, it’s not more serious.

A. Well, you know, that’s the sentiment, not only reflected by non-Filipinos outside the Philippines but I think perhaps a number of Filipinos as well. For example, if the President were to step down or were to go, retire, what’s next? Will things change as a result of her say, sudden resignation? And that’s the dilemma. What happens next? Will things change or it’s just changing characters on the same stage. And people, as you rightly pointed out, even here in Hong Kong, are saying, ‘Well, okay, there’s another change, what changes have you really brought about?’ And that’s the basic issue. So the issues confronting the nation are really quite more fundamental than just simple change of presidents.

Q. It seems as if people want something more than just a change in faces, it seems, and maybe I’m misreading the public, but people want a change in the way government works, or the way it responds to the needs of the public.

A. Yes. We speak about damaged institutions, correct? And government and so forth and so on. But institutions are made of people. They’re not in anime things, we’re not invented by somebody. And they’re divorced, the running of institutions is divorced from what people are. So in a way, blaming government solely for our ills is rather unfair, right? Because…. I’ve been involved in a number of what you call NSAs, National Sports Associations, and the problems I’ve been in basketball are repeated similarly in other NSAs. So you sort of wonder what’s wrong? So in some respects, the institutions you’re dealing with, be it NSA, government or be it in schools, is merely the form. But the substance of our problem is really ourselves, isn’t it?

ON TOO MUCH DIVISION IN SOCIETY

Q. So how do you change that? What makes a society successful and another not successful?

A. Well, I was in a dinner a few nights ago, and this was Al Gore who was in Manila I think the past year or so. And somebody asked him, remember, he lost by the skin of his teeth, in Florida where, in fact, the governor was the President’s brother, right? Jed Bush. And Al Gore was asked why he didn’t bring his case all the way to the Supreme Court and make a big fuss. Cause I think if that were to happen to the Philippines, with whatever, we won’t have a President for two or three years or whatever. And his response was very simple: to paraphrase him, I don’t know, I wasn’t there when he said it: ‘Why didn’t I do it? It’s because there’s something greater than me, and that’s my country.’

Q. He felt that elevating that issue could have caused too much upheaval.

A. That’s right. And too much divisiveness to his country. So he said...Well, perhaps, he probably also felt that maybe it’s a touch-and-go, really, so rather than being part of the problem, he said, I want to be part of the solution.

Q. Are you conceding that people stop marching on the streets and just get on?

A. No, no. If they think strongly about their opinion, their conviction, they should be allowed, why not?

Q. What do you think?

A. As long as they’re quite orderly and so forth.

Q. So far they have been.

A. So what’s wrong with that?

ON THE NEED TO FIND THE TRUTH

Q. What do you think should happen next?

A. Well, I think the call of the bishops, I agree with. Let’s find out what the truth is.

Q. And finding out the truth, how is that done? Will you hazard a guess?

A. Well, everybody’s got to be honest, I suppose.

Q. What happens if we find out the truth? Then, what follows after that?

A. I guess it depends what the truth is? You have to be ready for the consequences, di ba? what the truth is. Because you know, that’s something, again, those calling for the truth must be aware of.

ON WHETHER HE PLANS TO JOIN POLITICS

Q. We’re talking about national affairs, we’re talking about politics here. When I talk to you about politics, part of me thinks you’re very uncomfortable. Part of me thinks that you actually would relish a nice long conversation about politics. What is your view of politics in general? Do you have an interest in these things?

A. Well, I’m interested in the Filipino way of life, right? So be it politics or show business or whatever it is, it’s something that…. I just feel you have to be in the stream of things effectively. You have to be part of the Filipino way of life to understand how the Filipino thinks and operates.

Q. Do you ever see yourself getting involved in politics in a more overt way?

A. I don’t think so.

ON HIS INTEREST IN SPORTS AND HIS THREE BASKETBALL TEAMS

Q. I get a sense your interest in media for PLDT is more than just strategy, more than just business sense. You know business people, you like sports. There seems to be a genuine interest in your part in content.

A. Entertainment in general. Sports can be entertainment.

Q. People tell me you’re not a guy with a lot of leisure time. So maybe that’s sort of how you wind down?

A. Yes, it’s a spigot to release your tension and everything from work. But you know, certainly, watching a basketball game, say Ateneo-La Salle, you really have to focus on the game, you have to forget about everything else. And equally, when you play badminton, I play badminton, you know you’re gonna do well in the game if your mind is not on the game. So you have to discipline yourself and force yourself to concentrate on the game. Otherwise, you won’t play well.

Q. So it’s nice that what you’re interested in to sort of unwind could also potentially make you a few billion pesos. That’s synergy.

A. It has to pay for the cost.

Q. You’re talking about Ateneo-La Salle, you’re talking about basketball. Ateneo versus San Beda, where would you be?

A. I would wear a red and blue shirt.

Q. Sort of a middle ground kind of an answer there.

A. Well, I was asked that, and this is how I rationalized it. We actually have three teams: the Talk-n-Text team, the Ateneo team, and San Beda team, lately only. If you may, you have three loves. Well, the Talk-n-Txt team is professional team so it’s a professional kind of love. The Ateneo team, Ateneo being sort of intellectual, is more of an intellectual love. But really, when you get down to the emotional love, it’s really San Beda.

Q. So everybody’s got a piece of it.

A. A piece of it. Why? Because if I may say this, probably the San Beda players are a bit more akin to the typical Filipino. They’re just that. Maybe from an income-class standpoint, I guess from a sociological make-up, they seem to be more typical Filipino.

Q. And that’s what endears them to you?

A. That’s what I like about them. They’re probably more human, if you may, than….I’m not saying that as a criticism. My relation with them resonates better purely from a human perspective. #