Hawak niya ang beat

MANILA, Philippines — ‘Why don't we open with Bach's 'Air on the G String'? 

'It will surprise the audience.’

There are very few people who can surprise National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab with a musical suggestion.

Manny V. Pangilinan is one of them.

As Cayabyab presented the proposed opening for First Pacific's 45th anniversary celebration, he recommended energetic orchestral pieces by Bach, Mozart, and Grieg to welcome the audience.

Then Pangilinan quietly interrupted.

"Why don't we open with Bach's ‘Air on the G String’?"

Cayabyab laughed at the memory.

"Sir? Talaga? Ang bagal niyan."

Pangilinan smiled.

"Why not? It will surprise the audience."

"It did," Cayabyab recalls.

That exchange captures what he has discovered after years of working with Pangilinan — not simply a businessman who enjoys music, but someone who listens deeply, thinks like a producer and understands how music shapes emotion.

"MVP has a very diverse taste for music," he says.

From Bach and great film themes to Broadway showstoppers, swing, standards, Original Pilipino Music and even "Hawak Mo ang Beat," Pangilinan's playlist reflects both curiosity and joy.

Every production meeting becomes an unexpected creative conversation.

Together with directors and producers, Cayabyab would prepare a repertoire that seemed complete.

Then Pangilinan would offer another idea.

Sometimes it meant replacing a song.

Sometimes rebuilding the entire program from the beginning.

"He injects nuance," Cayabyab says, "that challenges us to add or replace some of them, or even revamp the entire repertoire and start from scratch."

Their collaboration began with the Philippine Popular Music Festival, better known as PhilPop.

As artistic director, Cayabyab was entrusted with designing the competition and selecting the country's finest new songs.

Pangilinan, who chaired the festival, attended every meeting but never dictated the creative process.

"He gave me the freedom to develop the process," Cayabyab says.

After the first grand finals, Pangilinan asked him only one question.

"Are you happy with the results?"

"I said I was," Cayabyab recalls with a laugh.

That trust kept him at the festival for several more years.

Over time, Cayabyab also discovered the breadth of Pangilinan's musical imagination.

During preparations for First Pacific's anniversary celebration, he proposed a medley of 10 popular songs representing the company's history.

Pangilinan had another idea.

"Why not one song for every year?"

Forty-five songs.

Then came another challenge.

"Nasaan ang OPM?"

Cayabyab laughed.

He went back to work.

When he proudly returned with a revised list, Pangilinan had one final suggestion.

"Nasaan ang 'Hawak Mo ang Beat'?"

By the end of the evening, the audience was applauding a full orchestral medley spanning 45 years, ending with the very song Pangilinan had insisted should represent 2026.

For Cayabyab, those moments reveal something few people know about the chairman.

"Hawak niya ang beat," he says.

"He knows his math and sciences, but he is also a master of the humanities."

He points to Pangilinan's appreciation of both visual art and music, of classical masterpieces and contemporary works, of sweeping themes and the smallest musical details.

"He appreciates both the big picture and the smallest details."

Beyond the concerts and corporate celebrations, Cayabyab believes Pangilinan understands something even more important.

Music brings people together.

Every meeting they have shared ends with laughter, conversation, and optimism.

"I am always happy to see Mr. MVP smile and crack a joke or two," he says.

As Pangilinan celebrates his 80th birthday, Cayabyab initially thought of dedicating “Suscipe,” the prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola that he set to music for the film “Ignacio de Loyola.

Its words, he says, reflect Pangilinan's generosity and spirituality.

"Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous.

Teach me to serve you as you deserve;

to give and not to count the cost,

to fight and not to heed the wounds,

to toil and not to seek for rest,

to labor and not to ask for any reward,

save that of knowing that I do your will. Amen."

Then he smiled.

"On second thought," he says, "maybe ‘Hawak Mo ang Beat’ best captures the man."

"Because," he adds with a laugh, "hawak niya talaga ang beat."