USC honored Gokongwei with this doctorate degree for "the upliftment of the lives of the people through his business enterprise and his share in making our world a better place to live."
"I was molded in the playing fields, classrooms and chapels of San Carlos," the Taipan said in his speech. He specified discipline, love for learning and a Christian education as the three values which he imbibed during his stay at the university.
Also during his speech, Gokongwei reiterated the importance of "growing" Filipino entrepreneurs to create more employment opportunities for more people in the Philippines.
"Job creation must be our top priority," Gokongwei said.
"We can only grow entrepreneurs and become a contender like Manny Pacquiao if risks are lessened and the following conditions are put in place," he added. These conditions were summarized into five main points: access to capital, better labor management, cost-efficient power, agricultural productivity management and foreign exchange management.
Gokongwei has been a staunch advocate of charity and the development of future leaders through education. The Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) utilizes three percent of JGSH’s profits to educate Filipinos in engineering and the sciences as well as to further support education through donations to deserving institutions. The Children’s Library (TCL) meanwhile, GBF’s multi-media learning center, has been expanded to reach public school and impoverished children.
In addition, the Ateneo de Manila University established The John Gokongwei School of Management through an endowment by GBF, to train the country’s next leaders in business and government.
Aside from this, Gokongwei, holder of two professorial chairs from De La Salle University and University of San Carlos, has made significant donations to schools including Xavier School, Immaculate Conception Academy, Sacred Heart Boy’s High School in Cebu and the De La Salle University, all of which have a "Gokongwei Building."