Faith in the Filipino

I am one of those who tear up with a good singing of the national anthem. Nothing makes my heart beat faster after a long foreign trip than the sight of Philippine terra firma from the plane’s window.

With so many things going wrong lately, self inflicted problems, it is often difficult to keep the faith. But I have and we must.

This faith is often tested severely. The stupidity of some government decisions lately, makes me cringe in embarrassment… e.g. the banning of hammers and wearing of hats in malls among others. The revelation of large scale thievery of government funds from first hand sources makes me mad.

But faith in the Filipino, if you forget the politicians and the government they lead, is more than justified. In my many foreign trips, there had hardly been a city in the world where I did not encounter an overseas Filipino worker. I see them work hard in cruise ships for months at a time with barely time off. They make me proud.

Hearing their employers praise the quality of their work should make us even prouder. A movie has been produced about a Filipina nanny in Singapore. Our engineers, airline pilots, chefs, doctors, nurses and yes, nannies are much sought after for their professional skills, hard work and loyalty.

Together, overseas Filipinos boost the economy by sending back over $22 billion a year. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) estimates that, as of 2011, over 10 million Philippine-born Filipinos are residing or working overseas. About 2.2 million have certified work contracts. Without them, the economy would have been worse off.

Indeed, exporting people had been our best industry for years now. And there is no doubt people will be our best export for the foreseeable future. The indomitable Filipino spirit will weather the difficulties of any work environment abroad to deliver the best. But can they be as good if they work at home?

Three foreign employers say we could. And more than just expressing their feelings in words, they have done something to walk their talk. 

Mariels Almeda Winhoffer, president and country general manager of IBM Philippines is one example. Mariels grew up here and traces her roots to the Almeda family of Batangas. She took her college in Fordham and worked in IBM for over 25 years reaching senior level responsibilities. Prior to her Manila assignment, she worked directly with IBM CEO Sam Palmisano which gave her a global and strategic view of management.

She had barely warmed up her chair at the IBM Philippines head office at Eastwood about two years ago when she embarked on the supreme challenge of making the Philippines the Global Center for Smarter Analytics. Mariels explains her vision:

“By leveraging analytics, we will transform and redefine the next generation Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). Our country has what it takes…continued success in outsourcing, global talent and the right leadership… Global leadership in this next generation BPO means economic growth for the country.”

Mariels saw the promise: a $220 billion business that will create jobs for 4.4 million people by 2015. She wanted the country to get a good share of that market. But how? Analytics require sophisticated training. We are still at the low end of the business process outsourcing industry.

So Mariels did a one person campaign to make sure we have the trained people. She knocked on the doors of CHED and worked with them to develop an Analytics Education Roadmap to enable the next generation of global Filipino talent.

And she worked fast. Leveraging the resources of IBM, Mariels managed in one year to see the adoption of the analytics curriculum in business administration and IT education courses by some of the country’s top universities and colleges. She is now working with AIM to develop a graduate level course, the Analytics version of the MBA, for even higher level skills.

But the participation of the private sector is essential so she organized Analitika, a consortium of leading local companies that will actually invest to make us a world center for Analytics. All these she is doing because she has this faith in the Filipino and she used what is normally a short stint for an IBM senior executive here to get all the pieces working together before she is reassigned.

Then there is Wen-Szu Lin. I first heard of him when he e-mailed me last year about his book The China Twist which narrated his not so exhilarating experience trying to establish a business in China. Now he is in the Philippines on a new adventure while his Filipina wife is still in Beijing working for a consulting firm.

Chinese-American Wen-Szu is here because he discovered the qualities of the Filipino that make our country a good place to develop the systems for food chains and for staff training as well. The Philippines, he said, “should be an exporter of brands and concepts rather than an importer. The talent base here is amazing.”

He is trying to see if he can develop a concept for a food chain specializing in Taiwanese food. He has opened his test outlet at the Ayala UP Town Center called Red Onion. From the aesthetics of the outlet’s design to the menu card and the menu development, Wen-Szu is betting he can develop everything from scratch right here with the help of Filipino talent.

Joseph Sigelman, CEO of the resurrected AG&P is even more amazing. Last month, Joe won the ‘Expatriate Executive of the Year’ honors at the 2013 Asia CEO Awards. 

AG&P was also named a finalist in the ‘Most Innovative Company’ category for building a new industry, Industrial Process Outsourcing. Joe introduced his innovative approach, Modstruction, or the modular approach that helps construction projects open for business faster.

And Sigelman certainly deserves this honor. AG&P, the once iconic local construction company, was practically dead, the thing that happens when the original founders fade away and the next generation are incapable or have no interest in continuing. Mr. Sigelman saw something in AG&P that made him risk his own money to take it over.

And he did more than just revitalize the company. A once dying company started to grow under his leadership and the workforce increased from 300 to over 7,000 in just under 36 months. The American entrepreneur is also loved by his employees for his dedication to their well-being.

Joe is bullish on the Philippines, saying it is in a magical period.  “This country has reached past an inflexion point.  All data from the past no longer bears reality to where this country is going and its tremendous future.  This country has one of the world’s most sought-after workforce with highly innovative, hardworking professionals. It enjoys a transparent government that’s supportive of business.”

All praises for Filipino workers, Joe also wants to bring the OFWs home. “One of the greatest assets in the Philippines is the tremendous human capital experience the Filipinos abroad have captured.  Now is the time to bring that back home. 

“We are very proud that at AG&P, of our 7,000 craftsmen, well over 90% have worked abroad.  If you can give people the opportunity for a stable career at home, interspersed with short periods of time through our manpower deployment business, where we can give people the opportunity to continue to gain international experience – but come right back home afterward, that creates a fulfilling career. 

“It combines work in our yard, global experience and back again.  All to the benefit of the developing Philippine manufacturing sector, and to the benefit of their families, who treasure their presence at dinner every night.”

Joe promised to put AG&P at the forefront of capacity building for the Philippines. He will “send to the rest of the world some of the most complex manufacturing products that there are. 

“We build modules for the largest infrastructure projects in the world – across LNG, power, mining and oil and Petrochemical projects. We build everything in Batangas proudly, where we are the largest employer and send our modules to job sites in North America, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and beyond. We love where we are. And we’re very excited about the future.”

If DTI’s Greg Domingo and Tourism’s Mon Jimenez ever get around to doing a campaign on Brand Philippines to boost FDI, as they should, Seligman is the perfect spokesman. Mariels and Lin should be heard as well.

At times like these, such overwhelming vote of confidence that involves the investment not just of saliva, but real capital and backed by actual experience, gives us hope for the future. But they need the right environment. Let us make sure our political leaders provide that for them.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco