Friendship and respect

Many moons ago when I was in high school, I remember one of our classmates who was a bit flamboyant and loved to show off his family’s wealth, wearing the latest Florsheim shoes – the biggest thing in footwear during those days. Our classmate, who came from a wealthy family, had a lot of friends who loved it every time he offered to buy soft drinks and treat many classmates to lunch – except for a quiet, low-key classmate who would always politely refuse. Miffed, the rich student took our low-key classmate (who came from a province in the south) aside and asked him point blank why he always declined his invitations for a free meal. To which the low-key student simply replied: “I just want your friendship. You don’t need to buy me lunch.”

As it turns out, our simple classmate’s family from the province was actually wealthier than our flamboyant classmate, his family owning several big department stores in the province – reminding me of Melanie Marquez’ famous line: “We should not judge my brother by the cover because he is not a book.”

I have known Manny Pangilinan for over two decades, and he has become a good friend over the years. In fact, I also knew Manny’s father, Dominador Pangilinan, when we both worked for the RSB group of companies. The elder Pangilinan was the president of Traders Royal Bank (TRB) while I was then a news reporter for RPN 9. All RSB group employees conveniently banked with TRB for obvious reasons.

MVP’s father was an extremely successful banker, a man with humble beginnings who started out as a messenger for the Philippine National Bank, rising from the ranks until he became senior vice president before moving to Traders Royal Bank. Everyone familiar with Manny knows the strong influence of his family in molding his character, having learned the value of hard work, dedication and perseverance from the example not only of his parents, but also of his grandparents Benito and Florencia who were both public school teachers in Sulipan, a barangay (village) in Apalit, Pampanga. Benito eventually became Secretary of Education during the administration of President Elpidio Quirino.

MVP acknowledges that his humble beginnings challenged him to work hard like his father – and he did just that by giving and doing his best whenever an opportunity comes. Manny obtained a scholarship to San Beda and then went to Ateneo where he finished AB Economics, before pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Economics – again through a scholarship from a national contest sponsored by a big company.

We have seen Manny – when he came back from Hong Kong as managing director of First Pacific – build up PLDT and turn this Filipino crown jewel into the country’s most valuable firm with the biggest market capitalization of P576 billion (as of end December last year). It was a feat that could not be described as a walk in the park, because it involved taking big risks and making tough decisions like “cutting the fat” to streamline the operations. His passion is driven not only by determination but industry and diligence, believing that for one to succeed, one must be willing to work hard – something he is known for, working almost 24/7.

MVP’s business savvy and vision are the reasons why he is where he is today. But despite his phenomenal success, he has kept his feet firmly rooted to the ground. No doubt his upbringing and the fact that he went to San Beda and Ateneo – both very good Catholic schools – have also ingrained in him deep values and a high moral compass.

He believes in giving back – donating money for the construction of classrooms, providing computers, equipping schools with Internet connection – because of his conviction that education is the greatest equalizer, having seen what a good education has done for him.

“We want to share our blessings with people,” he said – and he has undoubtedly put his money where his mouth is, with “corporate social responsibility” not just a good sound bite but an advocacy as far as MVP is concerned, recognizing the critical role that the private sector plays in helping uplift the lives of many poor Filipinos. He was a leading force in getting the country’s top business groups and conglomerates to form the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation whose primary objective is to help disaster victims recover and put their lives back together.

One of the unique qualities that MVP has is his strong sense of fairness in almost anything he does. He does not mind criticism for as long as it is fair, and this is the dictum that he practices even with his involvement in media organizations – something that you don’t often see from many successful people nowadays.

At the end of the day, friendship is not all about money, or favors or even free lunches. It’s all about mutual respect – and Manny Pangilinan is one such friend that one can truly appreciate and highly respect.

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Stieg Larsson defines friendship as one that should be built on trust and respect, and these things have to be mutual. If one or the other is not present, then that friendship never existed in the first place.

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