MVP, MPIC, Meralco, PLDT bring home several corporate governance awards

MANILA, Philippines - Executives and companies belonging to the MVP Group have clinched awards of excellence in various categories given by a Hong Kong-based business journal, which also named the group’s head, Manuel V. Pangilinan, managing director and CEO of the First Pacific Co. Ltd., as one of the best chief executive officers in Asia.

Michael Toledo , MVP Group of Companies Media Bureau head, and SVP for Corporate Affairs at Philex Mining Corp., said that Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) were also recognized Thursday at the 4th Asian Excellence Recognition Awards 2014, in Hong Kong.

“We are indeed happy that  the companies  in the MVP Group have won a number of awards,” said Toledo, who attended the recognition night organized by the Corporate Governance Asia at the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, in Wanchai, Hong Kong. “This makes us more resolute to working further toward excellence.”

Napoleon Nazareno, president and CEO of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Co., Oscar Reyes, president and CEO of Meralco, and Jose Maria Lim, president and CEO of Metro Pacific Investment Corp., joined Pangilinan in the Asia’s Best CEO category, while Betty Siy-Yap and David Nicol, chief financial officers of Meralco and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., respectively, were listed under Asia’s Best CFO.

A Manila-based investment unit of the Hong Kong-based First Pacific, MPIC won in four categories, namely, Best Environmental Responsibility, Best Corporate Communications Team, Best CSR, and Best Investor Relations Company. Its VP for Investor Relations, Albert Pulido, was named Best Investor Relations Professional.

Meralco won the awards for Best CSR and Best Investor Relations Company, while its treasurer, Rafael Andrada, was likewise named Best Investor Relations Professional. PLDT, on the other hand, joins the ranks of nine other firms in the Philippines that wonunder the category of Best Investor Relations Company.

An authoritative journal on corporate governance in Hong Kong and Asia, Corporate Governance Asia has stressed the importance for companies to “quickly and seriously” address the issue of corporate governance, or run the risk of losing their investors in the short term, competitiveness (medium term), and business (long term).

“The United States-based Corporate Governance Network says there is growing mistrust among investors as a result of accounting scandals, poor corporate governance and conflicts ofinterest that have been occurring in the business sector worldwide,” the Corporate Governance Asia says on its website.

It also stresses that 10 years on since it produced a publication dedicated to improving the standards of corporate governance in Asia, rogue corporations and managers still pervade the world of business and investing, resulting to severe losses for investors. In the midst of a constantly changing marketplace, it says, the regulators’ ability to guard companies against these rogue activities is sometimes outdone by innovation and cutthroat competition.

“We at the MVP Group of Companies share the same value – practising good governance, excellent investor relations, and carrying out our CSR programs with zeal  and lasting commitment,” Toledo said. “With this, we always think about the welfare of ouremployees, partners, and other stakeholders, as we help the country create economic progress and protect its natural resources.”