Almost a part of show business

Business & Leisure (B&L), the television show, has been on the air for some 24 years now, and through all these years, the show has made friends, “suki” if you will, who we can rely on for intelligent opinions on a given matter in their own field of expertise, always making themselves ready for those countless quick interviews. The welcome mat has always been unrolled graciously for the B&L production staff and TV crew, and we are thankful.

One of them is Mr. Jesus “Jess” Arranza whom I did not know spoke fluent Chinese, brought up by a full-blooded Chinese father and Filipino mother in his native Sorsogon. The youngest among seven siblings (two sisters and four brothers), he had his early schooling in a Chinese school and spent much of his time there learning English, Filipino and Chinese. For many of us, learning another language is quite enough, so having daily tutelage in school to learn three languages can be very challenging for a restless young boy, so he quickly tired of this and moved to a public school, the old Sorsogon Provincial High School where he became very active, even ending up as the corps commander of the Preparatory Military Training (PMT).

Mr. Arranza may be considered one of the very successful businessmen around today, but he readily admits that his family then was not rich by any standard, so after high school he worked for Fil Oil, the first full-service gasoline station in the country at that time, as a very young manager for a full year, earning enough money to send for an older sibling who was studying to be a doctor. He mastered the abacus and conducted business this way, often sleeping in the station to keep a tight watch.

That didn’t last too long, and then back it was to school, this time the University of the East to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Economics. This time around, his brother was already a doctor and it was his turn to pay for Jess’ college tuition.

At the U.E., he distinguished himself as a student, elected as a Parliamentarian and eventually as the Speaker of the Parliament on his last year. It was at U.E. where he met his wife Evelyn, then also a student Parliamentarian, and even before he graduated, he was already hired by Baguio Oil.

Jess never realized his earlier dreams of becoming a pilot, which his family couldn’t afford, and of entering the Philippine Military Academy. Since he was not yet 21 years old, he couldn’t formally decide on his dual citizenship, so he forged his love affair with Economics, graduating as Senior Council president, one of the top five in each college. He further distinguished himself by emerging as the president of the Senior Council, the best among the best in school.

What is little known of Jess Arranza is his passion for music.  A member of the Drum & Bugle Corps, he was also a guitarist and soloist of a popular combo in high school, entering a competition that would have landed him a contract with Clover Theater had he emerged as champion. “There is a twist of life”, he said, “if I had won, I would not have met my wife, and perhaps I would be in show business now.”

At Baguio Oil, he is best remembered for the clever slogans he coined such as “Order ni Mrs., Baguio Oil.” But in 1980, when Danding Cojuanco bought Minola Oil, he was invited to join the company.  By then, Jess had already found his niche in the industry and was widely considered as The Expert in coconut oil. And true to his reputation, he also made Minola the no. 1 in the market, till Mr. Cojuanco himself left the scene and with that departure, Jess felt free to pursue other aspirations as well.

During the time of PGMA (Pres. Arroyo), he was appointed as director of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and headed the country’s oil mills as well which were losing hundreds of millions of government funds.  Jess was hired to turn the tide for this government agency, and he did.

In 2010, he had a scary bout with cancer at an early stage, but with the help of his doctors and his son who is a medical doctor and who was relentless in taking the disease head on to ensure his recovery, Jess had conquered it without the need for surgery.

Because of this, he contemplated on retirement, or at least slow down his frenetic pace, but he was prevailed upon to stay on as director of the UCPB, one of the few retained by PNoy (Pres. Aquino) when he took over the country. It was also during this time that he founded the FPI, the Federation of Philippine Industries along with other industry leaders. And he launched his untiring crusade against the country’s smugglers. He launched exposes against corrupt businessmen, tobacco and palm oil smugglers, and concentrated on setting standards for Philippine products. And to this day, he continues to lobby for separate government bodies to govern trade and industry. “There is always a conflict of interest—trade would push for lower tariffs, while industries would go for higher tariffs to protect its interest”, he said. And when then President Cory issued an order lowering tariffs across the board, FPI filed a case all the way to the Supreme Court questioning the legality of the order, until it was ultimately withdrawn.

Among his other advocacies are the Buy Pinoy Movement and the protection of interest of home owners, fathering the Law of Homeowners, and raising relevant issues through his radio show Ang Bayan ni Juan to push—why isn’t the COA auditing the Special Educational Fund which by now has reached billions?  On the professional side, he and his group called Ultimate Solutions offers business solutions that allow businesses to realize like the optimal use of electricity, etc., charging only a percentage of the savings actually realized.

On his personal life, he enjoys life to the fullest with his wife Evelyn and his grandchildren and takes fatherly pride in the accomplishments of his children. He wants to be remembered as a person who cares deeply about the local industry.

And in closing, he ended the interview with a few lines from his favorite songs in his younger years, Diana by Paul Anka, Love is a Many Splendored Thing by Nat “King” Cole, and ended up with a rock and roll number, Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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