Why MVP supports teachers, and where John Lloyd Cruz invests his earnings

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. — Bill Cosby

PLDT boss Manny V. Pangilinan should be commended for his support of teachers, who are overworked and often underpaid here in the Philippines! If government is remiss, let businessmen like MVP and Metrobank Foundation’s George S. K. Ty help.

Last Oct. 28, his PLDT-Smart Foundation hosted the Philippines’ biggest star-studded teachers’ day tribute at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. It supports teachers through scholarships and many projects under Gabay Guro and is led by PLDT first vice president/controller Chaye Cabal-Revilla, wife of Bacoor City Mayor Strike Revilla.

The event featured entertainers like Gary Valenciano, Nora Aunor, Aga Muhlach, Cesar Montano, Robin Padilla and Derek Ramsay. Raffle prizes for teachers ranged from cell phones, laptops and TVs to a house and lot from Camella Homes of Senator Manny Villar and wife Cynthia Villar. Congresswoman Lani Mercado Revilla and Mayor Strike Revilla were on the front row with Cynthia Villar.

When I congratulated MVP for this huge project, he humbly replied: “Many thanks, Wilson. We’re just doing our job.”

Unknown to many, MVP’s paternal grandfather started as a public school teacher in Pampanga and Tarlac, then rose through the ranks to become superintendent of public schools and, eventually, Secretary of Education.

Also, in the Ateneo de Manila University’s 150th anniversary book of 150 alumni  — which included this columnist — paying tribute to our personal Ateneo heroes, MVP chose his former philosophy teacher, the brilliant Fr. Roque Ferriols, S.J., as his personal hero.

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Based on a 2011 AC Nielsen study, the top male celebrity endorser of advertising in the Philippines is actor John Lloyd Cruz. He is also a top celebrity taxpayer. But not many realize that John Lloyd Cruz is also a positive role model for saving money.

When I asked him before where or how he invests his money, John Lloyd told me he prefers real estate investments. He also has two bank managers and two lawyers in his family to advise him on money matters. Whether business people, entrepreneurs or professionals, let us follow John Lloyd to seek the advice of experts like bankers.

ABS-CBN 2 executive Kane Choa told me that Cruz and Bea Alonzo just launched their primetime TV soap titled A Beautiful Affair, which Choa said is very popular.

Hidden Champions:

Teriyaki Boy & Wafu,

Yellow Cab &

Army Navy founders

One young but interesting businessman is Teriyaki Boy restaurant chain founder Bryan Tiu, who I would describe as a “serial entrepreneur.” His parents were in the textile trade in Divisoria, Manila and since he said he didn’t graduate from the Philippines’ top three universities, he ventured into entrepreneurship by franchising Domino’s Pizza. Bryan said he did well for a while, then his stores eventually folded up. But failure wasn’t final and it made him more determined.

Bryan Tiu later established Teriyaki Boy, the casual dining Japanese resto chain, and eventually sold 70 percent of his shareholdings to the billionaire scion Martin Lorenzo of Lapanday Group through the latter’s Pancake House business. Nowadays, Bryan Tiu has a new baby called Wafu Japanese Restaurant, a high-end resto right beside the new Gloria Maris Chinese Restaurant in Greenhills, San Juan City and near Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Bryan Tiu also owns Tokyo Café, Peri Peri Chicken, Stackers Burger and Kogi Bulgogi chains.

Almost similar to Bryan Tiu are the former Chowking franchisees Eric Puno, Henry Lee and Albert Tan who founded the New York-looking Yellow Cab Pizza chain, then sold it to Martin Lorenzo again. I heard the other partners are retired now in their 40s, but Eric Puno has again started the successful Army Navy chain of casual dining burger and burrito restos.

Ramon Ang’s new airport plans impressed

Malaysia leader

Two billionaires who Forbes magazine erroneously and inexplicably missed on their annual Philippines’ wealthiest list are PLDT’s MVP and his rival for mega-deals, San Miguel Corp. (SMC), Petron and Philippine Airlines boss Ramon S. Ang.

One of the scoops of the high-quality Esquire Philippines magazine edited by Erwin Romulo and published by Summit Media was its recent cover story on the 58-year-old Ramon Ang written by Roel Landingin. Surprisingly, Ang told the magazine that he dislikes going into the casino business.

On casinos, Ramon Ang said: “We won’t enter that business. If you put up a casino, whether in Singapore or the Philippines, 75 percent of the clients are domestic. You’ll be killing off a lot of domestic businesses and contributing to breakups of marriages and families.”

Many business people are waiting to see what Ang’s SMC is planning to buy for US$5 billion — perhaps a big stake in a foreign brewer like Singapore’s Tiger Beer or Lao Beer of Laos, or maybe a foreign airline?

People are also waiting to see if Ang can really pull off his audacious plan to build a new international airport in three years. Ramon Ang recently explained his bold airport plan while visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib at a private breakfast in Shangri-La Hotel Makati, which was also attended by other tycoons like Oscar Lopez. Najib reportedly was impressed with Ang’s cost-efficient airport plans here.

How to tailor one’s way to

entrepreneurial success

This writer was recently guest speaker at Rotary Club of San Juan North led by president Benjamin “Benny” de Ocampo, who owns the Exclusive His tailoring chain (established in 1965) and Quattro Grill Restaurant in Timog Avenue, Quezon City. His son-in-law and daughter own Made to Measure in SM Hypermart, Libis, Quezon City.

His success secrets? Benny de Ocampo said: “I hope we’re still truly successful up to now. Of course, the tailoring business is not as good as before, so now we have to reach out to corporate clients and groups that need our services like law offices or medical doctors or business executives.  We are trying to reach out to them by offering convenience like home service or pick-up and delivery. Specially, nowadays that there’s so much traffic, we don’t want to hassle them by making them come to our shops, we’d rather go to them and service them to entice them to patronize us.”

De Ocampo’s mother traded in textiles in Tarlac, Tarlac and used to buy textile supplies at wholesale prices in Divisoria, Manila accompanied by son Benny de Ocampo. That’s where the son got the idea to start Exclusively His Tailoring in 1965. It is now a chain.

De Ocampo shared: “My business principle then and up to this time, I guess, is to offer people good quality fabrics and workmanship at very reasonable, almost cheap prices. I knew my target market, and i knew exactly what they would go for, so it was just a matter of finding the right location at affordable rentals. I guess, one advantage I had was being young like them, knowing what was in and also being a Kapampangan helped. At that time, Pampangueños were well-known tailors and well-dressed themselves and medyo ‘meticuloso’ when it came to fashion.”

He continued: “So, if I were to sum up how to succeed in business, I’d think that one needs to know his target market and give them what they want. Offer very attractive reasonable prices, and of course, good quality materials and service. And lastly, location! One needs to be in a convenient location for his target market. Also, I might add, very friendly sincere service, not too focused on profits, but more on customer satisfaction.”

Benny de Ocampo added: “Another advantage I guess I had was my knowledge of accounting. I applied very practical accounting in my business, computing most of the time to find out what best prices I could offer and still make money.”

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