The Lopez Way

I just attended a two-day conference of the Lopez Group of companies entitled “In Sync.” More than 300 people from our different companies — from supervisors up — attended. It was the brainchild of Father Tito Caluag, Raffy Alunan and Ben Liboro. I wasn’t able to attend all the proceedings, but what I did manage to attend was enough to get me on a high. The theme of the whole conference was “living excellence and social responsibility — the Lopez Way.” We talked about how we could all work together to make an even bigger impact in this country. It was all about sharing best practices. The different modules covered the environment, education, microfinance, volunteerism, community relations and many more.

The chairman of the Lopez Group, my uncle Tito Oskie, opened day one. Known for his historical bent, he cited how it all began. It was important that the employees know that the commitment to public service is historical and supported by management — starting from the very top. The first day even included the third generation sharing their passions in a plenary session. Cedie Lopez Vargas, the executive director of the Lopez Museum, talked about her passion for arts and culture. Rina Lopez Bautista, the president of The Knowledge Channel, talked about her passion for education. I really liked her closing statement — “Why do I do this?” she asked. “I can, so I should.” I need to mention that Rina was just recently asked to be a speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative in Hong Kong. Wow! Not just an attendee but a speaker! She has done wonderfully using satellite technology to implement quality education particularly in far-flung areas of Mindanao. Angela Lopez Guingona talked about her work in Iloilo and Guimaras; Rogy — Tita Prescy’s eldest son — talked about how he got involved in work with street children through the Virlani Foundation. Piki, the president of First Gas, an environmental group, talked about why corporate social responsibility should be an integral part of the business. Mike Lopez, executive director of the Meralco Millennium Foundation, talked about what his group is doing with Gawad Kalinga. They have already set up 22 Sibol (nursery) schools in all their franchise areas, including a Eugenio Lopez GK Village in Jaro, Iloilo.

There was a palpable sense of family in the gathering — maybe even more so because the theme was so noble.

The second day was opened by my other uncle, Manolo Lopez, the chairman of Meralco. He talked about the importance of integrity and teamwork in times of crisis. I know for a fact that the engagement of Meralco in public service goes beyond giving money. I have personally seen my uncle and Meralco employees engage in the projects they support.

After my uncle, board members from different companies spoke, including Tito Jake Almeda Lopez — who was with my dad, it seems, for ages. Tito Jake headed ABS-CBN as early as the ‘60s; he’s a man of great integrity and civic consciousness. It was great to hear these individuals as they gave public service a sense of history. He related how when my dad was asked if the public service works should continue, because the Lopez companies were facing financial crisis at the time, my dad replied, “All the more we should double our efforts, because the people need us more.” Hearing that brought tears of pride to my eyes.

Former Ambassador Cesar Bautista cited the need to work together and make an impact. Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban talked about the public perception of the Lopezes as being elitist and greedy — and how, when he joined the Meralco board, he was surprised to find out the facts were totally to the contrary. That “abonado pa kayo.” Phil Alfonso, the president of the Lopez Group Foundation, talked about the evolution of corporate social responsibility and the business case for CSR.

It was amazing for me to hear about the work the other companies were doing. And I was told the public views the Lopez Group as elitist? How did that ever happen?

The last plenary session was focused on this: Where do we go from here? What’s our next move?

Maria Ressa talked about convergence. I was so proud of her. She was asked during the open forum whether, given the hypothetical situation that there was something unsavory to report about a Lopez company, she would do it. She said that journalism is actually a higher calling and her commitment is always towards the truth. Cool.

Father Tito Caluag — one of my favorite priests — talked about going back to our sense of identity and mission; that we continually have to go back to that source, and that what we do should be a consistent manifestation of who we are.

Dr. Toto Estuar — the president of First Balfour Infrastructure — talked about the need for excellent execution and the role that accurate data plays in all of this. He said that to be excellent we need to be willing to pay the price. Just like an athlete preparing for competition, we need to invest time and effort, day after day.

Paul Aquino, head of the Energy Development Corporation, talked about his community work in the mountains and how the social impact of his work has actually been good for business. They have put a School for Excellence as well as a Trade School, and carried out massive reforestation. Values and discipline are now instilled in the community. I was very much impressed with the holistic nature of his efforts: feeding, livelihood, education and infrastructure.

Finally, Jay Lopez, the vice president of First Philippine Holdings, talked about how we need to discover how we can spread our work so that we can make an even bigger difference.

After that, my brother Gabby gave the closing message. When a sibling is just a year and a half older than you, the tendency is to regard him or her casually. I have a childhood memory of throwing a hairbrush at Gabby in consternation because he kept teasing me. Well, that afternoon I was so bowled over by his speech and the sincerity and passion in which he delivered it that I decided I really needed to add it to this column. It’s ironic that he is the chairman of a huge media conglomerate; he actually just likes to be behind the scenes. He was always reluctant, preferring to stay on the sidelines. But I insisted so, my heart swelling with pride, here is Gabby’s speech in full.

Lopez Brand Of Excellence And Social Responsibility: Service To The Filipino

In 2005, rock legend Bono of the world-renowned band U2 and business icon Bill Gates, along with his wife Melinda, were named by Time magazine as “Persons of the Year.”

They were recognized for their continuous efforts and financial contributions aimed at battling poverty, eliminating disease, and promoting education, all on a global scale. This year, Google celebrates its 10th anniversary by launching “Project 10 to the 100th.” This project is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible. The ideas that are selected will be provided initial funding amounting to $10 million to jumpstart them.

Bono, an excellent musician. Bill Gates, an excellent entrepreneur. Google, an excellent company. Suddenly, they made corporate social responsibility sexy.

They drew attention to the fact that excellence in what you do and giving back to society are two halves of one indivisible reality. However, as early as 80 years ago, in a small province in the Philippines, businessmen Eugenio and Fernando Lopez already grasped the inextricable relationship between the soul of a business and improving the lives of others. Seven decades before it became faddish to do so, long before the term “corporate social responsibility” was coined, they formulated the foundations of “The Lopez Way” — business excellence in service of the public. My grandfather, Ening, captured this in his words, “We consider these sacred and inviolable… that human values are superior to material values; that the right to enjoy the fruits of labor is paramount to profit and losses; and that our success should be measured, not by the wealth we accumulate, but by the amount of happiness we can spread.”

As one reflects on this statement, three qualities which underpin the Lopez brand of excellence and social responsibility unveil themselves: deliberate, enduring and resolute. What exactly does this mean to us? Being of service to the Filipino is not an incidental outcome of operations; rather, it is an intended result of how we do business. in the same way we set stringent business targets that satisfy shareholder expectations, so must we set targets that spur national development via social, environmental and economic initiatives. We must do business in a way so that communities we operate in grow as our success grows; that enhances, rather than compromises, the ability of future generations to be successful as well in their own time. For as long as we are in business, we will be in the service of the Filipino. Business excellence is the vehicle by which we are able to continue down this road. And business excellence means accepting that, more and more, we compete in one global marketplace where boundaries quickly fall due to the ubiquity and availability of ever evolving technology. The measure, then, of our business excellence is our ability to stand at par with the best global organizations. Social responsibility is steadfast. It is not practiced just when business is doing good but, ironically, it is more needed when our businesses suffer. It is most likely the case that those factors that burden our businesses and inhibit us from achieving our targets are also the very factors that burden the ordinary Filipino in his daily life. These are the very factors that inhibit him from eating three square meals a day, availing of medical treatment, attaining an education, and obtaining gainful employment. Sadly, this is the daily plight of the majority of our countrymen. It is a human tragedy lived day in and day out, without hope or relief.

So they say, one tragedy reveals another.

It is the unfortunate truth that the second tragedy is the inability of our government to respond in effective and sustainable ways to alleviate the plight of the Filipino.

Realizing that, woe to us should we let the third tragedy be the indifference of the private sector.

Never! Never has it been the way for the Lopez Group! That decision was made 80 years ago and still stands today. For 80 years, the Lopez Group of companies has been at the forefront of business excellence and corporate social responsibility. It will continue to be so for the next 80 years and the 80 after that. At a time when the Internet could not even be conceived by science fiction, at a time when doing good was simply called “charity” and “kindness,” the Lopez way of business excellence and social responsibility was already crafted.

During his time, my father articulated the Lopez Way when he said, “One of the advantages of being successful in business is the opportunity it presents to render public service without being in public office.”

This is the torch that the first and second generations, through their toil and sacrifice, have passed on to us.

It is a gift and privilege we, the third generation, have gratefully received and cherished. We vow that never shall this torch dim nor be doused. We vow that it shall be passed burning brightly and brilliantly to the next generation and every generation to come.

Deliberate. Enduring. Resolute.