Why Eric Recto said yes

Eric Ongpin  Recto or EOR, the savvy finance man and dealmaker extraordinaire, is a man who can afford to say no. With numerous successful deals to his name, EOR has the luxury to walk away from any business or deal, especially if it isn’t worth his time.

He is the nephew of the late tycoon and Marcos-era trade minister Roberto V. Ongpin, fondly called RVO. He learned the ropes of dealmaking and a lot of how to navigate the complicated world of Philippine business from his uncle.

They became business partners and made big money from some of the biggest deals in Philippine business – Philex Mining, Atok, Petron, etc. – until at some point, EOR left RVO’s tutelage and ventured on his own.

Some observers saw it as a mentee leaving the mentor who molded him but it was nothing like that, as Eric explained in his tribute to RVO last month, which was a poignant narration of a mentor-pupil relationship – marred by nuances, tongue-lashing, whisky and chicharon.

It was indeed a heartwarming and beautiful tribute from a grateful pupil.

“There is no other way I can think of to thank him for the trust he gave me as a pupil, as a partner, as an advisor and ultimately as a friend, than to take on the role of chairman of Alphaland and carry on his wish to make this great company truly unique,” EOR said in his tribute.

Thus, he said yes and heeded the wishes of his late uncle to take the helm of upscale property and hospitality business Alphaland as its new chairman. I’m guessing it’s not an easy business. At the very least, one needs enough energy to be smiling all the time and, more importantly, it would take a lot of Eric’s time as it requires keen attention to detail.

But it was RVO’s wish, as stated in his will, for Eric – of all his 23 nephews and nieces – to succeed him.

‘God’

Eric, the son of RVO’s younger sister Deanna, was in awe of his uncle even at a young age. He recalled reading about RVO who was then the big boss at auditing firm SGV and was referred to as ‘God’ within the firm.

“For an impressionable 12-year-old, reading something like that can really have an impact. It certainly did on me,” Eric said.

‘He’ll survive’

But RVO also knew early on that his nephew would grow up to be a survivor, tough enough to survive the world and his tough uncle.

Eric recalled that he nearly drowned when he was around five years old during a family gathering hosted by RVO in his home on Campanilla Street in Dasmariñas Village.

He must have swallowed gallons of water but when RVO saw him, he just looked at his nephew in distress and said gruffly, “‘He’ll survive’…”

Storied not sordid

Many years later, RVO offered Eric a job to join him in Belle Corp. It was the beginning of a relationship – storied not sordid, Eric quips – that spanned almost 30 years.

Eric was floored to receive such an offer and thus joined him in 1994 as a young and certainly green employee, at times drawing RVO’s ire and also getting some tongue lashings.

In 2002, a few years after Belle, Eric joined the government as finance undersecretary and it was his uncle who was responsible for it.

“I remember receiving a call from RVO one early evening as I was headed home from the office. ‘Eric, I just spoke to Lito Camacho (who had just been appointed DOF secretary) and I told him he should get you to join him at the DOF, since you are probably bored just counting the mountains of cash of Alaska Milk,’” Eric recalled.

After Eric left the finance department, RVO then offered him a job again, this time as a business partner.

They worked on several big projects and hefty deals, from PhilWeb to Philex Mining and many others in between and RVO found a formula on how the work was divided.

“He would give the orders and I would go and try to execute – a fair division of duties, I suppose,” Eric said in jest.

During this time, he and RVO spent countless hours, over lunch or over his uncle’s favorite Johnnie Walker Black Label on the rocks with a splash of water, accompanied by his favorite pica-pica, which was chicharon, Eric recalled.

“I kind of knew I had ‘arrived’ and that our relationship was truly on a different level, because he would actually offer me a drink and, more significantly, some of his treasured chicharon,” Eric said.

In 2014, Ashmore and RVO parted ways. Eric stayed with Ashmore and, in the eyes of the public, it seemed like he chose Ashmore over his uncle Bobby but Eric explained that he and RVO agreed it was the only practical solution.

Eventually, Eric went on his own but is forever grateful to the uncle who honed him through the years.

“There are two individuals who I owe most for what I am today. My mother, who brought us up singlehandedly, and RVO, who was the single greatest influence on my career and why I am where I am today,” Eric said.

RVO died in his sleep last Feb. 5 but his story isn’t over and, as Eric said, will never be.

“We all – in the end – die in medias res or in the middle of the story. Uncle Bobby, you were one hell of a story maker and we will make sure this story never ends,” Eric said.

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