The Gokongweis’ legacy: Investing in Filipino students

The recent midterm elections had many of us pleasantly surprised that young voters emerged as the game changers.

They were thinking for themselves and their future, unswayed by surveys that predicted many celebrities in the Senate’s Magic 12. This is critical thinking at its best.

Ultimately, helping our young and succeeding generations harness their critical thinking skills will help drive our country forward, as it would equip them with problem-solving skills and the capacity to engage in innovative pursuits – the skill sets needed in this dizzying and fast-changing tech-driven world.

This is why I salute the late retail magnate John Gokongwei, or JG, and his brothers for setting up the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF), which has helped the Filipino youth by focusing on both students and teachers.

I, together with The STAR business reporters Richmond Mercurio and Elijah Rosales, recently sat down with tycoon Lance Gokongwei at the swanky and elegant boardroom of JG Summit, where he talked about the conglomerate’s existing and new businesses and how it continues to uphold its founder JG’s philanthropic work through GBF.

Betting on the Filipino youth

GBF is actually one of the biggest and most active philanthropic arms in the Philippines – which we need more of. Imagine if every company or conglomerate invested in the education of our youth.

The foundation was founded by JG and his brothers Henry, Johnson and James in 1992, with the goal of having a lasting impact on education in the Philippines. The brothers donated a generous amount of their shares from JG Summit Holdings Inc. to set up and sustain the foundation, making it the biggest shareholder in the conglomerate. The brothers strongly believed that education was key to our nation’s progress, and that business should contribute to nation-building through education, according to GBF.

“My dad, when the company listed, he and his brothers donated a significant part of their shareholdings to GBF. My dad and his brother Henry gave 30 percent of their stake. And then his younger brothers, Johnson and James, gave 20 percent of their stakes. And that formed the corpus of GBF. Then when my dad turned 80, he subsequently donated 50 percent of his shareholdings. So today, the largest shareholder, almost 30 percent of JGS, is owned by a charitable foundation focused on education,” Lance said during our chat.

“One main focus of GBF is really to improve STEM education in the Philippines,” he said.

Building a community of teachers

To date, the foundation has over a thousand scholarships every year, but in recent years, Lance said GBF is also focusing on teachers.

“So we’re working on programs very closely with DepEd and with Sec. Sonny (Angara). These are programs to digitize and enable the teachers. One is Class Builder, which digitizes the lesson plans for many of the teachers, especially for math and science,” he explained.

GBF now has a community of over 20,000 teachers who regularly participate in its programs.

In all, GBF has been contributing to the country’s educational system through its various programs directed at learners, educators, institutions and communities. Its programs focus on providing access to quality education, enhancing educators’ professional development and supporting institutional initiatives that advance STEM education, according to GBF.

Indeed, at the heart of all GBF’s efforts is, in its own words, “uplifting our Filipino students, improving their competency in science and math, which is the bedrock for critical thinking, problem-solving and innovation, which our country direly needs.”

When I sat down with John Gokongwei in Cebu way back in 2015 for the opening of Robinsons Galleria Cebu, the first thing he mentioned was that he was set to retire at 90 and would instead focus on philanthropic work.

Six years since he died on Nov. 9, 2019, JG would be happy to know his only son Lance, who has taken the reins of the conglomerate as president and CEO of JG Summit, continues his goal to help uplift Filipino students.

Among JG’s brothers, I only met the charming and energetic James Go, currently the chairman of JG Summit, but I salute JG and his brothers for this immensely significant effort of focusing on education – which the Philippines will always need – and to Lance and his siblings for carrying on.

Nation-building

That GBF remains strong is also a testament to JG Summit’s strength. The listed conglomerate, which has been diversifying to meet the market’s increasingly varying demands, is celebrating its 35th anniversary on Nov. 23, 2025.

“That’s the alignment of the company with the country – we’re happy that when we succeed as a company, it has benefits to the Philippines,” Lance said.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.