Retirement, resilience and showing up

I spent Friday night at BGC not for a night out in some swanky bar or speakeasy but at the Philippine Stock Exchange tower with PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon and PSE COO Roel Refran.

The indefatigable Monzon hosted a press get together for reporters who have covered or are covering the stock market beat following a hectic though topsy-turvy time for the market last year.

With all that’s going on in the country, there were many issues discussed, not without banter and the occasional sighs of frustration.

But one topic that particularly caught my interest was PERA or the Personal Equity Retirement Account, a 401k-type retirement account which Monzon said must be highly encouraged in the country.

Employers, he said, can provide their employees with this type of benefit by shouldering a portion of the contributions, a really good way to encourage Filipinos to save for retirement. This is especially ideal for companies with employees of 200 to 300 people because that size is manageable, he said.

I agree with Monzon. Not surprisingly, Filipinos don’t think of retirement. For many of us, planning for retirement is a luxury we can’t afford, given all the daily expenses.

But PERA can actually change that. It is a voluntary three-in-one investment, savings and retirement account designed to provide financial security and tax benefits for Filipino adults who save up for retirement.

You put in the amount you can save, no matter how small. Consistency is key.

It’s also a win-win for the market, said the PSE chief, because it would boost liquidity as PERA holders have the option to invest their money in the stock market.

Other options include UITFs, insurance and bonds. PERA is exempt from withholding tax, capital gains tax, dividend tax and others.

One can open a PERA account through accredited administrators.

Tycoon Edgar “Injap” Sia II’s DragonFi has recently been added to the roster of PERA administrators. I personally tried the app and it’s really easy to use.

Monzon said DragonFi now has 7,000 PERA accounts in just a short time since it launched last year.

Hopefully, more Filipinos would be encouraged to invest and prepare for retirement. After all, unlike the contractors in Congress, ordinary Filipinos don’t have golden parachutes or retirement options in second countries.

Bar topnotcher Marie Sarmiento: Keep showing up

Some years back, a wise source and I were talking about corruption in the country. Among the professions – doctors, teachers, engineers and others – he said the most corrupt of them all are the lawyers.

We’ve all heard of horror stories of corruption in the judiciary and among lawyers in general. Lawyers, some sources said, have become fixers. “Taga-lakad.”

I think about this now that we have a new crop of lawyers – 5,594 Bar passers.

May this generation of lawyers and the succeeding generations change the profession for the better.

I find hope in the words of UP College of Law graduate Marie Shantelle Atienza Sarmiento, who placed 8th in the 2025 Bar exams.

As a full-time working law student – and during the pandemic at that – Sarmiento said many times she wanted to stop.

“(But) somehow, I kept showing up, hoping that this privilege could one day be used to make a meaningful difference for others,” Sarmiento said.

I learned about her story through her blockmate, my former colleague Keith Mariano, who also passed the Bar exams.

Sarmiento represents a batch of full-time working students. She graduated with a BS in Accountancy from De La Salle Lipa in 2017 (magna cum laude). She has been a CPA before entering and finishing law school with a dean’s medal for academic excellence. She also worked as a senior tax associate at SGV & Co.

It wasn’t an easy journey. She and her blockmates had to spend three out of their five-year law school program meeting on Zoom and doing course work remotely.

They had to struggle with distrust that some professors had just because they couldn’t see what could be opened on the students’ screens while reciting.

Their block started with more than 20 members. By the end of their second year, the block was reduced to almost half and to 11 people by the time they graduated. That meant being called to recite on almost all subjects within a week’s time.

But in the end, Sarmiento and her blockmates from UP Law BGC Eve 1 made it.

“Passing the Bar is definitely not my achievement alone. This is for everyone who was part of the journey – my family and friends, my teachers and professors, my blockmates (truly the best people I’ve ever met) and all those who supported me along the way. Balancing full-time work and law school meant late nights, early mornings, too much coffee and constantly running on deadlines,” she said.

To those dreaming of becoming part of the legal profession, Sarmiento has this to say: “Take the leap and keep going. Some days will feel short, others endless but trust that every effort matters, builds on the last and eventually compounds into something greater.”

Congratulations to the new lawyers. May you truly make a meaningful difference to others and to our society.

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