Banatao and faith in the Filipino

From time to time, one encounters, in various fields, people who rose from humble beginnings to establish a name for themselves in their chosen endeavor. Because of having made it on their own beating the odds, they are sources of inspiration for a dispirited people.

In Philippine sports, one can immediately think of Gabriel "Flash" Elorde who was a bootblack from Bogo, Cebu before he became a professional boxer in the early ‘50’s. On March 16, 1960, Elorde annexed the world junior lightweight championship by knocking out title- holder Harold Gomes from Rhode Island in the seventh round of their 15-round title fight at the jam-packed Araneta Coliseum. Elorde dominated the division for seven years up to 1967.

While Elorde did the fighting, his wife, the former Laura Sarreal, and the latter’s father, Lope Sr., made sure that the business side of boxing was attended to. By the time Elorde died in the early ‘80’s, he had acquired a huge property along Sucat Avenue in Parañaque that was to later house the Elorde Sports Complex.

The latest and most visible example of the rags-to-riches story is of course Manny Pacquiao, owner of the World Boxing Council—International super featherweight title and also the "People’s Champion" in the 126 pound division.

Emerging from impoverished beginnings in General Santos, Pacquiao has now become the richest Filipino athlete of all time, even if we are told that he ended up with only about $315,000 after deducting various expenses from the $2 million contract he signed for the return bout with Erik Morales. Be that as it may, $315,000 is still about P16 million which is nothing to sneeze at.

In the field of business, specifically, in Information Technology (IT), one name, Diosdado (Dado) Banatao, stands out not just in the Philippines but also in the US, specifically Silicon Valley in California.

Banatao, an engineer and venture capitalist originally from Cagayan Valley, runs the Palo Alto-based $300 million Tallwood VC fund that invests in technology driven start up firms.

In the Philippines to speak at the graduation ceremonies of the St. Paul’s University System in Tuguegarao, alma mater of his wife, Maria, Banatao paid a visit to the RCBC campus of the De La Salle Professional Schools Inc. Graduate School of Business (DLS PSI GSB) last Thursday. Speaking before the members of the Board of Trustees (BOT), Council of Advisors and faculty of the DLS PSI GSB, Banatao spoke about the "Global Citizen in the New Economy."

Banatao was invited by GSB through Lawrence Qua, himself a venture capitalist, DLSU engineering alumnus, member of the DLS PSI BOT and a close friend of the former.

Banatao started his electrical engineering course at the Mapua Institute of Technology at the age of 15. He graduated cum laude from Mapua and obtained his master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University while working as a design engineer in Boeing.

In his early youth, Banatao grew up in Barrio Malabbac in the farming town of Iguig, where there was no electricity and running water. Banatao born on May 23, 1946, recalls that he had to walk to school barefoot and most of his childhood friends never went past grade school. He later went to the Ateneo de Tuguegarao where his teachers encouraged him to take up engineering because of his high grades in math.

Banatao is known both as one of the pioneers of the technology boom that started in the ‘80’s and one of its promoters by designing and developing products that made personal computers more powerful even as they became more affordable. People like Banatao helped the technology boom even more by helping fund promising and marketable inventions.

In his breakfast talk at DLSU, Banatao said the term "New Economy" started to get used with the rise of the internet. Banatao stated that in fact the "bricks and mortars" economy (as distinguished from the internet driven New Economy) is still very much around and is even getting bigger because new business practices on-line increase access and demand for goods carried by the "bricks and mortars" companies. Banatao emphasized that the new economy is still the old economy with internet services.

Banatao outlined the responsibilities of government, industry and academe in national development. He stated that government’s role is to create a singular national focus much like President John F. Kennedy’s demand in 1960 to land a man on the moon and to provide the incentives for industry to help fulfill that national focus.

Industry on the other hand, must focus on technology-based products and markets by investing in research and development and training and encouraging entrepreneurship through equitable ownership of companies by employees.

For its part, academe must distinguish between theory and application and build the link between theory and practice.

In summary, Banatao said that the government through its funding and national focus, enables industry to create markets and products based on technologies owned and funded by industry with educational institutions providing the necessary human capital.

Truly the example of people like Dado Banatao, Elorde and Pacquiao should inspire everyone and serve to affirm our faith in the Filipino.