Philip Cruz on FF Cruz: He taught us to be humble & hardworking

One of the most inspiring modern-day “rags-to-riches” sagas in Philippine big business is the life story of the late construction tycoon Engineer Felipe F. Cruz, who died on May 19 at age 93 and whose wake at Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati City was one of the biggest in terms of the sheer number of mostly white flower wreaths lining the hallways and walls all the way to the outer courtyard of the church. 

Unknown to most people, F. F. Cruz was born to a poor peasant family in barrio Sulukan, Angat in Bulacan province and he was the only one among eight siblings who studied high school and college. It was his teacher Amador K. Roxas who urged his father to send the intelligent boy to high school, with this teacher’s support. 

F. F. Cruz went on to graduate as high school valedictorian and earned two engineering degrees — geodetic engineering and civil engineering — from the University of the Philippines and National University. As he not only worked hard to become a respected leader in the construction industry in the postwar era, he never forgot his ancestral hometown. 

Cruz built a school building for his barrio of Sulukan with a memorial hall named in honor of his late teacher. He also donated educational scholarships for children there. Following his request, he was buried in the place of his birth in Angat at a tomb he himself had prepared.

Nephew Isidro Consunji of the DMCI Group described his late uncle F. F. Cruz as “a superman.”

What are the success secrets of this towering figure in the postwar reconstruction and infrastructure development of the Philippines? 

Among his many grandchildren who remember F.F. Cruz as their inspiration are former Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary Carissa Cruz-Evangelista, Rogue magazine publisher Ipe Cruz, 24-year-old painter Maki Cruz, Corinna Cruz Martinez and Nina Cruz Martinez.

Maki Cruz says: “Our lolo represented the ideal family man, he personified idealism and hard work.” Ipe Cruz states: “He was  a super workaholic. He never forgot his humble beginnings.”

The 18-year-old Nina recalls: “My grandfather always remembered my birthday on September 25, because we shared the same birth date. He was born in 1919 and I was born in 1995. He was a very loving lolo. He would tell jokes to make everybody laugh. We miss our grandfather.”

His daughter-in-law Ching Cruz says: “Everybody called him the great F.F. Cruz. He was a legend... Mababa ang luha niya (he easily got teary-eyed), he was very emotional and he felt for the underprivileged. He supported a lot of scholars. He was a very loving husband, and for decades he continued to buy red roses for his wife.”

His eldest son, construction magnate Felipe “Philip” Cruz, Jr., recently gave the Philippine STAR an exclusive interview. Here are excerpts:

PHILIPPINE STAR: Your father F.F. Cruz was an icon with humble beginnings.

FELIPE “PHILIP” CRUZ JR: My late father was from Sulukan, Angat, Bulacan. He was a government scholar. His own father had a small, simple rice mill. 

I heard your mother’s family was more well-off, and her sister was also married to another construction tycoon, David Consunji?

My father married Angelita Almeda from Naga City, but their family actually was from Tanauan, Batangas. Our maternal grandmother owned a couple of thousand hectares of land in Bicol, but our father wanted to prove himself. When he made some money on his own from construction, the first thing he did was to send his parents-in-law — my maternal grandparents Dr. Dominador Almeda and Josefa Almeda — on a trip around the world in the 1950s.

I heard your uncle David Consunji was a classmate of your dad at UP. Did they both start from scratch too?

Our uncle David Consunji was more well-off than my father. They both married sisters who were top honor graduates in pharmacy from UP.

What was the influence of your dad’s having been a government scholar on his business philosophy?

Basically, having been a government scholar at UP, our father told us he benefited from good-quality free education, so when he would bid for government contracts, he didn’t want to cheat. He made sure that he used better quality construction and materials, so many of his infrastructure projects built 40 or 50 years ago, buhay pa (they’re still existent) after all these years. 

Our father strongly felt that whenever there was a government project, he refused to engage in any rigged bidding. He told me repeatedly: “Never cheat the government. Just do projects right, and they will call you again.” All his major construction projects, like the country’s major ports, like the Batangas international port, the Iligan port, the Iloilo container port, the Cagayan de Oro port, the Saranggani port, the ATI container ports, his various geothermal power plants — all of them our father constructed with good quality.

Your uncle David Consunji once mentioned to me that his own first construction project was the church of UP and that my late dad’s sawmill had extended him credit for some supplies. What about your father’s first project?

Our father’s first project was unique. He got a contract to prove that the earth is not round, but oblong. The Global Positioning System (GPS) system we’re using nowadays — he was the one who originated that with the US government with the Telstar Satellite 2. It was about the triangulation of the satellite, the star and the cities all around the equator — that was the first GPS in the 1960s. One of the early projects of our father was his having surveyed three-fourths of South Vietnam.

I heard your father had a legendary work ethic?

Our father worked days and nights, including Saturdays and Sundays. Wala siyang weekends (he had no weekends). He used to wake up every day at 4:30 a.m., and he slept daily at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. ever since his 50s. He worked very hard, because he also wanted to help many people, especially all his relatives. 

How did your father end up marrying your mother and your uncle David Consunji end up marrying her sister? Both of them were UP engineering classmates?

They were batch mates, F.F. Cruz and David Consunji. Our father told my uncle that since he himself wasn’t tall, he wanted to marry the shorter of the two Almeda sisters and that he (Consunji) should go court the taller one. Both sisters got the top two highest grades in school.

What words of wisdom did your dad share with you?

Our father said: “Anything too good is no good.” He frowned upon things that were not honest, either stolen or shortcuts. His view of success was “You have to work for it.”

He advised us: “Huwag mag-aapi ng tao” (do not oppress people) when you try to earn money. He also said: “It’s not how much or how little you have that is important, but how happy you are before you go to bed.” He said: “It is okay to earn some money, as long as you never oppress or disadvantage people... the next day will always be a wonderful day.”

Why are most of the flower wreaths here in your dad’s wake white? Why are you often in all-white attire, like your late father?

My father always wore all-white, my mother also. So I learned it from them and so I’ve been also wearing all-white.

There are so many flower wreaths at his funeral. I’ve been to many wakes of various prominent people here at Forbes Park, but your dad probably got among the most number of flowers.

Our father had good relationships with many people. He told us to listen to others, to especially look out for older people because they have more experiences and wisdom that he said we could learn from. After I studied in Australia and America, when I came back and met older people, our father instructed me to always address elders with the respectful “po” or “opo,” if not he’d become upset.

How do you see your late father’s legacy in relation to the Philippine economy?

Through his life work and numerous projects, we can see that the Philippine economy will always progress as long as we improve and build better infrastructures, which will encourage expansion in activities of businessmen. We have over 7,100 islands, we need more and better roads, airports, seaports, etc., to interconnect the islands. Interconnection of islands will further develop unity and nationalism.

What was the construction project your dad was proudest of?

In 2012, we built 11 bridges in only six months, with one of the bridges spanning 800 meters long. He was quite proud of that, but he made sure that he acknowledged his employees and the team with him.

What was the hobby of the hardworking F. F. Cruz?

He loved to play golf, and he was very good at it. He was a “one pitch, one putt” golf player. Even in his 90s, he always played golf straight, even for short distances, he played always straight.

What time did he usually play golf and where?

He played golf every day, and he used to wake up the birds in Wack Wack Golf before sunrise. In fact, his group of friends even set up lights at the first hole. Our late father was the personification of the saying: “The early bird gets the worm.” 

Any secrets to the longevity of your dad? What were his health habits?

One reason for the long life of our father was my sister. She’s Marilou Cruz-Martinez, a medical doctor. Her husband is a cardiologist, Dr. Gary Martinez, the head in Makati Medical Center. They took good care of Tatay.

What about your father’s diet? 

He ate mostly vegetables and simple foods, no exotic foods for our dad. I believe the really most important reason for his longevity was my mother taking very good care of him. Nanay is now 88 years old, and they worked together every day. Even up to now, she goes to the office every day.

What work did your mother do for and with your late father?

She handles the money portion of the business. They were a tandem at work. I believe the most important secret to a long life is to have a good wife who is also your best friend, that was what Nanay was to our father.

Your parents had a very good marriage, I heard?

Yes, our parents had a good marriage. They also made sure we their children went to the best schools of their choice.

Where did you go to school?

I studied high school in Chevalier College, Australia, then went to Pratt Institute and Columbia University, New York, studying architecture, industrial engineering and a master’s in science and management.

Your sister, Josie Cruz Natori, is also an achiever.

Yes, my sister Josie Natori excels in fashionable textiles and garments. 

How do you describe the personality of F.F. Cruz?

He was very humble, he exuded sincerity. He was very sociable. He could make people laugh. He had the ability to solve problems without hurting others. He was always generous in helping others who asked for help. 

Your father did not have any major health problems before? 

When he was 79, he had a quadruple heart bypass operation, but after that he felt brand-new and continued to work hard every day.

Your father and his brother-in-law David Consunji became competitors in the construction industry. Did they have any sibling-in-law rivalry?

None. In fact, when they needed something, they would even cooperate, like in the cases when they worked together for joint businesses such as Filipinas Cement, Constress and Freyssinet. What both of them had was friendly competition, but after 5 p.m., parang football lang (it’s only like football). They both drank together and partied together after the day’s work.

So the two construction billionaires, brothers-in-law and UP batch mates were just friendly competitors?

Both of them even helped put up the UP Engineering Building in Diliman, Quezon City. 

What was the dream of your late father?

He always believed in the great need for better infrastructures to help interconnect our over 7,100 islands nationwide. He was frustrated if politicians didn’t build more infrastructures. He believed the country needed more airports, roads, power plants, seaports and highways. 

Your father was the person who decided that he should be buried in his hometown in Bulacan?

Our father had a memorial park joint venture with a friend in his hometown of Angat, Bulacan, so he planned his own burial mausoleum there five years ago.

Maybe all the wreaths at his wake were due to your Tatay having had many friends among all kinds of people?

Our father helped so many people in Bulacan and Metro Manila.

Going back to your dad’s longevity, any other reasons for that?

He lived a long life because he had a daily routine of hard work, and he kept his mind busy. He was always solving problems, finding solutions. He was very meticulous with final deadlines and prompt delivery or completion of projects.

How was F.F. Cruz as a father to you and your siblings?

Strict, but he made sense.

Was your dad religious?

It is our mother who is super religious. She devotes her time to work and religious faith and is always devoted to helping the clergy and the nuns.

Maybe your dad’s parents had long lives because I read that good genes are an important factor in longevity?

My father’s mother — our lola Epifania Cruz — she lived to the age of 99, and she worked every day until the time she died in Angat, Bulacan.

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