Marco Benitez: From covering sports to running a university

When he was installed as president of Philippine Women’s University (PWU) in February of 2020, Marco Alfredo Benitez had to say goodbye to covering big basketball events as a sportscaster of ABS-CBN Sports.

Marco knows basketball like the back of his hand having played for Ateneo de Manila University’s (ADMU) varsity team Ateneo Blue Eagles. He also joined the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) in 2001. After he graduated from Ateneo in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering, Marco earned his master’s degree in business administration in 2007 also in Ateneo.

Although busy with work in the family-owned company, Marco’s love for basketball did not falter, which pulled him towards the direction of sportscasting.

Sports enthusiasts are, no doubt, familiar with Marco who used to frontline for The Score on Channel 23, Road to Johannesburg & Touchline and Gameday with Boom that were both aired on Balls SkyCable Channel.

Going back to his becoming the PWU president, it was not exactly what Marco had in mind when he joined as one of the school’s board of directors in 2016.

“Initially, I was with the holding company Unlad Resources as president, which was founded by our great grandparents. And then, I joined the board of PWU in 2016 and two years after, then president Dr. Kiko Benitez asked me to join the operations of PWU as executive vice president,” began Marco, who belongs to the fourth generation of the Benitez clan. His great grandparents founded PWU.

“When Dr. Kiko joined politics (Jose Francisco ‘Kiko’ Benitez, Negros Occidental Third District representative), the board put up a search committee to select the next president, and I was fortunate enough to be chosen as (the next) president because one of the policies of the board was that once the family member enters politics, it is preferrable that he (family member) no longer be involved in the operations of the school so as to avoid conflict of interest.”

Marco admitted he was initially hesitant to assume the post because “I’m not a professor, I’m not an academician. In fact, I think I told Dr. Kiko many times that I’m not the one who should be running the university.

“I’m more on the family business side. I joined the family company when my father passed away in 2008. So, I didn’t really expect to be with the university. But I guess, the board and the Man Upstairs (God) had other plans. So, this is where I am now.”

Marco with wife Nikki and their children Lara, Emilia, Noah and Elijah during a vacation in Boracay.

Only a month after being installed as school president, Marco was confronted with a challenge: The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which forced universities to find alternatives to face-to-face teaching.

After several meetings with the members of the board, Marco said they decided to continue school operations for the sake of the students. Online teaching and learning had been used by teachers and students on an unprecedented scale. Students would attend classes with the use of cell phones or laptops. The unstable Internet connection, Marco said, was a challenge, too, especially to students who were in remote places. Thankfully, everyone was able to adjust.

“And my first whole year as president, we were all in quarantine,” he amusingly recalled.

Now that schools are slowly returning to the normal classroom setup, Marco is happy to say that they were able to sustain the university although admittedly there were declines in the number of enrollees at PWU-JASMS, the school’s basic education department.

To help students whose families were financially affected by the pandemic, PWU offered scholarships that required them to only pay for the miscellaneous fees.

During our exclusive interview, Marco offered an inside view of his presidency, as well as glimpses of the man behind the office. Below are excerpts.

What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up each morning?

“Well, not to sound corny or anything, prayer is the first thing for me, actually. I pray to give thanks for the blessings because I’m a firm believer that despite all the challenges, there are still more things to be thankful for. I’m thankful that my family is still intact; we’re healthy.

After saying a prayer, I think about what has to be done during the day in the university and what has to be accomplished in the coming weeks. So, these are the things that occupy me during the day apart from the usual family concerns like how my wife Nikki and our children — Lara, Emilia, Noah and Elijah — are doing.”

The university’s notable alumni include National Artist for Dance Leonor Orosa-Goquingco, composer and pianist Lucrecia Kasilag, TV host and author Cory Quirino, singer and actress Armida Siguion-Reyna, broadcast journalist Cheche Lazaro, former President Joseph Estrada, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, actress Ruffa Gutierrez, singer-songwriter Jason Dy, among others. What do you think makes PWU one of the more popular schools of choice in the country?

“If you notice, these individuals were not only oriented to excel in their respective fields but there’s that added value of becoming good citizens contributing to nation building. So, a student is not only given an education for his/her profession but also holistically developed in terms of becoming a good citizen. We’re very proud of that tradition, especially the familial values, putting a premium on our culture, on excellence and on contributing to society.”

What have been your leadership priorities as president of PWU?

“One would be getting back to our reason for being here — to be able to deliver quality education to our learners. I try to be as collaborative as possible with our administrators, with our faculty (staff) because I think knowing that I’m not an academician, I have to rely on our administrators, on our academicians and learn from them what would be the best way to run a university and what would be the best way to deliver quality education to our students.”

As a university president, part of the job is to communicate with the students. What is your approach in order to know their needs?

“Different ways. During the pandemic, I hosted a lot of students’ activities so, I would prepare and deliver the messages or opening remarks in each of the activities organized for or by the students. We also tried to meet with our student council for their concerns. For basic education (PWU-JASMS), I would go online to watch and listen to students’ presentations during Curriculum Day. There were times that I also participated in virtual classes to greet the students and see how we were delivering our classes.”

Do you miss being in front of the camera?

“Yes, I do miss it. I covered the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) for 10 years. So, from time to time, I do miss it but eventually you’ll realize na parang you’re able to make a bigger impact now, especially if you’re able to do a good job and deliver quality education. Hopefully, we can beef up the sports program of PWU.”

What were the last three movies you saw?

“Top Gun, The Short Game and The Last Dance.”

What would be your ideal weekend?

“Kami ngayon sa family, we have two kinds of perfect weekends. One ideal weekend would be a trip to the beach with the family. But the more regular ideal weekend would be just spending quality time with them like attending activities of the kids and going out to have lunch and dinner with extended family.”