‘Country above self’

The first woman president of the Management Association of the Philippines, Evelyn R. Singson, told business leaders and captains of industry who run the country’s largest corporations, that in these "tumultuous times," love of country "is the only emotion compelling enough to unite us into purposeful actions and spirited cooperation." Love of country, she said at the first MAP meeting for 2006 recently, "is not a luxury we can afford to ignore; it is the necessary ingredient to economic success."

Evelyn said that MAP has demonstrated its pivotal role in the shaping and direction of the nation’s destiny. Members marched shoulder to shoulder with the business community in calling for change in the country’s political leadership. "We can make a difference, if we so choose."

After the two EDSAs, MAP’s membership, she said, is well aware of the policy weaknesses, barriers and disincentives to growth and investment that have "accumulated like barnacle over the years. This byzantine infrastructure has caused wary international investors to shy away from our country in favor of our more competitively positioned neighbors.

"MAP can lead the efforts towards the deconstruction and dismantling of unproductive rules and guidelines. We can clear the path of obstructions and bureaucratic red tape. We can provide a more compelling spectrum of investment opportunities and allow for a smoother, stronger inflow of much-needed direct foreign investments into our country. MAP can work for a government that stimulates, attracts and supports rather than inhibits, restricts and encroaches upon the domain enterprise."

MAP’s chosen theme for this year is "Call to Action: Country Above Self." If this is adopted as MAP’s paradigm, "We can eventually actualize it and make it part of our way of life. We can begin by asking ourselves one question every time we make an important decision – is this ultimately good for my country? Not surprisingly, choosing country is difficult because, often, it entails short-term pain and sacrifice. When our pocketbooks are hit or threatened, we automatically revert to our default mode: thinking only about our self interest."

This "each-his-own mentality," says Evelyn, "might be the real reason why we’re the Sick Old Man of Asia for decades. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not corruption which has held us down because corruption is present even in the most economically advanced countries. Rather, it is because Filipinos of all social classes have little love for their country."

Members, she said, should be visible role models of the values they publicly espouse, such as accountability, credibility, transparency, fairness, integrity and service to others. They can demonstrate that good governance and ethics are compatible with sound business practice and common sense."

Seven young executives organized MAP on December 18, 1950. These are big names – Washington SyCip, Ramon V. del Rosario, Eduardo Romualdez, Sergio Corpus, Delfin Rivera Cruz, Sixto Roxas and Jose Olbes.

MAP now counts 761 members representing a cross-section of CEOs, COOs and other top management practitioners from the top local and multinational companies operating in the Philippines. It also has some top management educators and government officials as its members.

Among major projects of the organization to pursue its mission in line with its core values and principles is the "Management of the Year" Award. One of its awardees is one of MAP founders, Ramon V. del Rosario, after whom the organization’s offices are named. (RVR Center). Another awardee was Paeng Buenaventura, a former MAP president, before he was appointed to head the Central Bank. The 2005 awardee is Manuel Pangilinan.

Evelyn has a masters in business administration from Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill. Among her corporate affiliations is as director and president of eBusiness Services Inc., the First Asia Pacific Network Agent of Western Union, which is engaged in servicing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) families for their money remittance services requirements. She is a recipient of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Award for business-finance; the Philippine Institute of CPAs’ – "Outstanding CPA for Commerce and Industry" award, and the Filipino-Chinese Federation of Business and Professional Women of the Philippines’ "Outstanding Woman in the Profession."

While many of MAP’s members participated actively in EDSA 1 and 2, Evelyn says they have individual positions on current political issues. Should MAP as an organization take a position, the issues will have to pass on through the griller, and members are informed of issues via the Internet.

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REMEMBER the case of the Pepsi "349" crowns which threw thousands of people into a frenzy of buying cases and cases of Pepsi to try their luck at becoming millionaires, only to have their dream crushed? Well, the dream may be revived as Vic del Fierro Jr., president of Coalition for Consumers’ Protection & Welfare, Inc., who galvanized the victims of Pepsi Number Fever Promotions in 1992, has submitted for the first time in 13 years, voluminous 1992 Pepsi Number Fever records, documents and VCD on the "349" controversy before the Makati Regional Court under Judge Ben Pozon.

Vic says the 900 pages and 64 exhibits compiled in two volumes had to be brought to the court in one big travel luggage with wheels. The offer of 64 defense exhibits may be one of the most comprehensive ever filed in the history of the Regional Trial Courts in the country, Vic said.

Pepsi launched its Pepsi Number Fever promotions for the period February 18-May 12, 1992, promising cash rewards for the holders of winning numbers which were printed on the bottle caps or crowns. The prizes were from P500, P1,000 to P1 million. The winning numbers were announced over TV Patrol every night. The promo was so successful (del Fierro uses the word "phenomenal") that Pepsi extended its promo.

The number "349" turned out to be most plentiful.

Del Fierro’s petition with the Makati RTC states that records show that 808,038 caps bore the number 349. The cap holders were supposed to receive P1 million each. But, perhaps due to the amount that Pepsi would have to pay the holders, Pepsi announced for the first time that the "349" caps bore either winning and non-winning security codes. Not very many 349s bore the winning security code. What followed, says del Fierro, is "the biggest consumer revolt in the country."

The controversy caused the Senate committee on trade – headed by then Sen. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to conduct an investigation; so did the Department of Trade. Their recommendation was that PepsiCo. in the United States should pay the holders of the 349 caps.

Del Fierro filed a class action suit representing the cap holders against PepsiCo in the US Eastern District Court, in Brooklyn, New York, which, according to del Fierro, ordered Pepsi to submit to Philippine jurisdiction, and recognized del Fierro as the representative of the consumers. Del Fierro filed an appeal in New York City, but at a preliminary hearing he was told that the case should be brought before the Philippine courts.

Which is why del Fierro has filed the case before the Makati RTC.

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