Celebrating milestones

variety and also comes with trophies, cash prizes, and an Asian trip for the winners.

Manila in Pasay City, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan emphasized the importance of agriculture in the economy, which he believes should be given support and priority to ensure food security and economic growth.

Over at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, it was the 30th anniversary celebration of Century Properties Group Inc. led by its founder, Ambassador Jose “Joey” Antonio.

The publicly listed firm was established in 1986 right after the EDSA People Power Revolution. In a span of three decades, the company has hurdled several obstacles, including the 1989 coup attempt, the power crisis of the early 1990s, the 2007-2008 global recession.

Today, Century Properties is the foremost developer of luxury residential condominiums with branded names in the country. Among these co-branding projects are the Trump Tower Manila; Versace Home for Milano Residences; Armani Casa and Studio Daniel Libeskind for Century Spire; Paris Hilton for Azure Urban Resort Residences; and Philippe Starck for Acqua Private Residences.

Antonio is ranked by Forbes magazine as the 40th richest Filipino, with a net worth of $195 million. He was recently named by President Rodrigo Duterte as special envoy to the United States, but doesn’t see purely business relationship with the Trump Organization involving naming rights, as reported by the NewYorkTimes.

In a newspaper interview, he commented about US President-elect Donald Trump, whose organization he has been dealing with for many years. This was way before Trump went into politics. Antonio asked the interviewer: “Is it a crime that I know the president-elect?” Is it odd that we have done business with his family?”

Beyond high-end condos and - ties is venturing into tourism estates and affordable housing – living up to its tagline of “Reaching for the Extraordinary.” J.AlbertGamboaistheChairman oftheFINEXGoldenJubileeBook Sub-Committeeandservesasconsultantforprivateandpublicsectororganizations.