Ramon Ang’s bosses
When journalists sit down with tycoon Ramon ‘RSA’ Ang, he gamely answers never-ending questions about diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp.’s continued expansion and future plans or updates on the rest of his empire.
But in a press briefing after last week’s annual stockholders’ meeting of Eagle Cement Corp., the newly listed cement company of the Ang family, RSA put the spotlight on his children.
Seated beside him were eldest son Paul and daughter Monica, Eagle’s president and CEO and CFO, respectively.
“Mababait sila. They are not like other kids. They are not assuming. They are good people,” Ang said, beaming with pride.
Both Paul and Monica kept quiet in their seats, smiling sheepishly and trying not to show discomfort over being put under the spotlight.
RSA said his children are the reasons he works so hard. “I’m working because of my children. So ang effective boss ko are my children,” he said.
His hope is that all of them will work in his different businesses.
“I hope all of them will. The youngest is still 16. He is a racer and he is the baby of his elder siblings. Paborito siya ng mga kapatid niya,” he said.
The one lesson he always tries to teach them aside from hard work?
“I always tell them that doing business and making money is just a start. I tell them that ultimately, what we’ve made should be shared to the public for the good of everybody,” he said.
Money, he reminded them, isn’t something you can take with you when you die.
His children have obviously imbibed dad’s lessons on working hard. For instance, Monica, who just got married, is already back to work just days after her wedding, choosing instead to postpone her honeymoon.
Inquirer, a done deal
Meanwhile, on his planned acquisition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, RSA said it’s already a done deal. “The deal is done…The deal is long done,” he said. They are now just preparing to file a notice with the Philippine Competition Commission.
EKR, another dotting billionare dad
Speaking of dotting billionaire dads, Enrique “EKR” Razon made sure to celebrate his son Enzo’s birthday in Los Angeles with the whole family. Razon, after his posh Solaire Resort & Casino successfully hosted the ASEAN Business & Investment Summit a fortnight ago, bonded with the whole family in their New York City abode for a Thanksgiving dinner. Caught on camera was Razon slicing a giant and sumptuous-looking turkey. Enzo blew his birthday cake as the whole gang sang the birthday song.
The curse of the MRT
Okay, so Harry Roque took the MRT. People in power do that once in a while. Senator Grace Poe did it and so did former transportation secretary Emilio Abaya.
High profile individuals do it, too. Bong Tan, the son and namesake of taipan Lucio Tan, also shared with me that he, too, takes the MRT when he is in a hurry. Anne Curtis Smith also takes the gruelling ride.
I do it, too, maybe once a quarter or when I’m rushing to an event and I’m simply left with no choice.
But like Harry, Senator Grace, former secretary Abaya, Anne and the down-to-earth Bong, I’m very privileged and lucky to have the choice most of my daily life to not have to take the MRT.
Others don’t have that choice and that is really the tragedy of an MRT ride.
The daily commuters who have no choice, day in and day out but to ride the MRT at the peak of the rush hour know this. The chaos begins long before the ride starts, at the stations where you have to squeeze yourself in the snaking line that goes all the way to EDSA with all the soot, sun, dirt and everything else you can get in this land of mayhem.
The misery multiplies a thousand fold when at that exact moment, when you finally get your turn to ride the god-forsaken train, it bogs down.
And this is really the pain of an MRT ride. The frustration, desperation and sorry state of our lives come not so much from the ride itself, but from the fact that there isn’t much choice for majority of the Filipino working class. They simply have no choice but to endure the gauntlet walk.
The alternatives are no better. A taxi ride costs five times as much. A bus, ordinary or air-conditioned, is the next best solution, but not during rush hour when you simply want to steal more time to spend with your loved ones.
So when you’re the presidential spokesperson and you ride the MRT and you call the press pack, all you’re really doing is eating up more space in the train that is already bursting at the seams. It doesn’t really do justice to the plight of those who have no choice every single day but to take the MRT.
What really needs to be done is to push the Transportation department to fix the MRT so Filipinos can get the service they deserve.
And when that happens, that’s when you can call the press pack.
Iris Gonzales’s e-mail address is eyesgonzales@gmail.com.