Changing Courses

The new president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaks to on how a place in the business landscape was inevitable for her

ne would be surprised to learn that Ma Alegria Sibal-Limjoco, or “Bing” to family and close friends, originally wanted to be a diplomat. But fate had a different design for her, and she is now one of the driving forces of the country’s business sector as the new president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and just the second woman to hold the position.

She is undoubtedly qualified, growing up immersed in the rudiments of business and the discipline of hard work. Limjoco is a daughter of Dr Ernesto and Alegria Sibal, founders of the popular bookstore Alemar’s and the Phoenix Publishing House. Running the successful businesses had its trade-offs. Limjoco recalls her parents working long hours, leaving very little time for family. In fact, family bonding would most often be at the store with the children helping out in the operations, even on weekends.

Even though she values the upbringing that gave her the strength of character she has now, Limjoco remembers how she couldn’t help but feel a bit neglected when she was young. The memory of watching her classmates fetched one by one from school at the end of the da y and herself one of the last—if not the last—still lingers. This however, was enough for her to ask herself: “Is this the kind of lif e I want?”

The answer then was no. And so she took up foreign diplomacy at St Theresa’s College, drawn in by the allure of foreign affairs and its contrast to business management.

There are times, however, that the greater influences in one’s childhood almost always prevail. For Limjoco, the tide turned when she was sent to study abroad, which led to a crash course on independence. She lived in a dormitory while studying at the New York School of Design, and she taught herself how to save money and stick to a budget. To make room for a few indulgences, she worked several jobs, including selling Avon products. She later realised how she wasn’t just doing these odd jobs for the money; she was also constantly looking at how these businesses could be improved and developed. “Somehow, despite veering away from it, what you were attuned to when you were young finds its way back,” she admits.

With fresh ideas and a newfound excitement, Limjoco came back to the Philippines, dreams of becoming a diplomat gone. In its place, new business concepts one of which was franchising. In the early ’90s, she observed that there was only one homegrown franchise in the country, the rest being all foreign brands. She wanted this to change, believing that local brands can be franchised as well with enough