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By: Ramon R. del Rosario Jr.

In an article written for the 2017 World Economic Forum, Alberto Alemanno, founder and director of the Italy-based nonprofit civic start-up The Good Lobby, stated that “In a world characterized by epic political, social and technological transformations, there has never been a greater need for responsive and responsible leaders.” He defines such leaders as having 10 personal qualities that he asserts are all too often deficient among our leaders, including compassion, emotional intelligence, integrity, openness, fairness, inclusiveness, competence, respect for evidence, consistency and sobriety.

When we launched the Ramon V. del Rosario Siklab Awards in 2018, this need to promote responsive and responsible leadership among our youth was a key consideration. Marking my father’s 100th birth anniversary, the De La Salle University Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business and the Phinma Group, with support from Junior Chamber International Manila, set up the Siklab Awards to honor young Filipinos who have embraced nation-building as a mission and passion. Our initial search generated close to a hundred nominations who were screened down to 12 finalists, until finally, on the awards night on July 25, 2019, five young Filipinos were honored as the first Ramon V. del Rosario Siklab awardees: Clarissa Delgado, Melissa Yeung Yap, JB Tan, Edgar Elago and Gary Ayuste.

By: Anthony Thomas

The COVID-19 crisis has consumed us. While a lot of it is out of our control, how we are able to respond and help others through this will define us.

A few of us have spent the last five years pushing consumers and businesses to shift to digital, and the last couple of months have accelerated this move more than ever before.

By: Chito Salazar

During this pandemic, business and industry are busy remaking themselves. However, all the reimagining going on in education just isn’t reimagining enough. Rather, we are only looking at incremental changes given spatial limitations. We are essentially reinterpreting the wise man on a platform, delivering a lecture to students arranged in rows and columns, albeit now online through a learning management system.

We are essentially asking how do we deliver the same 21 units over 18 weeks in a term, but over a compressed period. Or, we are finding new ways for students to still obtain their elementary, high school, or college diplomas. And, we still structure education into units, subjects, courses, and degrees.

By: Guillermo M. Luz

If there’s one thing that COVID-19 taught us, it’s that we are going to have to move to a much more digitally enabled world in the future. Over these last two months of enhanced community quarantine (a.k.a. lockdown), many of us have had to use more technology and digital services than ever before. From work meetings to communicating with family, ordering supplies, reading news, social media, and entertainment, digital use is up. This may have covered only a fraction of the population, but it’s a trend which is bound to rise.

By all accounts, this trend will continue. As we transition from enhanced community quarantine to modified enhanced community quarantine to general community quarantine to modified general community quarantine to new normal (and to every new stage in between), this transition will take time, effectively locking parts of the population down. And even when things open up, in reality they won’t be that open. A vaccine seems a bit off into the future, and this coronavirus may end up recurring like a seasonal flu.

By: Peter Angelo V. Perfecto

This is a shoutout to the women who have been the reason why many men in the business community thrive—to our lifetime partners who manage our homes even when they run their own businesses or are employed. These are our spouses who make that pivotal difference when it counts the most.

I am by no measure close to our many captains of industry in the success they have achieved. I have had the opportunity to work closely with them, though, as executive director of Makati Business Club, as one of the lead staffers of the Apec Business Advisory Council, as ExCom member of the Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development, as executive director of Philippine Business for Education, as executive director of Amnesty International Pilipinas when we pursued our Business and Human Rights program and, today, as VP-director for public affairs of the Phinma Group of Companies. And, guess what? They never fail to acknowledge the essential significance of their spouses in achieving their dreams and in continuing to pursue their even higher aspirations.

By: Cesar V. Purisima

Former secretary of tourism Ramon “Mon” Jimenez Jr. was a titan of the Philippine advertising industry, a highly esteemed and successful Cabinet secretary, and a great friend and colleague to many. Above all, he was a loving and faithful husband to Abby whom he now joins in heaven, and a doting father to his daughters Nina and Sassa, as well as to his dogs.

I first met Mon at Better Dog, a behavioral school for dogs. Mon was an absolute joy to be around; he had a way with people (and dogs) that showed how a heart could be filled with so much love for others.

By: Edilberto C. de Jesus

Business leaders have stepped up in their individual and corporate capacity in the campaign against COVID-19. They responded quickly to cushion the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) impact on their employees, including contractuals compensated on a no-work-no-pay basis, suppliers, and customers. Acutely sensitive to business and economic signals, they recognized the resumption of “normal” life as urgent and began dealing more directly with the pandemic.

As RFM president and CEO, founder of Go Negosyo, and presidential adviser for entrepreneurship, Secretary Joey Concepcion, wearing both corporate and government hats, has emerged as the leading advocate for the relaxation of lockdown restrictions. He represented 60 other business leaders in recommending the selective reopening of malls, restaurants, and other commercial establishments, as well as the provision of some public transport services, provided that every enterprise practiced social distance and health security precautions.