ALICE EDUARDO
FOUNDER, PRESIDENT, CEO, STA ELENA CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Despite working in a predominantly male industry, Alice Eduardo, as the president and CEO of Sta Elena Construction and Development Corporation (SECDC), has led her company to become a significant player in the country’s infrastructural development sectors. Her secret? A sincere connection to every project she works on. “I avoid the mindset that my work is merely a list of contracts,” Eduardo tells Tatler. “I cherish every project as the team’s contribution to nation-building and as fulfilment of my journey as a builder and leader.”
Since 1995, Sta Elena Construction and Development Corporation has taken on significant projects including the construction of public infrastructure like ports, harbours, bridges, roads, and power plants that supply energy to regions across the country. In recent years, they’ve achieved the herculean task of building three natural-gas-fired power plants for the Lopez Group’s First Gas—at a total project cost of over US$1.5 billion. With Germany’s Siemens, the UK’s Balfour Beatty and the Netherlands’s Ballast Nedam, Santa Elena constructed the 1,000MW Sta Rita, the 500MW San Lorenzo and the 450MW San Gabriel power plants. “I am proud to say that Santa Elena achieved these in record time, including attaining six million safe man hours peaking at 6,000 workers,” Eduardo says.
Eduardo is well aware of her responsibility towards the Filipino community. She helms her construction company with grace and keeps in mind the betterment of her countrymen. “For a developing country on a growth trajectory such as the Philippines, a continuous, reliable supply of energy is a must,” she says. “Clean energy is the ideal, and in amounts that meet growth requirements and ensure a better quality of life for Filipinos.”
An advocate of renewable energy, Eduardo is optimistic about the outlook of a more sustainable society. “Wind, solar and hydro power are breaking records, and renewables are now expected to overtake coal by 2025 as the world’s largest source of electricity,” she says. “Automakers have made electric vehicles central to their business strategies. Global cooperation is necessary to advance the development and adaption of renewable energy, particularly in developing countries that may lack the infrastructure and resources to make the transition on their own.”
Eduardo is also known for her charity work; her philosophy has always been to pay it forward and give back to her community. In 2014, she funded the construction of the Philippine General Hospital’s (PGH) paediatrics isolation ward for cancer patients and the dormitory for patients’ relatives. She supports several non-profit groups: Habitat for Humanity, Go Negosyo, the Philippine Red Cross, Tuloy Foundation and Caritas Manila. Eduardo has also contributed to the building of churches including the renovated San Agustin Parish in her hometown of Jaen, Nueva Ecija, and the St Michael the Archangel Church in Bonifacio Global City.
Despite the challenges facing the construction industry, which include inflation and supply chain issues, Eduardo continues to do her part as a builder—both literally and figuratively—to help the nation expand and develop new renewable energy projects. This will help create jobs, reduce energy costs over the long term, and minimise our carbon footprint. “Construction and development are as much about precision and heavy duty as they are about passion and heart,” says Eduardo. Keen to fulfil her duty to the Filipino community, Eduardo continues to prove that her heart is indeed made not of steel, but of pure gold.
ANTONIA YULO-LOYZAGA
SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (DENR)
After stepping into the DENR in July 2022, Secretary Antonia “Toni” Yulo-Loyzaga has brought science and transparency back into the department. Under her helm, the country established its first comprehensive national natural resource geospatial database, leveraging satellite imagery through the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and other space agencies to measure what we should treasure.
On the global stage, Secretary Loyzaga is the first woman in the current Cabinet to address the United Nations during the Water Conference in March 2023, where she announced the establishment of the Water Resource Management Office under the DENR by an executive order. As the President’s representative to the Climate Change Commission, she is leading the preparations for the country’s participation in the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties in Dubai. Secretary Loyzaga believes in a whole-of-nation approach to the environment, with private-public-academia-CSO and community partnerships at the crux for the development and security of the nation. In October 2023, she led a team to the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea to advance environmental security and national development. The DENR will establish a protected area and a marine station in partnership with the University of the Philippines Marine Sciences Institute, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command, and the Kalayaan local government. Preserving this critical ecosystem and its biodiversity will provide food security, livelihoods and the preservation of the ocean’s climate regulatory functions in the region and beyond.
CHRISTOPHER PO
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN/CHAIRMAN, CENTURY PACIFIC FOOD, INC; SHAKEY’S PIZZA ASIA VENTURES, INC
As the executive chairman of Century Pacific Food, Inc. and chairman of Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc, Christopher “Chris” Po is finding ways to ensure that his brands remain relevant and the quality of their products is consistent.
Innovation and a willingness to embrace changing habits have contributed to his continuing success. The interest in eating better and more sustainably gave rise to numerous campaigns for Century Pacific Food’s core products and the inclusion of vegan offerings in Shakey’s menus to satisfy the appetites of those cutting back on animal products.
In 2023, Century Pacific Food announced plans to expand its business segments—spending up to PHP3.5 billion.
Food security is another issue that looms large in Po’s mind. “Fulfilling our mission of making food available and affordable is a big challenge during these times. There are no easy answers, but we try our best to balance the needs and interests of all our stakeholders,” he said.
Amidst climate change and the increasing pollution levels of our oceans, Century Tuna—in collaboration with the impact organisation HOPE and Aling Tindera’s Waste-to-Cash programme—launched the Saving Our Seas initiative in 2023 to combat plastic waste and promote a circular economy. Performing the “biggest beach clean-up in history”, they collected 805.4 kilogrammes of trash along the coast of Mabini, Batangas, inching a few steps closer to a plastic-free environment.
ABIGAIL “ABBY” BINAY
MAYOR, CITY OF MAKATI
Mar-len Abigail Sombillo Binay Campos, popularly known as Abby Binay, is the mayor of Makati City in the Philippines. The daughter of former Philippine vice president Jejomar Binay (who had also previously been Makati mayor), Abby Binay previously served in Congress as representative of the second district of Makati from 2007 to 2016; her husband, Luis Campos, was elected to replace her as she stepped into the mayoralty.
Binay’s vision includes transforming Makati into a smart city: she initiated a digital economy through cashless payments and connected Makati citizens via free Wi-Fi. Partnering with e-wallet giant, GCash, Makati has also been able to quickly and efficiently distribute financial assistance through digital means. In 2020, Binay gained worldwide recognition for her efforts as the country’s sole finalist in the World Smart Cities Awards. Her upcoming plans include making Makati a green city powered by renewable energy and retrofitted with efficient and sustainable transportation systems.
In 2023, Binay unveiled the Makati Life Medical Center, which aims to serve Makati yellow card holders. Construction for an innovative, eco-friendly electronic bus system in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency is underway and will be completed by 2025. She’s also launched a help desk channel, The Tik-Talk with Mayora Abby, where she answers queries from Makati citizens on the last Monday of the month from 1 pm to 5 pm at the Makatizen Hub on the third floor of SM Makati.
BEN CHAN
FOUNDER, CEO, BENCH AND SUYEN CORPORATION
Since its launch in 1987, Bench has become the most enduring Filipino brand to enter the market. Its founder, Ben Chan, has successfully extended the brand’s reach with branches in the Philippines and other countries.
To ensure his brand’s longevity, Chan modernised the marketing and technical aspects of the business. He improved back-end systems, logistics, product quality, and customer experience. He also expanded his product portfolio to include fashion, skincare, home products and food.
Chan resumed his other projects after the pandemic such as the Ternocon, a convention and competition focused on the terno, the Philippine national dress.
Recognised at the Retail Asia Awards 2023 as the Apparel Retailer of the Year in the Philippines, Bench continues to make its mark in the industry. “Make your plans into action, work hard and always see the big picture. And in these times, learn to adapt,” Chan said.
TONY TAN CAKTIONG
FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, JOLLIBEE FOODS CORPORATION
He transformed a little burger-and-ice cream parlour in Cubao into one of the biggest food-and-beverage success stories in the world. The forward-thinking Tony Tan Caktiong is behind the household name brand Jollibee. Under Tan Caktiong’s leadership, the Jollibee Group now encompasses 18 brands across 34 countries, making it a world leader in the F&B sector.
In 2021, the company also made substantial investments to increase its global footprint, expanding its portfolio to include several new brands, including Taiwanese beverage chain Milksha. For 2023, the billionaire has invested up to PHP19 billion to open as many as 600 stores worldwide.
In recognition of Tan Caktiong’s business acumen and how he put the Philippines on the global F&B map, he was honoured with the Ramon V del Rosario Award for Nation Building in July 2022. When he accepted his award, Tan Caktiong modestly remarked, “When we set our vision of being one of the top five restaurant companies in the world, we never intended to become big for the sake of becoming big. We set [ourselves on this path] imbued with a sense of purpose—including that it be something we, our people and our country can all be proud of.” In 2023, Tan Caktiong became the namesake of a building he donated to his alma mater, the University of Santo Tomas. The Tony Tan Caktiong Innovation Center (UST-TTCIC) is located at the institution’s 40-hectare campus in Laguna.
NANETTE MEDVED-PO
FOUNDER AND CHAIRPERSON, HOPE: BUSINESS FOR GOOD AND PLASTIC
In 2012, Nanette Medved-Po founded the non-profit Hope, which invests in education, agriculture and carbon sequestration in the Philippines. She introduced Hope in a Bottle two years later, now a well-known bottled water brand that uses 100 per cent of its profits to build classrooms across the Philippines.
Medved-Po founded Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX) in 2019, a plastic offset programme that takes plastic pledges from businesses worldwide and provides solutions to offset their plastic footprint responsibly.
In October 2022, she received the Asia Game Changer Award in New York from the prestigious Asia Society, whose past honourees include Jack Ma, Shigeru Ban, Aga Khan and Yo-Yo Ma. In 2023, Hope and PCX was recognised as one of the world’s top 300 impact companies by the Real Leaders Impact Awards alongside brands such as Tesla, Ben & Jerry’s and Lego Group. Throughout the year, the inspiring philanthropist represented the Philippines at global conferences and forums such as the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in Paris and the World Trade Organization Public Forum in Geneva, among others.
Medved-Po also serves on the board of trustees of the World Wildlife Fund Philippines, the board of Endeavour Philippines, and the board of directors of Winrock International.
LANI CAYETANO
MAYOR, CITY OF TAGUIG
Maria Laarni Lopez Cayetano is the Mayor of the City of Taguig in the Philippines. Her career in public service is marked by the glass ceilings she shattered. At 25, she became the youngest and first female congressional representative of her city, and at 28, its youngest and first female local chief executive. She went on to serve for three consecutive terms and earned a renewed mandate in 2022.
Under Cayetano’s stewardship, Taguig underwent a remarkable transformation. Her administration cultivated a business-friendly environment, streamlined business registration processes, campaigned against bureaucratic red tape, and improved the peace and order situation. She did all of these while providing free and quality education from pre-school to graduate school; making healthcare services accessible through 24/7 super health centers, doctors-on-call, and home care for bedridden patients; and caring for the vulnerable sectors through the establishment of a modern Center for the Elderly, house-to-house distribution of free maintenance medicines, and the launch of a comprehensive community-based breast cancer program.
She is determined to make Taguig the best place to live, work, and conduct business in — a truly Transformative, Lively, and Caring City.
Cayetano is married to fellow public servant, Senator Alan Peter S Cayetano.
CARLOS OTERMIN BARRERA
CEO, LAZADA PHILIPPINES
He is the CEO of Lazada Philippines, the local arm of the Alibaba-owned online retail company that operates in six Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. As of 2023, Lazada reports that it hosts about 155,000 sellers and 3,000 brands on its platform, catering to over 500 million Southeast Asian consumers. The company strongly emphasises providing an exceptional customer experience and offers various payment methods. Lazada also maintains comprehensive customer support services through its last-mile delivery operations, supported by an extensive network.
Barrera has noted the significant growth of the Philippine e-commerce market over the past seven years. He acknowledges the initial challenges and scepticism surrounding Lazada’s success in Manila, emphasising the subsequent development of the entire industry, spanning logistics, marketing and brand building.
JUAN MIGUEL ZUBIRI
SENATE PRESIDENT, SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES
Hailing from Bukidnon, Senator Miguel “Migz” Zubiri has been in public service for over 20 years. Over his long political career, he has
