SO MANY PEOPLE made a positive difference in my life. Foremost among them are my parents, Jose Sr. and Magdalena Lampe, for sending me to the De La Salle University where I received an excellent elementary, secondary, and tertiary education. Together with the Christian Brothers, they were my best mentors during those formative years.
From them I learned the virtues of hard work, discipline, honesty, perseverance, and fairness, which shaped my character as well as my principles. I still recall what my father said to me when I was in high school, "Son, I may not leave you much in terms of material wealth but I will leave you a good name. Protect it and treasure it!" His words reminded me of the scriptural passage in the Book of Proverbs (22:1) "a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches."
Regretfully my parents cannot be here to share this honor with me tonight because my Dad has gone on to the next life while my mother is bed-ridden because of a stroke. But to them and to the Christian Brothers represented here by Br. Armin Luistro and Br. Gus Boquer, I say again, "Thank you" from the bottom of my heart.
The early years
After leaving La Salle, like many college graduates at that time, I sought to build a proper foundation in the corporate world by joining a number of companies such as Proctor & Gamble Philippines, the Ayala Investment and Development Corp., the Insular Bank of Asia & America, and Union Bank. I am deeply indebted to these institutions for the sound management fundamentals they instilled in me during the early years of my career. I eventually moved on to other organizations and to the company I head today, but I am deeply grateful for the guidance and influence of my early employers and co-workers.
My public service stint
Shortly after the People Power Revolution in March 1986, President Cory Aquino invited me to assist her government by taking the helm of the Social Security System. That was the beginning of my stint in public service. My first task was to update the SSS records through computerization. Within two years we had cleared all the backlogs and became current in our billings to employers. A major reform measure I undertook was to get President Cory to amend the SSS charter to allow us to invest 10 percent of the state pension's investible funds in prime listed equities while the remaining 90 percent would be placed in loans to members as well as investments in government securities and prime corporate bonds. Later on, we also allowed members to borrow from the SSS in order to invest in prime listed equities.
After serving four years as SSS administrator, President Cory convinced me to head the Central Bank upon the retirement of Governor Jobo Fernandez. My first two years as CB governor were devoted to the restructuring of Philippine Commercial bank debt and strengthening the banking system as well as the international reserves of the Central Bank.
A major policy reform which the Monetary Board undertook was the partial lifting of foreign exchange controls in 1991 and 1992, to provide a more liberal foreign exchange environment. This move was favorably received by the international and local business communities and foreign funds poured into the local capital market. Subsequently, during the term of President Fidel V. Ramos, we worked on the passage of the bill creating the new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in order to have a more independent central bank. The BSP was also removed from the Salary Standardization Program of the government, thus allowing it to pay better compensation, particularly to the professional staff.
For their unqualified support and respect of the central bank's independence, I publicly acknowledge my sincerest debt of gratitude to President Cory and likewise to President FVR who was instrumental in convincing Congress to pass the bill creating the new BSP. I also thank SEC Chairperson Fe Barin who, together with former Deputy Governor Reggie Regalado and myself, spent many hours explaining to members of Congress the rationale for setting up a new central bank. Lastly, I also thank my former SSS and CB colleagues for their support and cooperation in all of our undertakings.
Though I am no longer in the public sector, I believe it is the duty of every Filipino citizen to work for a better society. I am now involved in an advocacy to fight and eradicate corruption in government, which I believe is aligned with MAP's theme of "Country Above Self: Responsible Governance." The fight against corruption becomes more imperative after we have read and heard about the incredible stories of immoderate greed and rampant corruption in government. May I invite the MAP to join the Coalition Against Corruption, an aggrupation of business and church groups together with NGOs which are engaged in a campaign to curb corruption so that we may leave a better country for our children.
The Philamlife story
To continue, gratified as I was then to respond to the call for public service, I inevitably needed to return to the private sector. In 1993 I became the president and chief executive officer of the Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. I found myself deeply immersed and excited with my new company. Philamlife has now been my longest stint in any organization, about 14 1/2 years, and I have absolutely no regrets that I stayed.
I believe one's accomplishments are reflective of the institutions one is privileged to serve, in the same way a body of water mirrors its surroundings. The honor accorded me today is thus not mine alone. Rather it pays equal if not greater tribute to the organization I currently represent. Please allow me, therefore, to now share the Philamlife story with you tonight.
Philamlife came into being in 1947 on the heels of the devastation of World War II. Our founder, Earl Carroll, God bless his soul, was an extraordinary man of vision. He articulated a clear and lofty business purpose--to have a Philamlife policy in every Filipino household. From the very beginning Mr. Carroll set our performance bar to such a height that he made sure it would endure well beyond his years and mine. It would sustain generations of Philamlifers, from ordinary employees and sales people to the highest executives, with a sense of a vital yet still unfulfilled mission. The clarity of Mr. Carroll's all-compelling vision lives on, and because of this we feel we are still in our youthful years as an organization.
Mr. Carroll was the human face of Philamlife. He ran the company with a personal touch, especially for the thousands of sales associates and agency leaders all over the country. Mr. Carroll was a tireless campaigner, crisscrossing our islands during those formative years of the '50s and '60s in order to establish the largest sales network ever seen in our industry to this day. Mr. Carroll called our offices "houses of savings" so that agent and policyholder alike would embrace the value of life insurance as an important means of mobilizing the small savings of millions of Filipinos to secure not only their welfare but to create long-term domestic capital for nation building. Such were the values that set the stage for Philamlife's unique corporate culture of never being large enough not to relate to all the people throughout the organization's vast nationwide network.
In its 60 years of existence, Philamlife has had only four presidents, compelling proof of our company's stability and longevity. From Mr. Carroll the baton of leadership was passed on to Cesar Zalamea, Philamlife's first Filipino president. Mr. Zalamea is to be credited with ensuring Philamlife's financial strength and integrity. Pursuing his career largely in the investment side of the company's operations, Mr. Zalamea expertly established the fiduciary care and prudent financial practices that Philamlife is known for. He instilled in our people the conviction that we can neither be irresponsible with our clients' money nor let them down in their expectations. To this day Philamlife imposes upon itself the toughest and most stringent financial controls, meeting if not surpassing regulatory standards. Perhaps for some, Philamlife may appear dull and unexciting in terms of its business practices, but I can assure all our stakeholders they can sleep soundly at night with the full confidence that Philamlife will never take undue liberties with their hard-earned funds. This is the legacy that Mr. Zalamea bestowed upon Philamlife. (To be continued.)
(Speech delivered by the author, who is president and CEO of Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co., when the "MAP Management Man of the Year 2007" award was conferred on him recently. Feedback at map@globelines.com.ph)
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