Four companies of the Gokongwei Group, namely Cebu Pacific, Robinsons Land Corporation, Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. and Universal Robina Corporation, were among the honorees at the Golden Arrow Awards presented on January 20, 2023, at the Sheraton Manila Hotel.
Organized by the Institute of Corporate Directors, a non-stock, non-profit association of more than 400 industry professionals engaged in ethical governance, the Golden Arrow recognizes the top Philippine publicly listed companies in corporate governance, based on the 2021 ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) assessment results.
The 260 Philippine PLCs covered in the most recent ACGS assessment had a combined average of 73.80 points, a 7.53-point increase from the 2020 rankings. To earn a Golden Arrow, a company must attain an ACGS score of at least 80 points. For this year’s awards, only 85 companies, or 33% of the companies assessed, met this threshold.
Atty. Anne Romadine Tieng, Cebu Pacific General Counsel, represented the country’s leading carrier at the awards ceremony. “We are honored to be one of the recipients of the Golden Arrow Award. This will serve as a reminder for Cebu Pacific to remain committed to the best corporate governance practices as we strive to be the airline of choice of every Juan,” said Atty. Tieng.
Over the years, CEB has constantly been improving its systems to ensure that its operations and services are relevant to the needs of its customers and Filipino society as a whole. CEB is one of two Gokongwei Group companies that attained an ACGS score between 90 of 99 points, the other being URC, allowing both to earn the 2 Golden Arrow recognition.
For its part, URC, which had an initial score of 56.73 on its first assessment in 2017 before earning its first Golden Arrow with a score of 93 points, has come a long way in improving its corporate governance practices. “This goes to show how the combined efforts of concerned stakeholders become fruitful over the years and will continue to do so,” said Rhodora T. Lao, URC Corporate Controller and Chief Compliance and Risk Officer.
Head of Investor Relations.
Proudly sharing his thoughts after Robinsons Land earned its Golden Arrow, Kerwin Max S. Tan, RLC Chief Financial, Risk and Compliance Officer, said, “This is a testament to the company’s strong corporate governance policies. We shall continue to implement programs to strictly comply with the Philippine Code of Corporate Governance and internationally recommended corporate governance practices as espoused by the ACGS.”
To earn its Golden Arrow, Robinsons Retail made a significant jump from its previous points total. From its score of 66.93 points in 2020, it zoomed up to earn 83.90 points in the most recent assessment. "At Robinsons Retail, we constantly look at opportunities for improvement and innovation. This recognition is a testament to the continued work we have done to improve and adhere to best practices in corporate governance to adapt to today’s dynamic business landscape and create shared value for all,” said Gina Roa-Dipaling, RRHI Vice President for Corporate Planning and Investor Relations and Head of Sustainability.
With four of its companies earning the Golden Arrow, the Gokongwei Group demonstrates that it is at the forefront of promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical business practices; by doing so, it staunchly embodies Integrity, one of the group’s core values.
The ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard, a tool which aims to raise corporate governance standards and practices among ASEAN Publicly Listed Companies thus making them more attractive to investors, was developed with the support of the Asian Development Bank and the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum together with corporate governance experts from six participating ASEAN members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Since November 2015, the ACGS initiative in the Philippines has been led by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The assessment of PLCs under the ACGS is a two-stage process, consisting of a local assessment conducted by the country’s domestic ranking body (DRB), followed by a peer review done by a DRB from another country. The Institute of Corporate Directors is the officially appointed DRB in the Philippines.
