As a highly diversified conglomerate engaged in food manufacturing, property and commercial development, petrochemicals, aviation, banking, retail, and media, the Gokongwei Group has a truly unique position of being present in the everyday lives of many Filipinos.
Beyond providing goods and services in the conduct of its business operations, the conglomerate’s positive effect on society is manifested in other ways as well. When Typhoon Odette ravaged the country in December, for example, the Gokongwei Group (composed of JG Summit Holdings, Robinsons Retail Holdings, and Summit Media) and its employees banded together in the true spirit of bayanihan. They collectively came to the immediate aid of the super typhoon’s victims, channeling the relief efforts primarily through the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation.
Robinsons Bank employees helped distribute relief packs in typhoon-hit communities in San Jose, Antique.
“All the more, given the unfortunate timing of the typhoon during the holiday season, we respond with compassion and sacrifice to ensure that those in need are given much-needed assistance,” said Lance Y. Gokongwei, president and chief executive officer of JG Summit Holdings.
Apart from GBF’s focus on education and legacy in STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) educational programs, the foundation is committed to uplifting Filipino families’ lives through the Juan Communities initiative. Among the program’s major thrusts is to help Filipinos attain resilience in times of calamities and disasters – such as the Taal Volcano eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 and Typhoon Odette in 2021 – by spearheading meaningful relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Robinsons Land employees volunteered at Robinsons Galleria Cebu for the repacking and distribution of relief goods to ensure typhoon victims could still celebrate the holidays with their loved ones.
Though the group’s business operations in the Visayas and Mindanao regions were also severely affected by Typhoon Odette, it did not stop them from readily participating in GBF’s disaster relief efforts, a testament to the unifying spirit of bayanihan in its ecosystem, encompassing both internal and external stakeholders. Immediately after the typhoon hit, employees across the Gokongwei Group provided support through personal donations and by volunteering for relief operations. They also chose to forgo their usual company holiday celebrations, pooling resources instead for the purchase or collection of relief goods.
“It was already the holiday season, but I still volunteered my time because this is our own little way of showing our support and gratitude to the communities where we operate,” said Jaypee Allego, a senior mall architect of Robinsons Galleria Cebu who helped pack relief goods for distribution.
URC Sugar and Renewables in La Carlota City prepared emergency relief goods for distribution to its employees, affected communities in the city, and the nearby municipality of Pontevedra, Negros Occidental. IMAGE courtesy of GBF
GBF’s synergy with the Gokongwei Group’s business units in efficiently organizing and mobilizing assistance also inspired collaboration and support from external partners such as Shang Properties, Inc. (a valued project partner of the Gokongwei Group’s real estate arm Robinsons Land), through its charitable coordinating body, Kerry Group Philippines Foundation, Inc.
GBF and KGPFI collaborated with the SM Foundation through its logistics arm 2GO in distributing approximately 8,000 packs of relief goods in Cebu. Local government officials, led by Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, gratefully received the donated relief packs containing canned goods, noodles, rice, coffee, snacks, and medicine on behalf of their constituents.
Through the GBF-directed relief efforts done in partnership with like-minded organizations, more than 32,000 beneficiaries in communities where the group’s business units operate have received aid. This is on top of the relief goods that were provided to almost 12,500 of the group’s typhoon-affected workers.
Among them is Lorenzo Laus, a machinist at the engineering department of La Carlota Distillery, one of URC's sugar milling plants in Negros Occidental. “Lubos akong nagpapasalamat sa aming tulong na natanggap. Lumalakas ang aking loob na harapin ang bukas dahil alam kong may nagmamalasakit sa amin sa panahon ng aming pangangailangan,” said Laus, grateful for the emergency assistance.
Cebu Pacific employees chose to forgo their annual Christmas party celebration and instead channeled the funds to mount a donation drive and "BayaniJuan" relief efforts for affected employees and communities in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
Through the on-ground presence of business units such as Robinsons Land, Universal Robina Corporation, Cebu Pacific, Robinsons Bank, and Robinsons Retail, the relief distribution efforts were able to reach communities in the provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Palawan, Capiz, Antique, and Iloilo, and in the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Surigao, and Butuan, in cooperation with their respective local government units. Delivery of the much-needed relief goods was provided by Cebu Pacific, supplemented by the logistical support of 2GO, the Philippine Air Force, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and the Philippine Navy.
With the great devastation left in Typhoon Odette’s wake, GBF’s relief and rehabilitation efforts are likely to continue in the foreseeable future.
Just as collaborative partnerships play a vital role in the Gokongwei Group’s business success, they, too, serve a noble purpose in the country’s hour of need. As GBF’s chairman asserts, “The spirit of bayanihan is important now more than ever during difficult times as these.”
For more information on the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, visit gokongweibrothersfoundation.org
