I grew up in the idyllic town of Daraga, Albay, famous for its Cagsawa Ruins from where one could have a panoramic view of Mayon Volcano. I used to bike going there and spend time to imagine, daydream or simply pass the time away among the ruins. My years in elementary passed by so unceremoniously or with almost nothing worth remembering. I can only recall difficult times as we try to survive and ensure we complete our education.

In 1968, I entered high school and I was extremely lucky enough when my parents bravely decided to send me to Divine Word College - the best exclusive school for boys in Legaspi City. It was in my high school years that I built up my stock knowledge, got serious in school work and started thinking of my life’s grand strategic plan. I remembered when my all-boys classmates used to enjoy the finer things in life such as flirting with our neighboring all-girls high school while I spent my times in the library poring through all those books and encyclopaedias.While my elementary years were so ordinary, my efforts in high school started to show when I finished in the Top Five. With a Third Honorable Mention Award, I was given the idea that perhaps if I study harder, I could probably excel some more.

The long vacation after high school graduation was my most confusing months. I was not sure if I can continue my college education since all the scholarships that I applied for were all turned down. When enrolment time came, time ran out and I did not know where to go. My high school award and good grades allowed me to get into the local town's college. Since the classes already started, I took BS Criminology, the same course as my best friend then and the only course that was still open for late enrollees. For one semester, I felt totally out of place among classmates that shared nothing in common with me. The moment I realized that, I tried everything I could to transfer school and my course. I managed to be accepted at Aquinas University , a respected private university in Legaspi City. I was still so uncertain as to what course to take since I had no idea of what I wanted and I believe then that I can take any course and be good at it. My natural inclinations to the sciences and mathematics found me enrolled as a BS Physics student. I got the attention of my profesors due to my passion for the sciences. My advance readings in the library found me discussing topics that were too advanced for my professors. I remembered one instance when our lesson was about acceleration (a type of motion involving a second degree equation) I was arguing with the teacher I could extend the mathematical concept and think of a type of motion to the third or fourth degree such as an increasing accelerated motion of a rocket in space where its mass is decreasing while the energy source remains the same. This discussion bored the entire class and exasperated the teacher that more than half of the class raised their hands- said "May I go out"- went to the toilet and never came back. Later on, my professors, in their pity that I was not getting enough support in terms of equipment and facilities, advised me to take BS Chemistry instead. As a chemisty student, my classmates used to get the scare of their lives whenever I would make simple pyrotechnics in the laboratory that would explode every now and then. I would also make fun of everybody by showing them an obviously wrong chemistry equation on the blackboard and when it was given in the exam later, I would prove that everybody copied the wrong solution. I was able to get away with these things since obviously I was the teacher's pet back then. I write my solutions to homeworks in the blackboard and was the checker of test papers, among others. These stuff are still our favorite stories whenever we go on reunions. Two years into the course, when I was contemplating on my future - I decided that I do not want to simply be a teacher- the most likely job of a Chemistry graduate.

It was then that I decided to try the PMA Entrance Test in 1974. It was my favorite Chemistry professor who suggested and helped me take the PMA exam. The PMA promised a guaranteed progressive military career and even pay and allowances while still studying. I found it quite ironic though since I earlier failed in my ROTC subject due to my stubborness to have the regulatory hair cut. Anyway, I took the exam and luckily I passed it. I became an instant celebrity in my little barrio when one of my neighbors came running and shouting one day to tell me that my name is in the list of succesful PMA applicants. It was kinda overwhelming to see my name on a national newspaper. I was instructed to report to Manila immediately for the medical examination. I almost got kicked out when during my physical examination at the V Luna Medical Center, I was caught by the MPs exploding firecrackers for the New Year. My fascination with explosives, a remnant of my College Chemistry days, almost brought me to jail. It was my heart wrenching story about a boy from a little town trying to make it to the PMA that broke the heart of the military officers who interrogated me that they decided to just lightly rap my knuckles and set me free.

When I entered PMA in April of 1975, I never had any idea what “Reception” was. I thought it was the thoughtfulness of the PMA to prepare some cocktails for our arrival. I got a double shock of my life when first it dawned on me that it meant the start of our miserable year as plebes always out on a survival course and second when I learned what “hazing” meant after the reception. For an entire year, being a first year cadet or a plebe I learned to shut off my mind while we were subjected to the most grueling and physically demanding activities. To say that we were physically abused, ridiculed, harrased and treated inhumanely is an understatement. This statement is also going to be never understood by anyone reading this except when one goes through that unique mystical ritual we call now the PMA Fourthclass System. My childish pride and the knowledge that there is nothing to get back to in the province made me strong in resisting the urge to quit and go home.

Thank goodness, I survived my most difficult dumbguard's year in the PMA. While it is the most talked about topic whenever we spend our time sharing unending cadet stories, yet it is that year that I'd rather never re-live. The next three years as an upperclassman were relatively easy and in fact very enjoyable. Girls in Baguio City swoon over cadets and since cadets cannot freely go out of the Academy to visit them, it was kinda an accepted practice that it was the girls that come to the PMA grounds to make friends and boyfriends with us. Our life as upperclass cadets was really glamorous and dreamlike lived within a postcard like surrounding. We toured the country for free and got treated like princes. All our needs were provided for and we even graduated with some extra money. Even in the PMA, my efforts and talents may have fully developed that I graduated on top of my class. As the Class Valedictorian, I had the unique privilege of being able to choose whichever service I wanted to join. I joined the Philippine Navy. When asked why I did not join the Philippine Constabulary (PC) which was the “in” thing that time, I simply replied that the Navy was a safer branch of service far from the almost daily temptations for PC officers to be corrupt. Even as early as that time, I have already made up my mind to live the clean and upright life of someone living the values of honesty and integrity. It was also safer since as they say, while others suffer hard times in the battlefield, we in the Navy fight wars over cups of coffee.

I then spent the next five years as a naval officer- six months of which were spent with the Chilean Navy. To cope with that brief stint abroad, I have to hone my conversational Spanish. Being a Bicolano, I found learning Spanish really easy. In that six months, I was able to visit (Click here for more exciting pictures.) exotic places in the Pacific aboard the Chilean training ship “Esmeralda”. Life aboard that sailing ship was like being one of Captain Hook’s pirates. Most of the times we used the huge sails but sometimes the diesel engines come in handy whenever we get behind schedule. I developed great monkey climbing skills and calluses in my hand from the daily handling and pulling of manila ropes to hoist the great sails. We climbed rope ladders attached to the tall masts as we eagerly scout for shores and be the first to shout “Land Ho!”. While sailing, we were trained in the basics of navigation and survival in the high seas. I could have survived the Titanic had I been assigned there. The huge waves of the open Pacific Ocean developed my sea legs even if my first weeks aboard that ship saw me unable to keep food in my stomach long enough whenever the ship pitches and rolls. We survived terrible typhoons in the high seas by tying ourselves in our beds while we try to get some sleep. I came back to the Philippines as an expert in celestial navigation but unfortunately never got a chance to use it. In the Philippines, you would have run aground by the time you can read your sextant. I was then briefly assigned in the South running after smugglers and illegal entrants. The rest of my navy days were spent as an aide to the Chief Navy.

In 1984, I filed for a study leave to enter the Asian Institute of Management. I got my Masters in Business Management degree in two years courtesy of the Zobel Scholarship I earned from graduating number one at the PMA. Ayala Corporation, my sponsor, paid for all my school expenses plus a generous monthly stipend. This additional degree will later pave the way to much greener pastures. While I am indebted to PMA for the initial chance to be gainfully employed, it will be this MBM degree that further optimized my career. After my MBM graduation, I came back to the Navy to fully served my mandatory eight years in the service.

Armed now with a better understanding and appreciation of management issues, I was able to fulfill my first post-MBM mission. The Chief Navy then asked me to curb the rampant over-pricing in the Navy procurement system. I then set on forming a Price Monitoring Office with the Logistics Division (N4) from scratch. I did not know much about computers then so I bought a book on D-Base III programming and in a week, I was able to come up with a self-made computer program on price monitoring. For many years, that program was used by the Navy even after I left the Office. This was my first brush with computers but it soon became the genesis of a full blown affair that lasted until now. With the full trust of the Chief of the Navy, my office unmasked several attempts to overprice Naval procurements thereby saving the country hundreds of millions of pesos. That first post-MBM job merged my leadership skills with management skills to kick off what would be my series of accomplishment.

In 1987, I was again lucky to be assigned to the Mutual Benefit Association Inc. (MBAI). At that time, to be in one of the AFP's financial institution was a coveted assignment and a blessing. I got my first chance to run a unit that was composed mostly of civilian staff. This has served as my formal training as a top executive in a civilian post. I served for almost three years as an Asst Vice President in charge of Finance and Accounting. By the the time I have served the maximum term and was supposed to be returned to the Navy, I got my first invitation to join the civilian sector. In 1990, five years short of the minimum years in service to retire, I resigned from the military to join Unionbank >as its Trust Officer and Head of its Trust Department. This position is usually offered to lawyers but that did not stop me from shining and proving that I can also succeed both in running the complex backroom of the department and in marketing its services to bank clients. Within two years, I turned around a consistently losing department into one of the bank's profitable revenue centers.

Looking back, resigning from the military was one of my most difficult decisions. For 15 years, I have grown my roots in the military and my barriers to exit were tremendous. To try my luck in the outside world is to paddle my own canoe- free from the supportive system of the military service which could have served me well had I stayed. But the bank offered me the chance to move on instead of floating with the Navy doing a job that could have been a no-challenge for someone with an MBA.I have not regretted my move. It was a perfect initial civilian accomplishment and that has in turn, introduced me to my next more profitable corporate jobs.

In 1994, when Unionbank was just about to merge with Interbank, the newly formed Philippine Stock Exchange was looking for the right candidate for a Chief Operating Officer. I was earlier told about the ABC of success: Ability,Brains and Connection and the last one of these sure helped. An earstwhile colleague from Unionbank pushed me from a long list of contenders invited by the organizers of the new unified stock exchange. I was eventually chosen.

The first three years working with the Exchange's first President was very psychologically rewarding. With full support from the original reformists-brokers, we proceeded in over-hauling the once lousy reputation of the old Manila and Makati stock exchanges as Old Boys Clubs. We implemented lots of changes that earned respect from the local investing public and especially the professional players of the securities industry. My job as the COO brought me to international conferences with my counterparts in the more developed stock exchanges. We brought the PSE at par with international standards and eventually earned for PSE membership to the international federation of stock exchanges (FIBV).

Sadly, all these interesting developments had its downside, too. The PSE, being more of a membership club, was actually owned by all its 186 member-brokers. We, the professional staff of the Exchange were made to believe that we are working for the more lofty ideals of protecting the investing public. This has gone into direct conflict with the expectations of our owners who believed that we should be working for them. This intense difference in opinion brought tremendous stress to the job. While we pleased a few members as we performed our mandate, we invariably displeased a lot more of the old members who would rather keep the status-quo. Politics entered the picture and when the succeeding Exchange Presidents started to think of how to get their term of office extended thereby leaving me alone to tend to my back, my drive to implement meaningful reforms waned. It was only a matter of time that disappointment and loneliness of being a Change Agent crept in. In September of 1999, after more than five years of working with the Exchange, I resigned to search for other challenges.

My post-PSE days were spent enjoying the less stressful schedule of being a Consultant. I worked on the business Plan for the proposed Emergency Medical Services company with a Canadian principal. My study was adopted and became the blueprint for the eventual operation of the start-up Philippine Air Ambulance. Unfortunately, I could not join them in the operation since my next permanent job called. In March 2000, I came back to the corporate world when I  became the Group Head for Logistics and Management Services of the much bigger Ayala-and-SingTel-owned company: GLOBE TELECOM. Aside from my usual job of overseeing the entire supply chain of the Company and the construction and maintenance of all our buildings and cell sites, I also got the chance to be exposed to the wonderful world of cellular phone technology. Being a Mancom member, we got to decide on the grand proposals of our communication engineers pertaining to the acquisitions of top of the line computer equipment and exciting applications and Value Added Services for our equally excited cellphone subscribers. My stint at Globe turned out to be relatively shortlived as a result of top management consolidation and reorganization. The final impact of its merger with Islacom was felt when my position was affected and eventually declared redundant. I availed of its generous separation package that enabled me to enjoy a long sabbatical.

Just before completing  almost a year of rest, I was called to join St Luke's Medical Center to head its Support Services Division. This again added to my very rich and varied experience of being in very differing industries. St Luke's pioneered the concept of having a hospital run by non-doctors. Now, I am forced to learned the new lingo and the protocols usually reserved for medical doctors.   Notwithstanding the management nature of my job, I find the medical surroundings of this high-tech hospital pleasantly surprising. The equipment we use in cutting-edge medicine makes you feel like you are working in a top notch Research facility. The PET Scan, MRI and CT Scan use concepts that I only used to read in my Theoretical Physics books. I never dreamed I will be seeing a practical application of the fleeting anti-matter Positron which decays into half of their original number in 120 minutes. We create this substance right here in the hospital by using an exotic cyclotron to smash pure water molecules with unimaginably fast protons. St Luke's is the only one with a cyclotron in the Philippines and in Asia (except China).  The scanners for these nuclear devices use liquid helium-cooled superconductors. Now, my engineer-staffs, together with the manufacturers technicians, maintain these equipment like they're our household appliances.

But I was not destined to stay longer with St Luke's this time. I got the surprise of my life when I fully understood the detail of my employment with the hospital. I did not know that I was treated as a probationary employee. I find this insulting as I have never been treated as such in all my jobs. Treating an executive with the rank of Vice President as a probationary employee is not acceptable to me. I immediately called my headhunter and asked them to place me in another job. No sooner than three months at St Luke's I got the call to join another company. I bid goodbye to the President on the very day I got the confirmation that I have been chosen. On the day I tendered my resignation to the President, I was pleasantly surprised that he humored me by offering the car that was earlier withheld from me since I was still probationary. That was a good gesture but as a matured executive not available for such negotiation, I was determined to leave once I tender my resignation.

The following day, on July 16, 2004, I joined the shared services facility of Baker & McKenzie as its Executive Director based here in Manila. Baker and McKenzie is the largest global law firm in terms of its geographical reach and number of lawyers. It has 70 offices in more than 37 countries. They are the very first law firm to embrace the idea of a shared services center. Instead of putting up word processing departments in each of their law offices, they thought of establishing one in a central location where there is a cheaper but readily available trained staff. They have chosen Manila from among the various locations where they have branches. For two years, the Document Support Center proved itself a feasible and workable solution. They then added other facilities like the Network Operation Center, the Systems Development Center, Global Help desk and even a Global Marketing Unit, research, and other practice group support. They saw that the concept has proven well and to bring the organization to the next level, they hired me as the Executive Director tasked with putting structures and systems to the fledgeling organization. After three years, I outgrew the organization and pretty soon, it was time again for me to move on.

When my direct boss in Chicago resigned his post as the Global COO, it became clear to me that it was about the best time to also go. While finalizing my last month at B&M turning over my job to the interim replacement, I met my next Boss. They were just in time looking for someone to be the President of their Asian production facility as they were also planning to expand their operations and would like someone with the experience and stature to head their company.

On August 8,2007, I was installed as the President of the company of about 600 employees. Of all the reasons for moving on, the most interesting thing that I liked about the job is the fact that it is just 5 kilometers and 10 minutes away from home. I have the full support and trust of the principals who I treat as friends. My local management team is a group of young and idealistic and loyal staff. I have no problem in working out a tight and highly cooperative team that will bring Asec Asia to the next level of being a global leader in the field of Business Process Outsourcing.

Whereas the style I used at Baker & McKenzie was that of a populist one, here at AsecAsia, I don't have to go out of my way to please people. My normal style of being a reserved, transparent and straight talking leader found a ready constituency in the company. Managers appreciated my patience in coaching and teaching them the basic managerial tools they need in analyzing their department performance and being methodical in their work.

After barely a year in the job, I have made a substantial dent in turning around a once idyllic company who simply got instructions from the US principals to finish jobs shipped to them within the deadline into a methodical organization intent on being profitable and systematic.

This is the latest chapter to my ever evolving life story.

To be continued...