MAKATI CITY –- Addressing the 37th annual membership meeting and foundation day of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) here, Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo last Tuesday (Jan. 22) reminded the country’s top business leaders that preaching good values and practising them would make the difference between the people being vulnerable to the whims and vagaries of those who hold power on one hand, and becoming a collective force to be reckoned with on the other.

        He said that more than the material benefits gained from investments is the need for a collaborative effort by stakeholders to work for social justice and sustainable development.

        The PBSP was founded in 1970 by a group of 50 chief executive officers from some of the country’s largest corporations to promote business sector involvement in addressing poverty. Political situation then was volatile, with some of the country’s best minds moving into the radical left movement.

        Today it has a membership base of 233 companies committed to social progress.

        PBSP’s mission now is to be the leader in channelling business sector resources in social development. It is “business empowering the poor.”

        PBSP, through its PinoyME is providing five million poor people with financial and non-financial services and mobilizing P75 billion in new capital for microfinance in five years.

        More than 300 people from the country’s top companies, including Canadian Ambassador Robert Desjardins as special guest, attended PBSP’s biggest event of the year at Renaissance Hotel, Makati City.

        As keynote speaker, Robredo articulated this year’s theme, “Nurturing Enterprises, Transforming Communities” to highlight the important role that enterprise development plays in reducing poverty and meeting the country’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

        “May I hasten to add that investing on good values and practicing them, both on the part of the leaders and the people they govern, remains to be the most important ingredient not only in transforming communities but in enriching business and enterprises as well,” Robredo told the crowd of distinguished buinessmen that include Manuel V. Pangilinan, Paul G. Dominguez, Ramon R. del Rosario, Roberto E. Aboitiz, and the Ayalas of Makati.

        “The challenge for us is not only to create enterprises but to open avenues for new entrepreneurs who are imbibed with an entrepreneurial mindset whose higher goal is to help others gain from one’s own achievements,” the Naga City Mayor said.

        Drawing from the Naga City experience, Robredo said that while local officials and business leaders come and go, it is always the people and the good values that they learn from us that will remain. “In short, we can feel more confident and relieved even when we are gone because we know that our people do not only have the tools (to help improve themselves) and why it is important to use them,” he said.

        And he added: “Naga’s legacy may be known not on what we have built, not on what we have done, but on what our people have become.”

Speaking engagements
        The 2000 Ramon Magsaysay awardee city mayor during the past two weeks has been on the road at least twice a week to address various important events that chose him as resource speaker on governance and poverty alleviation.

        Saturday last week, he arrived from a speaking engagement in Davao City and made himself home to address the 2nd regular session of Bicol chapter of the Philippine Councilors League headed by Naga City Councilor John Bongat at the Boardroom of Avenue Plaza Hotel in Naga City.

        He will be back in Manila for an inaugural lecture today, Thursday, Jan 24, of the Ateneo de Manila School of Government and Asia Society Philippines’ Young Leaders Program at the FEU Auditorium, Far Eastern University.

        The lecture series aims to provide the opportunity for college student leaders to be inspired by people who continue to make a positive change in the country.

        Robredo will again be flying back to Manila on January 29 as keynote speaker at the luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of Manila, the first and oldest Rotary Club in the whole of Asia.

        The Naga city mayor has been a favorite resource speaker by Rotarians from all over the country. He has addressed the Rotary Club of Cebu and only recently, the Rotary Club of Makati at affluent Manila Polo Club.