For breaking the mold and differentiating themselves from others while pursuing their individual passions, First Pacific Leadership Academy honors nine young Filipino achievers and trailblazers.
By Aubreylaine M. Salazar
It’s okay to follow the standard. It’s also okay to observe norms. But to forego uniqueness and settle for mediocrity—that’s definitely not okay. First Pacific Leadership Academy’s (FPLA) guest speaker Jason Soberano stressed on his audience that one should “break the mold. Differentiate yourself. Find your passion and build yourself around that passion.”
For their young lives spent around finding their passion and completing brave endeavors, FPLA honored and celebrated nine young individual movers and shakers during the annual Executive Talks held at the Meralco Theater recently.
Founded by leading industrialist Manny V. Pangilinan, FPLA trains young employees and staffers to maximize their potentials and prepare them for managerial and executive positions. By crafting programs that bring out their potentials, FPLA aims to create future leaders in the business world.
In line with the theme, “Crafting Chapters & Lessons in Thought Leadership,” FPLA brought together Aide App co-founder and managing director Paolo Bugayong; Earthbeat Farms founder and chief farmer Enzo Pinga; award-winning photographer and marketer Tammy David; editor, strategist and lifestyle consultant Anna Canlas; documentary photographer Gio Panlilio; consulting economist for transport, infrastructure and public-private partnerships Robert Siy III; GE global director for business and market development Jason Soberano; 11-year-old singing protegee Natalia Santamaria Escaño; and Point Blue founder and CEO JR Yujuico.
These young, ambitious panelists have showed how it is to be “disruptors of the status quo, all of whom represent the generation that will inherit the keys to our country’s engine, carrying with them the digital literacy, the knowledge and the expressiveness of today’s youth,” FPLA executive director and CEO Roy Evalle said.
Despite the anxieties of our fast-paced world, Evalle said, these people managed to bring bravery back in vogue. And “they are not folding in the face of pressures. They are conquering it,” he added.
Just who are these people, what are they passionate about and what does success mean to them?
Paolo Bugayong
With the help of his brother’s medicine degree and his sister’s corporate background, Paolo Bugayong decided to take a leap of faith and pioneer Aide App, a mobile app that allows users to get a nurse, doctor or caregiver to come right at your doorstep with just a few taps on your smartphone.
Inspired by his lola, Paolo decided he would leave the corporate world to pursue innovation that caters to people’s needs and at the same time expand job opportunities for medical professionals in the Philippines. Asked what success means to him in three words, he jokingly said: “I can’t do it in three words. But success is really up to you, how you want to live.”
Paolo’s words, which were reminiscent of Walt Disney’s, emphasized how it is imperative in one’s life that people find people whom they will admire and respect—people who will serve as your rock, so you can “keep moving forward.”
Enzo Pinga
Enzo, a Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania) graduate, could have pursued a comfortable life in the US. But this farming enthusiast found himself more passionate about raising awareness on food security problems and building aquaponic farming systems for poor communities here in his native Philippines.
The young agriculture enthusiast established Earthbeat Farms in 2015 after being exposed to the state of agriculture in different Philippine provinces. Despite his lack of formal training and education in agriculture, Enzo and his friends were able to establish their organic farm and to even start a group of young farmers whom they took under their wing for training and mentorship.
For Enzo, “success is living an authentic life.” He said that success happens when you are able to “add value to and improve people’s lives,” which he is taking a shot at through farming, one plot of land at a time.
Tammy David
Tammy is a relaxed, but formidable presence in the room. She is humble yet fierce—qualities most likely brought about by her tough experiences in the freelancing world.
Jumping from one job to another, she learned that freelancing is not for the faint of heart. “For many years, I was my own assistant, I was my own utility, I was my own accountant, which I don’t recommend. But it had its rewards and I have no regrets,” she said.
She used to work for publications like Wall Street Journal and Buzzfeed, then went on to dabble in photography, until she settled on becoming a marketing manager while pursuing a data science course online, a rather unfamiliar venture for her.
Rocks have been thrown her way while freelancing, but Tammy set aside her self-doubt and took every opportunity to learn. Now, Tammy is confident in saying that success is “when I’m proud of what I have become.”
Anna Canlas
This petite, young woman may be soft-spoken, but her words teem with nuggets of wisdom based on her experiences. Anna went into publishing by joining Summit Media and Preview.PH, ventured into the corporate world as a marketing strategist, dabbled in consulting and now works as the lead for communication studies in concept development for CAN Lifestyle Concepts.
Asked what prompted her to move from job to job, Anna said: “I always ask myself, are you running away from something or are you running toward something?” If the answer is the first then she would stay with the company, address her frustration and try to become a better employee. On the other hand, if the answer is the second, then that’s when she knows she can already move on to the next job, that there is something in the new job that’s bound to inspire her. “I feel like all work should be inspiring,” she said.
At some point in her life, Anna decided to delete her Instagram account to minimize her susceptibility to idealized standards imposed on people online. Anna advised the same to her young audience—to take a break if they have to.
Gio Panlilio
This dashing founder of a creative content agency, Tarsier Pictures, is a young visionary who believes in making spaces for people to express themselves. Gio used to work for a financial firm in New York, but his heart was not in it.
He went back home to the Philippines and gave photography a shot. He soon found himself working with huge names in renowned photography agency Magnum Photos. To anyone who is planning to pursue photography or any career they wish to take, Gio said, “don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.”
These days, Gio is focusing more on documentaries and human-interest stories, and intently pursuing his passion to tell stories through photography. His honesty and sincerity are perhaps his greatest tools to achieving success, which he defines as “not lying to yourself about what you want and being honest to that.”
Robert Siy III
Despite what naysayers say, Robert’s vision of creating a better Philippines and improving transportation in the country has earned for him the attention and respect of his audience.
To Robert, “congested highways and backed-up roads are intricate puzzles waiting to be solved.” With a rather optimistic smile, he said that this passion for making a better future for Filipinos was solidified when one day, it took him two-and-a-half hours to get to work and three hours to come home. From then on, he said to himself, “one day, Filipinos should not have to do this.”
Perhaps one of Robert’s biggest influences is Enrique Peñalosa, mayor of Bogota, Colombia, who said, “When you work on transport, you’re not really working on mobility. What you’re working on is actually quality and equity and social justice because everyone is equal in transport.” That was when Robert’s dream of moving people as fast and as uneventful as possible began.
Jason Soberano
This eloquent man also has many noteworthy things to say. Jason is a corporate guy who specializes in business and marketing development, project management, engineering and operations optimization under General Electric Philippines.
His work may seem high-sounding, but he sees his job as work that makes him a part of something that directly impacts the environment. “I have been working with GE for the past two years. Prior to that, I was developing renewable energy [and now] we are in the forefront of technology development,” he explained.
An Engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines, this man has worked from the bottom up. But his creativity, passion for learning and making a difference in the lives of others through technology molded him to become a formidable leader in no time.
“Do not be afraid to share your insights, but do not be a superhero,” he said, referring to young people who aspire to be like him. In other words, he encourages people to take the initiative, but also not to bear the burden alone when working. Jason said Filipinos tend to be too onion-skinned. Instead, we ought to be brave—brave but also smart.
Natalia Santamaria Escaño
This little girl is touted by many as the next Lea Salonga, what with her burning passion and discipline for singing and performing. Perhaps unknown to many, Natalia is the granddaughter of renowned Filipino pianist Ingrid Sala Santamaria.
Although very young, Natalia is already cognizant of the pressures that come with being related to someone like her lola and being compared to the original Miss Saigon herself.
“I’m very flattered and honored, but they’re very big shoes to fill and there’s so much space for me to grow,” she said.
She admires the discipline and the tremendous amount of practice that her grandma dedicated to master her craft. Natalia said she aspires to acquire the same level of discipline. But of course, just like any other kid, Natalia is very much into play, going to parks and even listening to Taylor Swift! Despite all her achievements, she’s normal, after all.
JR Yujuico
JR, a man of few words, would often joke about his job, but he’s also a man with great ambition. Having lived in a modest apartment in New York, earning minimum wage, he slowly climbed up the corporate ladder.
Jason has worked for magazines, a law firm and even finance, but has “developed this empathy towards the living situation here in the Philippines.” One day he decided that he would take his experiences abroad and apply what he learned to make Microstudios—compact, cozy living spaces at lesser cost without compromising quality.
The studios are situated in strategic areas within Metro Manila’s business and shopping districts like Bonifacio Global City and Guadalupe so as to better cater to the working class. For JR, success is “having a happy family and waking up, wanting to go to work.” And his work is oriented towards giving people that kind of success.
Their inspiring stories may seem nothing out of the ordinary to some, but it’s their passion and their heart for their work that set them apart from others.
