When John Gokongwei Jr., founder of JG Summit Holdings Inc., announced on his 80th birthday that he would donate 50 percent of his ownership in the company to the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF), many, including his entire family, were naturally caught by surprise.
Lance Gokongwei, the only son and second child of Mr. John and his wife Elizabeth, described that day as "a little bit of a bittersweet moment." The younger Gokongwei, who currently holds the chief executive post at JG Summit, initially thought to himself, "Wait, part of that is my inheritance and it's being donated," he recalled in the documentary A Boy, a Bicycle, and a Legacy: Remembering John Gokongwei Jr., which premiered just days before Mr. John's 98th birth anniversary on August 11, and on the occasion of GBF's 32nd anniversary celebration at Opus Mall in Bridgetowne Estate.
"I think [dad] only told my mom. I don't know who else he mentioned it to. We were caught by surprise, but we were so happy when he announced it," remembered Robina Gokongwei-Pe, chief executive officer of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., and the eldest of the Gokongwei children.
But after the intial reaction, the siblings felt "quite proud and gratified" that they have parents, "who were willing to contribute so much to a cause greater than themselves, which is the foundation," said Mr. Lance.
"I felt that it was very generous, which is why we were so proud due to the size of it and what it would mean for education in the country," remarked Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, General Manager of the GBF, in the documentary. The foundation was established by Gokongwei brothers John, Johnson, Henry, and James in 1992 to contribute to the country's progress by providing quality education to its future workforce, particularly in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Gokongwei-Cheng also serves as Senior Vice President for Digital Transformation and Corporate Services at JG Summit, and President of Summit Media. She is the third of six siblings.
A legacy of learning
Many might likewise be surprised to know that JG Summit Holdings Inc.'s beloved leader never graduated from college. "Mr. John's father died when he was 13," shared Mr. Lance in his opening remarks at the film premiere screening. As the eldest child, he had to work very hard to support his mom and five siblings."
Mr. John had a passion for learning and having to leave school was a big disappointment for him. "I do know that his lack of college degree was a chip on his shoulder for many years," the son reflected.
So once the patriarch had six children and was running a successful business, he made sure to find time in his busy schedule to go back to school and pursue his master's degree in business administration at De La Salle University.
"Mr. John might be one of the few MBA graduates who do not have a college degree," he said. "I remember Mr. John coming home from work and staying up late at night to pore over his schoolwork, schoolbooks, and do his homework. Of course, just like anything else, he wanted to be number one even in school."
The whole family was of course present when Mr. John received his MBA diploma in 1977. "I think that must have been one of the proudest moments in his life. Dad always believed that education was the key to nation-building. That's why he and his brothers, Henry, Johnson, and James, established the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation in 1992," he said. "Together, they made a very generous contribution of their personal shares in JG Summit to give as many Filipinos as possible the gift of education and the opportunity to better their own lives."
Mr. Lance shared more about his father's values and aspirations: "Dad was known for being very frugal in his personal life and on himself. Yet, he wanted to donate the bulk of what he had worked hard on for this foundation, and he wanted to focus on giving the Filipino youth the opportunity to receive quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education."
He furthered, "He wanted to give young people without the gift of a college education something he himself never had a chance to benefit from. He wanted to help educate the next generation and the generations to come so that they would continue to move our country forward."
Empowering dreams
In the documentary film, several scholars from the foundation shared how GBF not only provided them with the chance to pursue and earn a degree, but also instilled in them the hope and motivation to strive for greater achievements in life, ultimately securing a better future for themselves and their families.
GBF offers scholarship programs, institutional endowments, and builds a technical training center to ensure access to quality education for underprivileged youth. Currently, GBF supports over 1,000 active scholars. The Iskolar ni Juan Program Tech-Voc Scholarship recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. A majority of these graduates are now employed at Universal Robina Corporation (URC) plants nationwide.
Beyond supporting students through scholarships, GBF has intensified its focus on educator development, believing that investing in educators positively impacts student learning outcomes. GBF has built an online community of over 50,000 teachers nationwide, providing online sessions that encourage peer-to-peer learning.
Recently, they also partnered with Department of Education (DepEd)-National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) to launch a webinar series preparing math and science teachers for the new Matatag curriculum.
At GBF's anniversary celebration last year, they launched the flagship program, the GBF Class Builder, a tool that helps teachers enhance their content mastery and teaching methodology through teacher guides and lesson plan upskilling. In the past two months, they have rolled out Grade 4 and Grade 5 math lessons to all math teachers in Pasig, Quezon City, and Mandaluyong. Currently, 1,009 teachers are benefiting from the Class Builder program, with many more expected to join.
In his speech, Mr. Lance said, the JG Summit group pledges "to continue to help provide quality education to Filipino learners, Filipino teachers, today and for many more years to come."
Learn more about Mr. John's amazing life story in the documentary film A Boy, a Bicycle, and a Legacy: Remembering John Gokongwei Jr., now available for streaming on YouTube.
*This story originally appeared on Esquiremag.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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