Ambassador Manuel M. Lopez (AMML), Lopez Holdings Corporation chairman and chief executive officer, called for synergy and cooperation as member companies of the Lopez Group respond to the new government’s call for investments from the business sector.

Speaking at the midyear performance review, AMML said companies like First Philippine Industrial Park and Rockwell Land Corporation are contributing their share in terms of jobs creation in manufacturing and tourism, which are among the priority areas of Pres. Duterte’s economic team.

According to him, National Economic and Development Authority Sec. Ernesto Pernia had identified investments in manufacturing, agriculture and tourism as necessary “to generate more jobs suitable for the poor and the less skilled members of the labor force.” He said the Group must “proceed with prudent and sustainable investments for national development.”

On a more personal note, AMML thanked the Lopez Group for the support he received during his stint as the country’s ambassador to Japan from January 2011 to June 2016. He asked that the Group also give the same level of support to ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc. executive director Gina Lopez, who is now the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.

“Gina is very pure in her thoughts and actions. She has no agenda whatsoever. Gina certainly deserves our support. She does have the zeal and the passion to change things and, hopefully, she will succeed in helping our people benefit from the natural bounty and beauty that our country has been blessed with,” AMML said.

Be flexible, agile

In the same meeting, Lopez Holdings chairman emeritus Oscar M. Lopez (OML) reminded executives to “be alert, perceptive of unexpected changes, flexible, agile and able to change directions quickly” in order to be successful in today’s business environment.

“There will always be aspects of the business environment that we will not be in control of. But the conduct of our day-to-day operations, the things we are in control of, we must execute flawlessly,” he said.

OML further noted: “Our plans have to be…designed to enable us to shift towards new, unanticipated directions. To the extent possible, even our assets have to be designed to be as flexible and as agile as possible. Finally, we ourselves have to be flexible, adaptable and embracing of change and of the unexpected.”