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The investment relations (IR) profession has grown in more established and developed markets in the Philippines in response to the necessity to sustain strong and transparent connections with investors given their crucial role in the success and growth of a firm. Ms. Ma. Aurora Geotina-Garcia, Chairperson of the Shareholders' Association of the Philippines (SharePHIL) and Vice Chairperson of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICDPh), thus presents the variety of functions that investor relations departments and officers have in shaping the capital market. Moreover, she discusses why companies need to develop a competent and efficient IR team. To conclude, Ms. Geotina-Garcia highlights the advocacy of SharePHIL towards investor knowledge and investor rights. This article first appeared in www.philstar.com on February 8, 2023. The original article can be visited on this link Shaping the capital market through investor relations | Philstar.com.

By: Ma. Aurora “Boots” D. Geotina-Garcia By today’s standards, technology and internet connection is classified as a need. With most businesses and careers going digital, it is essential for women to have the skills necessary to navigate the cybersphere. Combining the themes of International Women’s Day (IWD) ‘#EmbraceEquity’ and United Nations’ (UN) ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’ – the Philippine Women’s Economic Network’s (PhilWEN) theme focuses on closing the gender gap through accessibility and inclusivity of technology. Ma. Aurora “Boots” D. Geotina Garcia, as the founding chair and president of PhilWEN, speaks of the multiple practices to bridge the digital gender gap. First published in The Inquirer on March 02, 2023. Authored by Ma. Aurora “Boots” D. Geotina Garcia, Vice-Chair & President of Institute of Corporate Directors’ Board of Trustees. You can view the article through this link: https://opinion.inquirer.net/161405/bridging-the-digital-gender-divide/amp

In today’s global economy, it is essential for companies to re-evaluate their business models and retain their competitive advantage. Mr. Armand Cacacho, a fellow of ICD, shows one way to help corporate leaders achieve it by incorporating the value chain framework, a subsystem used to create products or services from start to finish. In his article, he mentioned how value chain coordinators create value through value chain coordination and how they integrate it into different marketplace platforms. This article first appeared in the Q1 2023 issue of the SID Directors Bulletin published by the Singapore Institute of Directors you can visit the Singapore Institute of Directors’ Post by clicking on this link, Mr Armand Cacaho’s article can also be downloaded as a PDF file at the the bottom part of this article.

On the 20th of January 2023, the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) held the 2022 ACGS Golden Arrow Awards at Sheraton Manila Hotel to recognize the top-performing Publicly Listed Companies (PLCs) in the Philippines based on the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) 2021 results. Present at the event is Dr. Carlos Jose Gatmaitan, Institute of Corporate Directors CEO who delivered welcoming remarks and reminded everyone to embed good corporate governance in our DNA. Followed by ICD Chairman Atty. Cesar Villanueva gave the opening message and congratulated the 85 awardees. To represent the SEC, Chairman Atty. Emilio B. Aquino spoke and expressed his delight at the remarkable increase in awardees. Also, present at the event to deliver his congratulatory message is PSE President and CEO Mr. Ramon Monzon. The awards were presented to the 85 honorees by SEC Chairman Atty. Emilio B. Aquino, ICD Chairman Atty. Cesar L. Villanueva, ICD President Ms. Boots Garcia, and PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon. Aside from recognizing the top-performing companies, the ACGS Golden Arrow Awards also recognized Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation as the Most-Improved Company which improved significantly by 36.93 points from the 2020 ACGS assessment. The event was capped with a message and a toast from Dr. Jesus P. Estansilao, ICD Chairman Emeritus, who imparted three takeaways from the event: (1) that we have come a long way over many years; (2) Always remember that corporate governance is more than just compliance. We must go beyond where we are into a higher level of a performance-oriented corporate governance system; (3) Lastly, Mr. Estanislao reminded everyone how corporate governance is a long journey, it is about Philippine corporations and institutions becoming the ultimate development agents of the country. At the end of the day, the results that we deliver are not only for our shareholders or stakeholders but also for the country. The regulatory practices towards better corporate governance were sparked by corporate disasters caused by poor governance in the 1980s up to the 1997 Asian financial crisis which served as a wake-up call to regulatory bodies and stock exchanges worldwide. The 1997 Asian financial crisis was arguably the single most devastating economic event in the last century where currencies across the region lost more than 50% of their value in many cases. Factors such as high levels of debt, corrupt lending policies, non-market criteria for credit allocation, and distorted incentives for project selection and monitoring have been identified as causes of the crisis. However, the impact of the crisis would have not been severe if there was more confidence in corporate governance and financial transparency in these corporations. According to OECD, weaknesses in corporate governance were the major contributor to the 2008 global financial crisis. These events show the need to adopt good corporate governance practices. Hence, the development of the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS). The ACGS was developed with the support of the Asian Development Bank, and the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum together with the CG experts from the 6 participating ASEAN members. It is a tool used to assess and rank the corporate governance performance of PLCs in six participating ASEAN countries; Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand by using publicly available information such as the company’s disclosures on its website and the regulators’. It aims to raise the corporate governance standards and practices among ASEAN PLCs making it attractive to investors. Being at par with global standards, improving investor perception, more access to financing, strengthening stakeholder relationships, stimulating the private equity market, improving operational performance, enhancing sustainability, and encouraging foreign direct investments are the benefits that go along with corporate governance practices. The categories of the ACGS are consistent with G20/OECD principles of corporate governance with a total maximum attainable point of 130. Refer to the table below for the categories and their corresponding weight. In the regional assessment conducted the previous year, the top 100 Philippine PLCs according to market capitalization were among the companies assessed by the ICD’s ASEAN counterparts and scored 87.55 points. In the recent assessment, the performance of 260 Philippine PLCs scored an average of 73.80 points - a 7.53 points increase from the 2020 ACGS assessment. 85 companies, or 33% of the companies assessed scored at least 80 points. The financial sector comprised of banks and other financial institutions scored the highest with 85.23 points. Other sectors have also shown an increase in their average scores from the previous assessment. It was observed that the strong points of the 260 Philippine PLCs are the following: the exercise of shareholders' right to actively participate in the ASM, financial disclosures, and the responsibilities of the board are clearly defined. However, Philippine PLCs should improve on developing and implementing policies related to other stakeholders. During the regional assessment, it was observed that: (1) Philippine PLC’s strength is on Rights and Equitable Treatment of Shareholders. (2) The adoption of the Sustainability Report helped in the improvement of the scores of the Philippine PLCs. (3) Some Philippine PLCs got penalized for having IDs serving for more than 9 years and serving on more than 5 boards in PLCs. (4) It was also observed during the assessment that ASEAN DRBs got confused in our many documents for reporting. They found inconsistent statements. (5) Lastly, some information or documents are no longer available due to company website updates. In as much as ICD aspires to represent itself as a governance champion, our aspirations will never be achieved without our partnerships with the SEC and other key stakeholders such as the PSE, BSP, Insurance Commission, GCG, and other key partners in this endeavor to be a key catalyst in the ASEAN region for higher standards in corporate governance. We are proud to be recipients of awards and have been recognized as Good Corporate Governance Champions by the SEC for consecutive years. 5 Golden Arrow 1. Ayala Land, Inc. 2. China Banking Corporation 3. Globe Telecom, Inc. 4 Golden Arrow 1. Aboitiz Power Corporation 2. Ayala Corporation 3. Bank of the Philippine Islands 4. BDO Unibank, Inc. 5. Belle Corporation 6. First Gen Corporation 7. Manila Water Company, Inc. 8. Philippine National Bank 9. Rizal Commercial Bank Corporation 10. SM Investments Corporation 11. SM Prime Holdings, Inc. 12. Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. 3 Golden Arrow 1. 2GO Group, Inc. 2. Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. 3. AC Energy Corporation 4. APC Group, Inc. 5. AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. 6. Cebu Holdings, Inc. 7. First Philippine Holdings Corporation 8. GT Capital Holdings, Inc. 9. Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. 10. LT Group, Inc. 11. Manila Electric Company 12. Metro Pacific Investments Corporation 13. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company 14. Philex Mining Corporation 15. PLDT Inc. 16. San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. 17. Security Bank Corporation 18. Semirara Mining and Power Corporation 2 Golden Arrow 1. AREIT, Inc. 2. Cebu Air, Inc. 3. DMCI Holdings, Inc. 4. Eagle Cement Corporation 5. Far Eastern University, Incorporated 6. Megawide Construction Corporation 7. Nickel Asia Corporation 8. Petron Corporation 9. Philippine Seven Corporation 10. Phinma Corporation 11. Premium Leisure Corp. 12. PXP Energy Corporation 13. Roxas Holdings, Inc. 14. Union Bank of the Philippines 15. Universal Robina Corporation 16. Wilcon Depot, Inc. 1 Golden Arrow 1. A Brown Company, Inc. 2. ABS-CBN Corporation 3. AllHome Corp. 4. Alliance Select Foods International, Inc. 5. Asia United Bank Corporation 6. Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation 7. Axelum Resources Corp. 8. Benguet Corporation 9. Cemex Holdings Philippines, Inc. 10. Century Pacific Food, Inc. 11. Concepcion Industrial Corporation 12. Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions, Inc. 13. Cosco Capital, Inc. 14. Crown Asia Chemicals Corporation 15. D&L Industries, Inc. 16. Discovery World Corporation 17. Euro-Med Laboratories Phil., Inc. 18. Filinvest Development Corporation 19. Filinvest Land, Inc. 20. House of Investments, Inc. 21. International Container Terminal Services, Inc. 22. Jollibee Foods Corporation 23. Lopez Holdings Corporation 24. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation 25. Megaworld Corporation 26. MerryMart Consumer Corp. 27. Philippine Bank of Communications 28. Philippine Business Bank 29. RFM Corporation 30. Robinsons Land Corporation 31. Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. 32. SBS Philippines Corporation 33. STI Education Systems Holdings, Inc. 34. Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. 35. Vivant Corporation 36. Xurpas, Inc. Most-Improved Company ● Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation Article By:

Good governance is the lifeblood of any organization, public or private, that promotes excellent performance enabling the organization to deliver the desired results About two weeks ago, the Institute of Corporate Directors presented and honored the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard Golden Arrow awardees in the Philippines for 2021. Good governance is the lifeblood of any organization, public or private, that promotes excellent performance enabling the organization to deliver the desired results for its shareholders and stakeholders and ensuring its longevity. Whereas recognition and public acclamation for a job well done are the blood cells that nurture continuing outstanding governance. For the readers who may not be familiar with the ACGS Golden Arrow, the award is the ASEAN equivalent of the Oscars for publicly listed corporations in the region that have demonstrated an exalted degree of good governance in their operations. And like the Oscars which selects the winners via the votes of the Academy’s movie industry members, the ACGS awardees are selected by the different Domestic Ranking Bodies of the participating ASEAN countries, namely, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore. In the Philippines, the DRB appointed by the SEC is the ICD. The different PLCs are evaluated and graded accordingly based on how they fare relative to various governance benchmarks spelled out in a scorecard developed by the region’s leading corporate governance experts. For the Philippines, we were represented by the undisputed founding father and prime advocate of good governance in our country, the Honorable Dr. Jesus P. Estanislao. These governance benchmarks are based on the OECD’s five governance principles: Rights of Shareholders, Equitable Treatment of Shareholders, Role of Stakeholders, Disclosure and Transparency, and Board Responsibility. Each benchmark has different items and corresponding weights that total 100. It is important to highlight that Board Responsibility carries the largest weight at 40 out of 100 which underscores how critical the role of a director is in achieving good governance in any organization. The scorecard, however, allows for bonus points of another 30 for PLCs that exhibit good governance above and beyond the minimum benchmarks. On the flip side, PLCs can be assessed as penalty points for poor governance practices. The maximum score that can be given is 130 points. The Golden Arrows awarded range from one to five arrows depending on the PLC’s score. A minimum of 80 points is needed to win a golden arrow while five arrows are bestowed on PLCs that attain 120 to 130 points. You may wonder how the PLCs are evaluated and graded. The public disclosures and filings of the PLCs in their annual reports, websites, and regulatory submissions with the PSE and SEC are the only sources of information that serve as the basis for ICD’s evaluation. The ICD also discusses and compares with its counterpart DRBs in the region to ensure a uniform standard is maintained. In the Philippines, out of 270 PLCs assessed, 32 were recognized regionally for having scored at least 97 points, while 86 PLCs were acclaimed nationally and awarded golden arrows for having scored at least 80 points. Of these PLCs, and for the first time since the awards were instituted, three PLCs that stood out and scored at least 120 received the highest honor of five golden arrows. These are China Bank, Ayala Land and Globe Telecom, the country’s governance cream of the crop. Let’s give all these standouts a big hand for being the nation’s top governance champions! I can’t end this article without sharing JPE’s closing message during the awarding ceremonies. Allow me to paraphrase my take on his comments. Essentially, he noted that good governance is a long and difficult transformative journey that needs to be sustained and nurtured by no less than the top, the leaders of the institutions. A culture of good governance must permeate the whole organization. On a personal level, a culture of INTEGRITY has to be embedded in each individual. At the level of teams, a culture of PROFESSIONALISM must be ingrained. And perhaps most important of all, a culture of SOLIDARITY, to be one with the good of society, must be taken to heart to ensure that it is not just the success of any single organization that is the end goal but that of the whole nation. To my mind, Dr. Estanislao’s words are the clarion call that every Filipino hungers for — GOOD GOVERNANCE FOR ALL, FOR THE GOOD OF ALL! We, each of us, ALL must do our part. It may sound quixotic to the cynics out there, but we must give it our ONE BIG FIGHT for the sake of future generations. Until next week… OBF! By Bing Matoto January 31, 2023 Read more: https://tribune.net.ph/2023/01/31/recognizing-good-governance/

IIn as much as ICD aspires to represent itself as GOVERNANCE CHAMPIONS, our aspirations will never be achieved without our partnerships with the SEC and other stakeholders such as the PSE, BSP, Insurance Commission, GCG and other key partners in this endeavor to be a key catalyst in the ASEAN region for higher standards in corporate governance. We are proud to be recipients of awards and have been recognized as Good Corporate Governance Champions by the SEC for consecutive years. Reality, however, is that regulatory practices towards better corporate governance was sparked by poor governance, noted by corporate disasters from the 1980s and leading to an exclamation point in 1997 – the Asian financial crisis – a wakeup call for regulatory bodies and stock exchanges worldwide. The 1997 Asian financial crisis was arguably the single most devastating economic event last century. Some currencies across the region lost more than 50% of their value in many cases. Though a long list of factors such as high levels of debt, corrupt lending policies, non-market criteria for credit allocation, distorted incentives for project selection and inadequate monitoring have been identified as causes for the crisis, the crisis would not have been that severe if there was more confidence in corporate governance and financial transparency in these corporations. According to OECD, weakness in corporate governance was the major contributor in the 2008 Global Financial crisis. These events show the need to adopt good corporate governance practices. Here are the benefits that go along with the Corporate Governance Practices: • AT PAR WITH GLOBAL STANDARDS • IMPROVE INVESTOR PERCEPTION • More ACCESS TO FINANCING • STRENGTHEN STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS • STIMULATE THE PRIVATE EQUITY MARKET • IMPROVE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE • ENHANCE SUSTAINABILITY • ENCOURAGE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS THE ASEAN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SCORECARD was developed to have a common tool to assess the CG performance of ASEAN PLCs with the objective of raising the CG standards of ASEAN and making good performing companies attractive to investors. With the support of the Asian Development Bank, the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum with the CG experts from the 6 participating ASEAN members, we developed the ACGS. Here are the categories of the ACGS with its corresponding weights. It is consistent with G20/OECD Principles of CG with a total maximum attainable point of 130. The ACGS uses publicly available information only in its assessment, i.e. the company’s disclosures in its website and the regulators’. Last year, a regional assessment was conducted, wherein the Philippine companies particularly the Top 100 PLCs according to market capitalization were also assessed by ICD’s ASEAN counterparts. The Top 100 PLCs according to market capitalization scored 87.55 points in the last regional assessment. The Overall Scores are improving. Performance of 260 PH PLCs reflect an average score of 73.80 points, a 7.53 point increase from the 2020 ACGS Assessment. 85 companies or 33% of the companies assessed scored at least 80 points, which is improving at a healthy pace but is simply not yet enough to be satisfied. ICD together with the SEC and other CG institutions are trying our best to enlighten the companies through key recommendations. Some are a just a matter of disclosure of simple matters such as information presented on company’s websites. Others more complicated such as Board consultancies and advisor services. We understand that there still remain some reservations in conforming to a number of recommendations but we want to convince boards that the inevitable is… well, inevitable. The ACGS will remain as a Golden Arrow standards and it is prudent to begin the journey to say the least. You may want to note that the financial sector composed of the banks and other financial institutions scored the highest with 85.23 while SMEs pale in comparison below 70. All sectors, however, increased their average scores from the previous assessment. It was observed that the Strengths of 260 Philippine PLCs are the following: 1. The exercise of shareholders right to actively participate in the ASM, 2. Financial disclosures 3. The responsibilities of the board are clearly defined. For the Areas for Improvement, PH PLCs should be developing and implementing policies related to other stakeholders. Furthermore, here are some observations during the regional assessment: • PH PLCs strength is on Rights and Equitable Treatment of Shareholders • Adoption of Sustainability Report helped in the improvement of scores of PH PLCs. • Some PH PLCs got penalized for having IDs serving for more than 9 years and serving in more than 5 boards in PLCs. • ASEAN DRBs got confused in our many documents for reporting. They found inconsistent statements. • Some information or documents were not available anymore because companies updated their websites already.

The 2022 ACGS Golden Arrow Awards ceremony for the Institute of Corporate Directors took place on January 20, 2023, at the Sheraton Manila Hotel to recognize the top-performing PLCs in the Philippines. This event was attended by representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), who congratulated the 85 awardees and also recognized the Most-Improved Company. Dr. Carlos Jose Gatmaitan, FICD, CEO of the Institute of Corporate Directors, who is in attendance at the event, gave opening remarks and encouraged everyone to instil good corporate governance in our DNA. During the opening remarks, ICD Chairman Atty. Cesar L. Villanueva, FICD congratulated each of the 85 prize recipients. As the SEC's representative, Chairman Atty. Emilio B. Aquino expressed his happiness at the remarkable rise in award winners. PSE President and CEO Mr. Ramon S. Monzon is additionally present at the occasion to offer his congratulations. The awards were presented to the 85 honorees by SEC Chairman Atty. Emilio B. Aquino, ICD Chairman Atty. Cesar L. Villanueva,FICD, ICD President Ms. Ma. Aurora D. Geotina-Garcia,FICD, and PSE President and CEO Mr. Ramon S. Monzon. Thusly, Dr. Jesus P. Estansilao, FICD, ICD Chairman Emeritus, closed the event with three takeaways: that we have come a long way over many years; to always remember that corporate governance is more than just compliance; and to remember that corporate governance is a long journey. It focuses on how Philippine corporations and institutions would further perform as the ultimate development agents of the country. Despite what might be, the results that we deliver are not only for our shareholders or stakeholders but also for the country. Once more, Congratulations on your victory! We are grateful for your inspiration and contribution to the Philippine industry. We look forward to seeing you again at our future events! Hence, here are some images from ACGS 2022 Golden Arrow Awards last 20 January 2023 and the link for the photos: https://www.facebook.com/100064068154399/posts/pfbid03KrmMKAUoPUXBR671qX1yKxZC84rGU2xuhnEAav1PK65tJC4vmUmegoXP6mm8GrHl/?mibextid=cr9u03

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), in partnership with 15 organizations including the Institute of Corporate Directors PH (ICD Ph), presents a new research report entitled “WORK 3.0: Reimagining Leadership in a Hybrid World” which examines the evolution of work and workplaces in the Asia Pacific. Aiming to provide relevant insights on how successful leadership in the hybrid world can be attained, survey and interview responses from 2,200 leaders across 13 countries in the region were utilized by the researchers. Below is an infographic presenting the key findings of the research report. To read more about ICD's Summary on the Philippine perspective you may access this link: https://www.icd.ph/post/work-3-0-reimagining-leadership-in-a-hybrid-world To read more about the research report, you may access this link: http://ccl.org/articles/research-reports/work-3.0-reimagining-leadership-hybrid-world

The Securities and Exchange Commission celebrated its 86th year with a face-to-face anniversary celebration and recognition ceremony on November 29, 2022, at the SEC Headquarters in Makati City. Present at the event is SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino, who delivered the welcoming remarks, and Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, who gave the keynote address. Please click the link to see the list of awardees: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jNA38Hs3e7p21WWNcMwd_mSPWKaP1eSd/view In the recently concluded ceremony, SEC awarded different individuals and organizations that championed the Commission’s vision in five areas: capital market development, sustainability and good corporate governance, enhancing investor protection, improving the ease of doing business in the country, and organizational development. Present at the event to award the champions are Commissioner Kelvin Lester Lee, Commissioner McJill Bryant Fernandez, Chairman Emilio B. Aquino, Commissioner Jayvee Paul Francisco, Commissioner Karlo S. Bello, and Director Rose Ann S. Espiritu. Chairperson, Commissioners, and Investagrams CEO, Mr. John Christian Bisnar presented the award to the winners of Investor Protection Week. Among the organizations recognized by the SEC is the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). ICD is recognized for supporting the Commission’s strategic initiative in 2022 in pursuit of sustainability and corporate governance. SEC Commissioner McJill Bryant Fernandez presented the Sustainability and Corporate Governance Champions Award to ICD CEO Carlos Jose P. Gatmaitan.

The 2nd ICD Invitational Golf Tournament in Honor of Ambassador Cesar Bautista was held on the 28th of October 2022 at the Manila Golf and Country Club. The tournament aimed to bolster ICD’s Research and Development capability to compile best corporate governance practices and statistics for the benefit of its members and stakeholders. Back in 2019, ICD conducted the 1st Invitational Golf Tournament open to both members and guests. However, ICD had to put the tournament on hold in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Now that our country has eased the health protocol and is getting back to normal, ICD decided to resume this much awaited sole ICD sport activity. This year, we were able to raise a net income of ₱ 466,650.25 from the tournament. All the proceeds will go to fund the institute’s research and development in support of our advocacy and initiatives. We are deeply grateful to everyone who attended and made the event a success. There was a total of 47 players, of which 12 were ICD members and 35 were guests. We welcome the positive comments from the participants and glad to know that they enjoyed the venue, prizes, food and drinks. We also appreciate the presence of Ms. Meean B. Dy, daughter of Amb. Bautista, who accepted our invitation to grace the event. The tournament will not be possible without the generosity of the following sponsors: We extend our deepest gratitude for your support for this event that will help ICD provide useful information, trends and recommendations to its members. The following are the tournament winners: Overall Champion: Lowest Gross Score ICD Member – Atty. Pete Maniego Jr. Guest - Mr. Jimmy Panganiban Division A: Champion: Mr. Bobby Rosales 1st: Mr. James Morris Illeto 2nd: LtGen. Oscar Lactao Division B: Champion: Mr. Jose Paulo Soliman 1st: Mr. Arsenio Valdes 2nd: Mr. Marlon Herrera Division C: Champion: Atty. Cesar Villanueva 1st: Mr. JJ Moreno 2nd: Mr. Gil Genio Special Awards were also given for: 1. Hole #10 Accurate Drive- Mr. Gil Genio ( 3.9 ft.) 2. Hole #10 Longest Drive- Mr. Immanuel Sodusta (190 yds.) 3. Hole #16 Nearest to the Pin- Mr. Toti Bengzon (18 ft, 1 in.) No one went home empty handed. Every participant received a Php 1K gift check and a minor raffle prize. The luckier ones won major raffle prizes such as 55” Samsung Smart TV, 2 high-end pistols, and appliances. All enjoyed the tasty and ample dishes served by Manila Golf; our sponsors also provided snacks and beverages to all attendees. We also acknowledge the efforts of the Golf Committee headed by chair Pete Maniego Jr. and its members Ricky Jacinto, Henry Aguda, and Charlie Gatmaitan, as well as the full support from the ICD’s Members Relations Services group and officers. Our huge thanks go all of them. Looking forward to higher participation especially from our ICD members in future golf tournaments, we would like to solicit your inputs on how we could further improve and make the tournament more enjoyable. Congratulations! The following are the raffle winners for the 2022 ICD Invitational Golf Tournament In Honor of Amb. Cesar Bautista. Major Prizes Winners: 1st Prize ( Samsung 55” Smart TV) – Mr. Rufino Bomasang 2nd Prize (1 unit of Caliber 45 Rock Std A1 MS)– Mr. Sonny Garcia 3rd Prize (1 unit of Caliber 9mm Rock Ultra A1 FS)- Ms. Ruth Yu-Owen 4th Prize (Samsung Soundbar)- Mr. Joseph Garcia 5th Prize (Oster Airfryer)- Dr. Napoleon Tan

Reimagining Leadership in a Hybrid World With work and workplaces going through drastic changes and transitioning to different modalities during the pandemic, leaders and organizations across the globe share varying experiences as they adapt to the transformations in the new world of work. The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), in partnership with 15 organizations including the Institute of Corporate Directors PH (ICD Ph), has worked on “WORK 3.0: Reimagining Leadership in a Hybrid World” a research report which identify key skills, mindset and enabling factors leaders must have to be successful in a hybrid work environment. Current situation of Work 3.0 in Asia Pacific The report introduces an overview of the current landscape of the hybrid world in the Asia Pacific region. As countries strive to recover from the circumstances brought by the pandemic, it is shown that organizations prioritize different strategies to adapt to the new era. Organizations are also facing changes in societal expectations as they are demanded to be more responsible and purpose-driven and promote inclusivity and environmental friendliness in the post pandemic world. In addition, the expectations of employees now include work flexibility, meaningful work, and improvement in well-being. Meanwhile, a leap in the rate of remote job openings and interest of applicants in remote jobs and a significant decrease in the rate of expectation around time spent in the office lead to the fact that the majority of the organizations in the Asia Pacific are likely to adopt a hybrid model of work in the long run. With 39% of Filipino respondents preferring the hybrid - office first model, the Philippines is leaning towards a more flexible mode of work for the next three to five years. However, with 28% of respondents still preferring the fully onsite model, the leaders of organizations in the Philippines are less embracing of Work 3.0 compared to those of other countries in the region. Debunking myths about Work 3.0 To present important points about what leaders and organizations need to know about the hybrid work model, the study debunks myths about Work 3.0. It starts with pointing out that the hybrid work model is more than just a fusion of in-person and remote model and is therefore a unique plane with a character of its own. Furthermore, it is important to note that while leader support to their teams working in hybrid mode is at a considerably high rate of 51.7% and that 52.4% of leaders claim that they are thriving in the current hybrid work environment, more than half or 55.6% of the organizations in the Asia Pacific are still in the “no vision” and “still curating” stages in terms of their journey towards long term vision and associated processes/policies with respect to hybrid work. The study further discusses that despite having 8 in 10 employees favoring the work-from-home option in the Asia Pacific region and 9 in 10 specifically in the Philippines, the impact on their engagement and productivity varies depending on their performance. Below average performers are at the most serious risk of declining productivity and engagement, therefore leaving the organizations the challenge to strike a balance between the two. On the other hand, while technology is often deemed as the key driver of successful Work 3.0 model as it enables the hybrid workforce to perform and deliver at their peak capabilities, data suggests that people and teams and organization culture play the most vital role instead. Meanwhile, the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion is thriving in the hybrid world of work as more opportunities are now being opened for sectors often experiencing indifference when it comes to work. However, leaders and organizations must take serious action to address certain biases at play in the hybrid world which cause marginalization and disengagement among their employees. Successful leadership in Work 3.0 CCL’s study proceeds by elaborating how leaders should think about Work 3.0 by identifying the four key elements driving hybrid teams to flourish. These include core agreements about the team’s purpose, collective mindset on how they work together, cohesive relationships fostering inclusivity and high psychological safety, and connection across teams and organization. Tensions and polarities emerging in these elements are what leaders need to evaluate and navigate to deliver on business needs. CCL’s study proceeds by elaborating how leaders should think about Work 3.0 by identifying the four key elements driving hybrid teams to flourish. These include core agreements about the team’s purpose, collective mindset on how they work together, cohesive relationships fostering inclusivity and high psychological safety, and connection across teams and organization. Tensions and polarities emerging in these elements are what leaders need to evaluate and navigate to deliver on business needs. In the latter part of the study is an exhaustive discussion on who leaders need to be to succeed in Work 3.0. The researchers highlight mindsets and skill sets shifts necessary to spark collaboration among employees, to drive purpose, build a culture of trust and empowerment, and utilize technology to aid hybrid work. In addition, the study presents five roles that leaders need to play and embrace to help their organizations conquer challenges and attain prosperity in the hybrid world. Conclusion: Relevance to the Philippine setting To conclude, CCL's study provides a comprehensive examination on the hybrid work model in the Asia Pacific region by generating survey and interview responses from 2,200 leaders across 13 countries in the region. Future researchers may draw from the results of the study to have a closer look on Work 3.0 focused in the Philippine context. This can help Filipino leaders and organizations identify more appropriate interventions and strategies to thrive in the hybrid world of work. To read more about the research report, you may access this link: http://ccl.org/articles/research-reports/work-3.0-reimagining-leadership-hybrid-world

Published September 13, 2022, 5:54 AM by Dr. Bernardo M. Villegas Part 1 In a series of articles that appeared in this paper, I postulated that between 2040 and 2050, the Philippines will attain a per capita income of over $12,000 which in today’s prices according to the World Bank will entitle us to be considered a “high-income” economy, the last step after going through low-income, low-middle income and upper-middle income (which we are supposed to attain in the next two to three years when our per capita income crosses approximately $4,000). Can we assume that once we reach high-income status we can already expect to be considered a First World economy? This is whereas a typical economist, I have to hedge my bet. The answer will depend on whether or not, as our per capita income rises, we are able to establish more and more inclusive economic and political institutions. I have observed that until very recently, South Korea was always in the list of emerging markets and only in the last two or three years was this highly industrialized country that exceeded $20,000 of per capita income more than a decade ago admitted into the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Developmenth(OECD) of the advanced countries. I am theorizing that South Korea reached very high levels of per capita income through a great concentration of economic power and wealth in what they called a “chaebol” economy. Although when compared to its neighbor, North Korea, it has far more inclusive economic institutions that “allow and encourage participation by the great mass of people in economic activities that make best use of their talents and skills and that enable individuals to make the choices they wish” (from Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson), South Korea had for a long time been ruled by dictatorial leaders that delayed the building up of inclusive political institutions. This political handicap to becoming a First World country was even more obvious in a number of Latin American countries like Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico and Brazil. These countries became upper-middle income countries more than a decade ago but have been caught in a middle-income trap because of lack of inclusive economic and political institutions. Although the U.S. economy is not perfect from the standpoint of inclusiveness (both economically and politically), it is far superior to its Latin American counterparts. As Acemoglu and Robinson wrote in their book, inclusive economic institutions foster economic activity, productivity growth, and economic prosperity. If private property rights are protected, then those with such rights will be willing to invest and increase the productivity of their properties. It stands to reason that a business man who frets that his production will be stolen, expropriated or entirely taxed away will have little incentive to work, let alone make any investments in new ventures. To attain economic prosperity, a society must give such rights to at least most, if not all its citizens.In a number of Latin American countries in which gross mismanagement of the macroeconomy led to inflation rates that could go as high as 1,000% or more annually, the irresponsible governments literally stole money from the private citizens whose hard-earned assets lost practically all their value in an instant. We can be grateful that at least in the last thirty years or so, we have enjoyed relative price stability, thanks to a Central Banks system whose management has been systematically ranked as one of the best in Asia. Our last Governor of the Central Bank, now the Secretary of Finance Benjamin Diokno, was named as the Best Central Bank Governor in the world by an international organization. According to Acemoglu and Robinson, inclusive economic institutions also pave the way for two other engines of prosperity: technology and education. All countries that have managed to become First World have experienced sustained economic growth almost always accompanied by technological improvements that enable the human resources (labor), land, and capital (buildings, machines, infrastructures, etc.) to be more productive. One of the greatest economists in my book is Joseph A.Schumpeter who coined the word “entrepreneur” to designate the prime mover in the process of economic development. The entrepreneur is the one who introduces innovations that improve the productivity of the factors of production. It is encouraging to note that President Marcos Jr. is giving the highest value to the advice being given him by some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. Technology, however, will have limited value without a high level of education, skills, competencies and know-how of the workforce, acquired at home, in school or on the job. All the technology of the world would be useless without workers who know how to operate it. Beyond technical skills to run machines, it is the know-how and education of the workforce that generate the scientific knowledge upon which economic progress is built and that enable the continuing adaption and adoption of technologies in the various areas of business. In the modern economy of today, technological change requires education both for the innovator and the worker. Despite the imperfections of the political system in the United States, it still has the best working model of a market economy that can produce, or attract from foreign lands the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, and the hundreds of scientists who made path-breaking discoveries in information technology, nuclear power, biotech, and other fields in which entrepreneurs build their businesses. The supply of talent exists in the U.S. because most American teenagers have access to as much schooling as they wish or are capable of attaining. It is unfortunate, however, that our youth are not getting the quality of education that is required for sustainable economic development in an increasing technologically demanding work environment. What can be done in the next five years or so to make sure that whatever low quality output our educational and other human resource development institutions can produce in the intermediate term can still enable the country to transition from an upper-middle income to a high-income economy with a per capita income of more than $12,000. This is where we can bring in what Max Weber, the German sociologist, referred to as the “monopoly of legitimate violence.” Here he is referring to the indispensable role played by the State in sustainable and equitable development. As Acemuglo and Robinson wrote, “Without such a monopoly and the degree of centralization that it entails, the state cannot play its role as enforcer of law and order, let along provide public services and encourage and regulate economic activity.” Here, we are reminded that the two indispensable institutions in society are the family and the State. They proceed from the nature of human beings. All other human institutions are dispensable. That is why, we should expect the present Administration, despite lingering fears that President Marcos Jr. may turn out to be an authoritarian ruler like his father, to exercise the “monopoly of legitimate violence,” i.e. to exercise enough authority to resolve the many conflicts that arise in any society. Again, to quote Acemoglu and Robinson, “When the State fails to achieve almost any political centralization, society sooner or later descends into chaos…” It is in this light that I appreciate his decision to take over the post of Secretary of Agriculture. There is a great deal of central decision making that is required to address the underdevelopment of that sector. There are at least three departments whose functions have to be coordinated to address the long-standing backwardness of our agricultural sector, especially as compared with those of our ASEAN neighbors like Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. In an analogous way, the Department of Education has a lot to do with the Department of Labor and the Department of Migrant Workers. Some centralization of power in the hands of the Vice-President who is concurrently Secretary of Education may lead to a better coordination of the way Philippine society educates and deploys its human resources. There must, however, be a way that we can prevent the centralization of power from spawning extractive political institutions. There is strong synergy between economic and political institutions. Following the analysis of Acemoglu and Robinson, extractive political institutions tend to concentrate power in the hands of a narrow elite and place few constraints on the exercise of this power. There is always a danger that this elite will structure economic institutions in such a way as to unfairly extract resources from the rest of society. This is where the very concept of good governance comes in. We must constantly strive to achieve good governance in the public sector. To be continued.