THE Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) recently extended its heartfelt thanks to renowned singer-songwriter and respected businessman Jose Mari Chan for the latter’s unwavering support to the various socio-civic charitable endeavors.

“Being a part of countless Filipino homes, Christmas is more than just Santa Claus, carols and gifts,” said Joe Mari. “It’s about coming together, sharing the spirit of unity and generosity.

“The FFCCCII has become instrumental in making the Philippines come alive with care and with love. Truly capturing that ‘Kami din ay Pinoy sa puso at gawa,’ as we celebrate this festive Christmas season to champion the bayanihan spirit.”

Dr. Cecilio K. Pedro, president of FFCCCII, lauded Joe Mari’s contributions during a recent gathering, highlighting the federation’s extensive network of 170 Filipino-Chinese chambers and diverse industry organizations nationwide from Aparri to Tawi Tawi.

The FFCCCII plays a pivotal role in economic advocacy, calamity relief, free medical missions and the support of rural public schools, as well as providing assistance to Filipino-Chinese volunteer fire brigades, which aid victims of fire and disasters regardless of ethnic or socio-economic backgrounds.

In response to recent six significant typhoons the FFCCCII led the Filipinos at Tsino Magkaibigan Foundation to promptly deliver emergency food relief supplies to the hard-hit Bicol region, flood-affected areas in Metro Manila and other provinces.

Jose Mari and Dr. Pedro reiterated the long-standing commitment of Filipino-Chinese business community to assist fellow Filipinos affected by disasters and to uplift underprivileged communities across the country.

Jose Mari Chan graduated from Ateneo (De Manila University),” informed Dr. Pedro. “We are both serving at the Ateneo Scholarship Foundation and we are both members of the board helping give scholarships to deserving students.

“A lot of young people want to study at Ateneo, but they couldn’t afford the tuition. Twenty one percent of our population is now part of this scholarship program. We’ve been serving there for decades.

“On top of that, I know Jose Mari Chan is a very good singer. His family is rooted in Iloilo, where they started their sugar business. They also gave so much to the different programs of the government, including giving classrooms. Our foundation donated classrooms.

“We also do the volunteer fire brigade and donated fire trucks, that was part of our program, which started way back in the 60’s. Our third very important project is the medical outreach.

“Every week, we have a team that goes out to the communities to provide medicines throughout the year to help our Filipino brothers and sisters.

“Every typhoon, we allot P60 million to buy rice and give it away to our kababayans in far-flung areas like Pampanga, Tarlac, Catanduanes and Bicol.”

Jose Mari provides entertainment when they visit the areas affected by typhoons. “He’s the one who’s popular and he has a good voice, so we decided to invite him,” said Dr. Pedro.

“Especially now that it’s Christmas, he’s part of this program informing the community about the thing the foundation has been doing.”

The foundation supports Filipino-Chinese athlete, EJ Obiena. “We are also supporting the swimming team,” Dr. Pedro informed. “I believe that one day, we will also produce an Olympic winner in swimming or diving. We’ve been supporting the UAAP swimming team for nine years.”

Recently, the FFCCCII supported the Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors (SPEED) in giving help to the victims of recent typhoons.

Before that, the Filipino-Chinese organization also supported the SPEED outreach program and medical and dental mission at Nampicuan, Nueva Ecija and Dingalan, Aurora

Dr. Pedro is also the man behind Lamaoiyan Group, that started with manufacturing Hapee and today, other home products.

“We’ve been around for 35 years,” said Dr. Pedro. “We started with Ruffa Gutierrez three decades ago. We also got Marian Rivera, Lea Salonga, Loren Legarda, Angel Locsin. Kuya Germs (German Moreno) was our endorser for our dishwashing liquid.”

Dr. Pedro emphasized the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have been part of every product of Lamoiyan. “Everywhere you go outside the Philippines, you would bump into a Filipino,” he said.

“We are very proud to be part of this Filipino community, especially our OFWs. When you are in another country and you speak Tagalog, another Filipino instantly knows you. They are so uniquely close and friendly.

“That is something good we treasure about Filipinos. Ang Pinoys are the best people all over the world. We should use that uniqueness into helping the country. We are being left behind by our Asian neighbors.

“Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, all of them in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, they were all behind us. Today, they are all way ahead of us. I hope all Filipinos can help put us back to lead the map. The importance of working hard is important.”

“The Filipinos outside the Philippines, they all work hard to earn money so they can send to their families back home. Filipinos here in the Philippines, they are also working as hard. I want to push Filipinos farther. They are very hardworking.

“In China, they work harder. They work 16 hours. Walang tulugan. Tayo, we start in the office at 8 a.m. but at 5 p.m., they are ready to go home. We don’t work as hard as the Japanese or the Koreans.

“We want to change that culture. We need to work harder so we will improve, be prosperous and more successful.”

AUTHOR PROFILE

Leah C. Salterio