Nothing slows down Ramon S Ang—prolific businessman, philanthropist, and one of Tatler Asia’s Most Influential 2022 honourees—in providing better lives for Filipinos
Aside from dealing with the full impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business operations and overall financial performance over the previous years, San Miguel Corporation was also able to complete or begin some of the most relevant, meaningful, consequential, and transformative projects in its corporate history.
San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) president and CEO, Ramon S Ang, feels very proud of how the company responded to the urgent needs of many Filipinos throughout this pandemic. From supporting medical frontliners through donations of life-saving medical and testing equipment and protective gear to building quarantine facilities, providing free tolls and fuels for frontliners, and giving thousands of them free life insurance policies, SMC also embarked on its largest nationwide food donation drive to help impoverished communities, ensuring that all employees continue to receive their full pay and benefits. It also implemented vaccination for its network of 70,000 employees and its extended workforce, and supported the vaccination efforts of local government units. With this, Ang thinks SMC and its employees were part of the nationwide response efforts, showcasing the very best of our Filipino core value of malasakit (compassion).
In strategic projects, Ang is also proud of the Skyway 3 completion, which fully opened in January 2021. It’s a project that for a long time seemed unlikely, if not impossible, to finish because of many hurdles. But with the help of the government and the cooperation of stakeholders, they completed it. Now people throughout Metro Manila and neighbouring provinces benefit from the seamless connection and reduced traffic on major thoroughfares and even in-city streets throughout Luzon.
SMC’s Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) project, consisting of 31 new battery facilities spread throughout key provinces nationwide, is also significant to Ang. This is the first and largest network of its kind in the country and the largest as well in Southeast Asia. These battery facilities will help make reliable, high-quality power supply reach even the farthest provinces and islands. More significantly, this technology can make renewable power sources more viable, providing a solution to its intermittent nature.
There is also the New Manila International Airport and Aerocity developments. The airport alone represents the single-largest investment in the country by one company thus far. It is expected to generate over a million jobs nationwide and transform the Philippines into a major aviation hub and tourist and investment destination in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, the aero-city will be the model and pace-setter for future green city developments in the country.
Lastly, Ang is elated with their efforts to clean up major river systems in Luzon. Last August 2022, SMC reported the completion of its clean-up of the Tullahan River, where over 1.12 million tons of silt and solid waste accumulated over the past two and a half years was removed. Last year, SMC marked the first year of its Pasig River clean-up and reported back then to have successfully removed more than half a million tons of waste. SMC’s next goal is to clean up river systems throughout Bulacan. All these efforts are part of our initiative to help mitigate flooding in Metro Manila and nearby areas and help rehabilitate the country’s long-polluted rivers.
