Image via WikipediaMANILA, Philippines -- If there was one person you would, figuratively speaking, give your life to meet, who would it be?For 18-year-old Ladylove Torsiende of Cotabato City, it was not a popular heartthrob-movie star but 81-year-old business tycoon John L. Gokongwei.
Last week, the Inquirer made her dream come true.
“Ladylove, what an unusual name,” Gokongwei, one of the richest men in the country, said when she was introduced to him at his penthouse office in Ortigas Center last Jan. 31.
Ladylove, a bright girl who was forced to drop out of high school because of her family’s financial difficulties, was one of 22 Inquirer letter-writers chosen to have their wishes granted during the paper’s 22nd anniversary last December.
Clad in blue jeans and a printed blouse, Ladylove said she “just knew” that the meeting with her idol—which lasted about 30 minutes—would somehow change her life.
Her bet was good.
At the end of the chat, not only did Ladylove receive a gift check from the taipan, she also got a promise from him to pay for her tuition should she pass the entrance exams to her dream school, the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), which hosts the John Gokongwei School of Management.
“When you are able to accomplish the test required by Ateneo, then I will help,” Gokongwei said.
Ladylove was ecstatic. She said her dream to meet Gokongwei began when she read about his inspiring rags-to-riches story in the Sunday Inquirer Magazine.
When she learned about the Inquirer contest, Ladylove said she had thought about asking for a bunch of material things. But inexplicably, her instincts told her that she should write about the Chinese-Filipino businessman and wish to meet him.
She said her hunch was so strong that she had anticipated the call from the Inquirer on Jan. 22 telling her she had won. The Inquirer provided a round-trip plane ticket to Ladylove.
Gokongwei, on the other hand, said he was surprised that somebody picked him as a “wish.” His assistants said he laughed out loud and heartily when he heard about it.
34th richest in SEA
Gokongwei is chairman emeritus of JG Summit Holdings Inc., one of the largest conglomerates in the country with interests in retail, manufacturing, real estate, media, aviation and financial services, among others. According to Forbes magazine, he is the 34th wealthiest businessman in Southeast Asia, with assets valued at over $400 million.
Two years ago, Gokongwei made his name in the philanthropy world after he announced, on his 80th birthday, that he would donate half of his personal fortune, estimated at about P20 billion, to the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, the company’s charity.
Source of inspiration
According to the soft-spoken Ladylove, Gokongwei’s journey from humble beginnings in Cebu province to the top echelon of Philippine business has become her source of inspiration.
She said she always assumed the famous Gokongwei, whose big Robinsons malls are spread all over the Philippines, came from a rich family.
“I was amazed to read his rags-to-riches story. I did not know that he faced many hardships,” Ladylove said, adding that the image of a young Gokongwei riding his bicycle to sell goods in the market struck a chord in her.
“I learned that success was within our reach if we just tried hard,” she added.
Dreaming big
The billionaire and the simple Cotabato lass initially appeared to have nothing in common. But like Gokongwei, Ladylove also lost a parent at a young age and she had to make sacrifices to help her family.
According to the girl, her mother, Florife, died two years ago, leaving her and five other siblings. Her father, Armando, is a retired policeman. The family lives on their father’s modest pension and the remittances of her sister in Dubai.
Four years ago, in her second year in high school, Ladylove’s parents asked her to quit school because they could not afford it anymore. Ladylove said she cried but did not rebel.
She was sad, though, because she was doing well in school. She graduated valedictorian of her elementary school and felt she had a great chance of duplicating the feat in high school. After she stopped going to school, she helped out in her parents’ small sari-sari store.
Gokongwei’s beginnings
Gokongwei’s own story is that when he was 13, his father died leaving him the family’s breadwinner and forcing him to stop school and find work. To make ends meet, Gokongwei said he sold goods at the market using an old bike.
Last year, Ladylove was finally able to return to school. She enrolled for a six-month computer vocational course at the Notre Dame University and is set to take the Department of Education’s high school equivalency test this month.
If she passes the exam, she will be eligible to enroll in a regular college, something that she is determined to do. She said she dreams of entering the corporate world and having her own company to run in the future. And yes, she dreams of enrolling in ADMU’s John Gokongwei School of Management.
When questioned by her idol—“Ateneo is a tough school to get in,” he said—Torsiende simply replied: “I dream big.”
This earned immediate approval from Gokongwei: “Oooh, that’s what I said. It’s good to dream.”
Leadership skills
Ladylove made her pitch: “I think I have great leadership skills.” Just last month, she said, she was one of several students chosen to represent her school at The Young Partners Meeting organized by the Consuelo Foundation in Laguna.
After the meeting, Ladylove confided that Gokongwei, with his booming voice and laughter, intimidated her. “But he was a nice man,” she added.
The taipan gave Ladylove a copy of his biography “John L. Gokongwei Jr.: The Path to Entrepreneurship.” Everything you need to become a success is in it, he told her.
“It’s a lonely road. You just have to do it,” he added.
Then at the end of their chat, he gave his young fan his calling card, saying that if she needs something, she knows where to reach him.
Kristine L. Alave
February 03, 2008
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