Truth or dare

By Tammy H. Lipana, 25 June 2009

Many of us, on an occasion or two, have faced the question, "truth or dare?"

Some months back, our firm Isla Lipana & Co., a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, faced this question in relation to the country’s position in the current global financial crisis.

From our vantage point, the truth seemed far from what is seen by many on the surface. This truth for us spelled optimism and promise; while on the surface, it spelled doom and gloom.

And so we dared.

Last Monday, during our firm’s 87th anniversary, we launched Project Philippine Resiliency: A Gem Uncovered, or Project PR. We sought the insights of the country’s top leaders from both government and private sectors on the current economic crisis and how the Philippines fared from where they stood. Akin to our truth, Project PR affirmed our view of optimism and promise.

In all there were 25 CEOs, three key government officials and an economics resource person from the academe who accommodated our invitation to take part in Project PR. Their views and insights were chronicled in a booklet which we published and presented on video during our anniversary celebration.

It is truly reassuring that many share our belief and our optimism. Needless to say, it is our burning desire to share this with as many as possible; not just to our people but to many around the globe, especially those hardly hit by the crisis. We want to share the lessons, the hopefulness, the resilience.

Why the country has often been projected as heading toward recession, we will never understand and accept. This is why we described Project PR as a "gem uncovered."

We must, as in any treasure found, spread the word — like when "Pacman" won another title to his belt, or when another Pinoy makes it big in the global scene.

And so, as we uncover this gem called the Philippines, we are proud to share this with all. Our nation is truly a gem. Our people too.

And we are resilient, for many reasons.

Where in the world will you find a country that survived three colonial rules, a dictatorship and many, many natural calamities; notwithstanding the usual political circus that keeps us on our toes or places us on the front pages of world news? Where will you find a truly happy people who always welcome even strangers with a warm and sincere smile, always gladly lending a helping hand?

Only in the Philippines — and this is a better way to describe our nation of close to 90 million happy and resilient people. This is why we can keep afloat in this crisis, with our heads way above the water.

I must mention, of course, that this resilience is also a result of the timely, effective partnerships of the public and private sectors. This was clearly validated by representatives of both in our Project PR.

Words are not enough to express my overwhelming gratitude to all those who participated in our project: Secretary Ace Durano, Secretary Peter Favila, Secretary Gary Teves, Mr. Erramon Aboitiz, Dr. Emil Antonio, Mr. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Ms. Cora de la Paz-Bernardo, Mr. Joselito Campos, Mr. Tony Tan Caktiong, Mr. Ed Chua, Mr. Joey Concepcion, Mr. Joey Cuisia, Mr. Ramon del Rosario, Mr. Rex Drilon II, Mr. Fernando Fernandez, Mr. Lance Gokongwei, Mr. Ed Lacson, Mr. Francis Ed. Lim, Mr. Aurelio Montinola III, Mr. Chris Nelson, Mr. Manuel V. Pangilinan, Ms. Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, Mr. Pedro Roxas, Mr. Oscar Sañez, Mr. Jose Sio, Mr. Roberto Taboada, Mr. Donnie Tantoco, and Mr. Willian Hamilton-Whyte.

Lastly, the launching of our Project PR during the anniversary celebration also brought out another "truth or dare" situation. The truth is, I am retiring soon and the dare is on our incoming chairman and senior partner Judith V. Lopez. Kidding aside, Project PR is truly a great, albeit unexpected, send-off "gift" as I retire at the end of this month.

The truth: I will leave the firm much stronger than when I first took over the helm, and I leave it in the very capable hands of Ms. Lopez to steer into even greater heights.

The truth: truly there is always a rainbow not only after a storm but even during a storm.

The dare: always find that rainbow and do not just let the storm pass you by and catch you fast asleep under the covers.

Truth or dare?