No Smoke and Mirrors: PMFTC president Chris Nelson and the company's commitment to the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - Running a business that faces a lot of challenges might lead some corporations to crumble, but for PMFTC Inc. (PMFTC) president Chris Nelson, this only makes his resolve to do his best stronger. PMFTC is the corporation formed on February 25, 2010, when select assets of Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. (PMPMI) and Fortune Tobacco Corp. (FTC) were combined in said new company. Being the largest tobacco company in the country, it has experienced a lot of challenges that have made it into the company that it is today.

“I consider the combination of our domestic operations with FTC as one of Phillip Morris’ highlights as a company,” Nelson shares.

Through the asset combination, a lot of opportunities opened up for both companies that resulted in the continued growth of the business. But how do you define growth?

“Growth is a continual upsurge. I looked at it not only in terms of sales volume, but it is important to me to see how it impacts employees too. I see it in the number of employees and their satisfaction in the company. One indication of growth is when employees stay,” says Nelson.

Once every two years, Philip Morris International conducts a survey of their employees worldwide to determine their job satisfaction. They recently did one last year and, according to Nelson, the results for the Philippines were very encouraging.

“The survey showed that 94 percent of our employees are proud to be working for Philip Morris,” shares Nelson.

PMFTC president Chris Nelson with PMFTC employees help paint a 103-year-old school building at the Francisco Benitez Memorial School in Pagsanjan, Laguna.

Nelson equates this to the company’s efforts to keep everybody informed and aware of the management’s decisions.

“You cannot involve people in all your decisions. But keeping them informed at the right time is very critical. We inform and make our employees aware of certain issues and what we are doing about it. It gives them confidence that management has a clear direction. Employee engagement makes them want to work harder,” says Nelson.

He cites the recent combination with FTC as an example of the company’s efforts to keep everyone informed about significant decisions made by the management.

“We managed to combine very successfully and fairly seamlessly. I think that is a reflection of the fact that we have been working to keep everybody informed because obviously these people have concerns and doubts like ‘Would I have a job?’ or ‘Do I still have a job?’ or ‘How will the company be run?’ The seamless migration into just one company of over 3,000 people is a reflection of the company’s efforts to be transparent to employees of developments and our employee relations,” shares Nelson.

Adds Nelson: “In fact, I am proud to say that the company was able to finalize a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its union (the PMFTC Labor Union or PMFTCLU) in just six meetings which is a record for our factory in Marikina. This is even more noteworthy considering that this is a CBA agreed upon by two parties negotiating for the first time.” 

Through the years, Philip Morris has surpassed quite a number of challenges; one of which was the passage of the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, which prohibits the advertising of cigarette brands in media. It was a challenge the company faced head on without flinching.

The challenge was to keep selling the product and to keep the growth of the company consistent. While a lot of people severely criticize the tobacco industry, one should also understand the gains it contributed to the country. First, tobacco companies like PMFTC pay excise taxes to the government, which help the economy stay afloat. It is, in fact, one of the biggest taxpayers in the country. Second, tobacco or cigarettes are not illegal products; they are products that can be legally cultivated, manufactured and sold albeit in a regulated way, but nevertheless, it is still a product which a company can make a profit on and which provide people with jobs.

PMFTC president Chris Nelson and volunteer employees help pack relief goods for the victims of tropical storm Sendong.

“We supported the passage of the Tobacco Regulation Law. As a company, we believe in regulations. We recognize the health concerns associated with smoking and to address this, we have been working with all stakeholders (both the government and the industry) for the passage of reasonable regulations,” explains Nelson who added that, “at the same time, in instances where regulations are being implemented contrary to the law, we are prepared to question the implementation in court.”

The tobacco industry is a major facet of agriculture. And PMFTC continues to support this major sector through the Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards, an annual competition that aims to recognize the best agriculture stories.

 “Bright Leaf recognizes the importance of agriculture,” he said. “We believe that there are more stories to tell, more technical and scientific discoveries to share, and more photos to remember about Philippine agriculture.”

It is just fitting to honor the people behind the by-lines and taglines as the industry grows. Nelson adds: “We have a lot of faith in the Philippine tobacco industry and it is not blind faith. We also closely work with farmers as growing tobacco is not an easy thing to do. The Bright Leaf Awards is more of an add-on to the agriculture industry. The award is not mainly about tobacco. It focuses on agriculture. The Philippines is an agriculture country. We should take pride in that,” Nelson explains.

According to Nelson, the Bright Leaf awards has a totally independent jury. It is composed of seasoned journalists, members of the academe, and agriculture experts. The members of this panel meticulously review each work, and discuss which among the articles would win the awards.

“The last time, the judges did not want to give awards in some categories because they felt that no one lived up to the criteria,” Nelson shares.

The Bright Leaf Awards is now becoming the premier competition for aspiring journalists who have a story to tell and a message to share.

“There are not a lot of people who shine the light on the current situation of the agricultural field. Which is why we bestow the Bright Leaf award to those who do,” Nelson says.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan (third from left), together with PMFTC Inc. president Chris Nelson (right) pose with the winners of the 5th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards (starting from fourth, from left) Rita dela Cruz of The Philippine STAR (Best National Agricultural News Story), Adora Rodriguez of The Philippine STAR (Best Regional Agricultural Feature Story), and Marilou Guieb of Business Mirror (Best National Agricultural Feature Story). Also in photo are (left) National Tobacco Administration deputy administrator Vicente Lasam, and PMFTC operations director Willem de Bruijn.

The Philippine Art Awards (PAA), on the other hand, is a different story. The PAA is a visual arts competition whose main objective is to discover and to nurture new artists in the country.

“It is in the Philippine Art Awards that I witness the amazing creativity of Filipinos. It is unlike anything I have seen in my life,” says Nelson, who hails from Great Britain.

“The Philippines has a lot of talents. The Philippine Art Awards provides them with a platform to present it,” Nelson explains.

Unknown to the public, Philip Morris is very hands-on when it comes to its corporate social responsibility programs. Three of the company’s targeted areas are: education, livelihood programs, and disaster relief.

The company works hand in hand with the Department of Education for the “Adopt-a-School” program, which seeks to improve the quality of education. Nelson personally turns over the company’s contributions not just for photo opportunities but to personally see the sites themselves and assess the learning conditions of the company’s adopted schools.

“I personally go to these schools and you see how crowded and cramped the classrooms are – making learning difficult,” shares Nelson.

Aside from the Department of Education, PMFTC also partners with the Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. for a satellite-based educational television program. This is a teaching solution for remote communities that are often neglected by the national government.

“Education would always remain a key issue for the country, which is why our support for it will always remain,” Nelson assures.

Another targeted area of the company’s comprehensive CSR is in the livelihood programs of the communities they adopt. The company has set up livelihood programs to help the community thrive and for its people to be self-sufficient and sustainable. Although the company would very much like to extend its help to a wider range of people, limitations are a sad part of reality.

“I think PMFTC, like any big corporation in the Philippines, cannot be everywhere. We have to be selective in the places we support,” Nelson admits.

For the company, the success of a community is also their success; seeing a community thrive means that their programs are effective and relevant.

Disaster relief is also an area in which Philip Morris is very much focused on.

“Nobody wants to prepare for disaster relief, in any way. Unfortunately it is a sad reality. Which is why we respond to it quickly,” shares Nelson.

Philip Morris has been there for the country when storms Ondoy, Pedring, Falcon, and Juaning wrecked havoc on our shores. Recently, the company donated eight million pesos to the victims of tropical storm Sendong in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro City; this coming from a company that is always hit by certain sectors of the society and the media.

“Our disaster relief operations are always going to be there. As much as you do not want them to be,” Nelson assures.

Whether in the field of agriculture, economy, the arts, education and even disaster relief, Philip Morris is very much a supporter of the country. Through their many CSR programs, they give back to communities where they work and live. Nelson looks on into the future as more of a challenge rather than a burden.

“You always have to set challenges for growth. We need to keep working to surpass our previous outputs,” he explains.

In five years, Nelson envisions the company as a place where everyone wants to work in and would one day join the ranks of big companies that Filipinos and even foreigners recognize as a company that is committed to excellence, passion and driven towards growth and is a premier place where one’s talent is appreciated and equally compensated. The company will continue to strive to be the best in its endeavours.

“I want PMFTC to be the number one place to work for. I would like it to be recognized not just for its growth but by its programs and goodwill as well,” Nelson says.