Lim, Prieto-Romualdez to receive Aurelio Periquet Jr business leadership awards

The Aurelio Periquet Jr. Foundation announced recently its 2002 awardees for the prestigious Aurelio Periquet Jr. Business Leadership Awards (APJ-BLA).

Henry Lim Bon Liong, chairman and CEO of Sterling Paper Group of Companies, is this year’s Pillar Awardee. Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, president of Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., is the Pearl Awardee.

Now on its fifth year, the APJ-BLA searches annually for outstanding men and women from the business sector who have not only distinguished themselves through outstanding business achievements, but more importantly, through their sense of public service and contributions to civic society and national development.

Lim, who took over the family’s business, Sterling paper, following the passing of his father, started from selling Chinese books and newspapers, to photo albums and notebooks, Sterling Paper added greeting cards, office supplies, toys and paper cups, to their growing list of products. Eventually, Sterling expanded to real estate and opened a chain of stores.

A private sector leader, Lim ventured into agriculture with the establishment of Hybrid Rice Seed Enterprises. Under his leadership, he successfully maneuvered the research and development, production and marketing of the hybrid rice seed program in the country. Its base headquarters is 40-hectare rice land in Barangay Oogong in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, with seed growing activities in various parts of Davao. The farm located in Davao is used for the hybrid rice research, development and production of the "Gloria Hybrid Rice Seed", the flagship program for agriculture of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. This program also contributes to the President’s One Million Jobs Program.

Today, Lim sits as chairman and CEO of Sterling Paper Group of Companies (SPGC), a diversified conglomerate engaged in manufacturing of paper products, importation and distribution of school supplies, furniture, retailing, real estate development and agriculture.

Prieto-Romualdez holds a Master’s Degree in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management. She graduated with honors from the College of Notre Dame in California where she obtained the degree of AB Sociology.

She joined the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 1993 as an executive assistant to the president and after three years, became executive vice president. In 1998, she assumed the position of president of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Prieto-Romualdez also holds directorships in Golden Pizza, Inc., Golden Donuts, Inc., Metrobakers, Corinthian Commercial Corp., Lexmedia Realty, Alliance Media Printing, among others.

In 2001, she was appointed Commissioner for Media and Arts of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. She was also appointed co-chair of Tabang Mindanao, a humanitarian project instituted by multi-sectoral groups to address the needs not only of the indigenous peoples but also of the victims of the conflict of Mindanao.

Concurrently, she is the president of Hands On Manila Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization that recruits and educates a network of volunteers for diverse community projects within the Greater Manila area.

Prieto-Romualdez was selected as Ten Most Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee for Public Service in Print Media and Advocacy in 2001. In 1999, she was one of the awardees for Best Woman in Business given by the Filipino-Chinese Federation of Business and Professional Women of the Philippines.

The APJ-BLA awardees 2002 were chosen by 10 distinguished judges, namely: Zorayda Amelia Alonzo, chairperson of the Small Business Guarantee & Finance Corp.; Donald Dee, president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines; Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Alberto Fenix Jr., chairman of the Aurelio Periquet Jr. Foundation; Alegria Sibal-Limjoco, president of Philippine Franchise Association; Ces Oreña-Drilon, producer of ‘Pipol’ and ‘Point Blank;’ Lisa Gokongwei, publisher of Summit Media; Napoleon Rama, publisher of Manila Bulletin Corp.; Mabel Villarica-Mamba, president of Philippine Jaycees, Inc.; and Joel Nuñez, president of Manila Jaycees Inc.

Former APJ-BLA awardees are: Feliciano Torres, 1998 Pillar Awardee; Vicente Padilla, 1998 Pearl Awardee; Antonio Ng, 1999 Pillar Awardee; Delbert Sia, 1999 Pearl Awardee; Energy Secretary Vincent Perez Jr., 2000 Pillar Awardee; Jean Henri Lhuillier, 2000 Pearl Awardee; Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr., 2001 Pillar Awardee; and Lance Gokongwei, 2001 Pearl Awardee.

This year’s APJ-BLA Pillar and Pearl Awardees will be honored at awarding ceremonies on Dec. 13, 2002 during the Philippine Business Conference. The Pillar Award is given to business leaders aged 36 and above, while the Pearl Award is for those aged 35 years and below.