A legacy of efficiency

“As long as his father lives, a son should study his wishes; after he is dead, he should study his life. If for three years he does not forsake his father’s ways, he may be called dutiful.”

If I recited the quote above to a room full of people (perhaps even a few scholars) and made them guess who originally said it, most would probably presume that it came from a noted philosopher. Due to its subject matter and tone, perhaps a couple would even narrow it down to one of the great Chinese philosophers: Confucious, Dong Zhongshu, Mencius, or Laozi.

In truth, these words of wisdom were conveyed by Robert Coyiuto Sr. – one of the most fascinating and remarkable businessmen the Philippines has ever seen. Indeed, well before the term “taipan” became a euphemism to describe successful entrepreneurs and industrialists of Chinese descent, Coyiuto Sr. was the best embodiment of the word.

Sadly, for a man who was ahead of his time, he was taken before his time. Nevertheless, by the time he passed away at the relatively young age of 58 in 1982, he already had a lifetime of achievements under his belt. Specifically, he was – and is still very much considered to be – a trailblazer and titan of the Philippine insurance industry. Apart from becoming the first Filipino member of the prestigious Lloyds of London, he also founded and organized Prudential Guarantee a year before his death.

This brings me to the original quote I cited above. Based on how Prudential Guarantee developed, matured, and grew since the time of its founder’s demise, did the company stay true to the “wishes, life, and ways” of Robert Coyiuto Sr.? Specifically, did his son, Robert Coyiuto Jr. – who took over the helm of Prudential Guarantee at just 29 years old, after the tragic loss of his father – uphold his heritage?

Based on its performance record – and more importantly, the testimonies of many of my friends and relatives who are their clients – the answer is a resounding yes.

One aspect about Prudential Guarantee stands out in particular. A few weeks ago, the Insurance Commission (IC) named the company as the top non-life insurer of 2018 in terms of net premiums written. Based on unaudited quarterly statistics, Prudential Guarantee recorded a premium income of P5.18 billion, a 7.9-percent increase from its P4.8 billion the year before.

Of the many ways to measure an insurance company’s capabilities and proficiency, net premiums written is where “the rubber meets the road,” so to speak. Going by its textbook definition, net premiums are “the gross premiums written, less reinsurance cessation”.In other words, it amounts to the sum of premiums that the company writes in a specific period, minus any premiums they pay for reinsurance, and plus any premiums they receive for reinsuring another company.

As far as veteran insurance executives, investors and analysts are concerned, however, there is a more practical way of understanding net premiums written: it is a measure of how much premiums an insurance company gets for assuming risk.Accordingly, they relate this most closely to actual value.

If an insurance company has a high net premiums written figure, therefore, it is a testament to how well they mitigate risk, use their resources intelligently, and how capable they are to support their growth from capital generation. Simply put, it demonstrates efficient they are.

Given this, it is perhaps no coincidence at all that Prudential Guarantee leads the industry in this metric. By all accounts (coming from those who had a chance to work with him), the defining characteristics of Robert Coyiuto Sr. as a businessman were focus and efficiency – doing things that are already being done in a better way. It is also no surprise that Robert Coyiuto Jr. who has since flourished into a tycoon himself is also unanimously described as such. Indeed, not only did the fruit stay close to the tree, it also grew into a  tree itself.

Without a doubt, being the Philippines’ top non-life insurer is how Prudential Guarantee has manifested and continued the legacy of its founder.

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Of  the numerous tributes to fathers sent me, this tribute of Cecile Alvarez was the most touching. Here it is, titled, “An Open Letter to My Dad: from a war baby posthumously born.”

“This is to thank you dad for being my special angel even if we never saw each other on earth. Mom told me how she pleaded with you not to join the Guerilla Movement but you kissed away her tears arguing “when the country is in distress which was under Japanese occupation, it is his sacred duty to respond.” Mom said you were teary eyed yourself as you caressed me still in her womb, whispering pangako anak, mapapanganak kang masaya at malaya.” You promised you will come back in the appointed time in November. But tragically, you never returned. You died while on a mission to assist radio communications with the MacArthur camp in Australia to connect more effectively with the underground in our country. You were distinguished – I am told, as a brilliant engineer, a champion swimmer, a film producer who took charge of Metropolitan Theater before the war and co-creator of Radiowealth. This I am told by colleagues who hug me when they find out that I am the daughter of Mauricio Guidote.

“Whenever I asked and pined for a father, my mom, your ever loving Caridad Reyes comforted me with this soothing words – ‘’Don’t cry, your father died so that you would be born free.” This was embedded in my consciousness: the value of patriotism to fight without counting the cost, liberate us from any form of oppression. Absent your physical presence, your guidance was felt. You interceded for a trilogy of three foster fathers who cared for me as a daughter – Fr. James B. Reuter who directed me toward a career path in the arts world. Ka Doroy Valencia who was fully supportive of a national theatre movement and hosted and protected PETA at Fort Santiago with cultural programs at Rizal Park and  Paco Park. Tito Anding Roces, a cultural animateur who promoted our vision of Philippine leadership in UNESCO and the international theatre arena with the help of my godparents in exile – Ellen Stewart of LaMaMa ETC the off-Broadway pioneer and David Poindexter, chairman of the United Nations CONGO Conference of NGOs. I feel orphaned again because they have all passed away; imagine you must be having interesting story-telling sessions.

“But  I believe, the  greatest blessing you engineered in Heaven was to guarantee  my métier of service  should be along the path you have paved, by insuring that I become  the wife of a freedom fighter like You in a Matrimonia Conscientia secret ceremony.

“Heherson Alvarez has truly been my soulmate-guru, caring devoted father to our children, Hexilon and Herxilia amidst the difficult struggle of eluding arrest and a shoot-to-kill order from the martial law regime, and leading an opposition overseas that searched for the hidden billions of the conjugal dictatorship and exposed to US Congressional investigation the violations of human rights to help restore democracy while having our own EDSA parallel rally in Washington, DC. Returning to our beloved homeland, I know you interceded for courage of commitment to fight poverty and pollution, injustice and tyranny, crime and corruption.

“Now, we have an added crusade, voter’s education and electoral reform, after experiencing such massive overwhelming vote-buying that can wither the legacy of democracy. Please continue with your effective intercession, not just for our good health, but to persevere up to our last breath to pursue our advocacies to build a better, peaceful, sustainable, free country.

“Please know, dearest daddy, you are my hero though medal-less and not a cross at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, to acknowledge your gallantry. I just look up and send you messages. I am so proud of you. I hope I made you and mom proud of me, with undying love, deep appreciation and highest esteem to the God sent ‘Wind Beneath my Wings’.” – CECILE GUIDOTE-ALVAREZ, UNESCO Artist for Peace Director, Earthsavers UNESCO DREAM Center, PETA Founder, Magsaysay Outstanding Asian Laureate 1972 President, Philippine Center of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) Social Change Network.