Uplifting communities
At Little Baguio Elementary School in Santa Maria, Laguna, the sales and marketing group of real estate pioneer Empire East Land Holdings Inc. had not only given backpacks and other supplies to the children, but had also spent a week building a library on campus. The employees installed bookshelves, repainted walls, and set up computers. “When the students finally saw the finished library, they said, ‘Wow! So this is what a library is. We have read about libraries in books, but we have never seen a real one before.’
“When I heard them say that, I was deeply moved,” said Anthony Charlemagne “Charlie” Yu, Empire East president and chief executive officer. As early as opening day, this particular project had already made an impact.
“We are defined not just by our work, but also by who we are as people,” added Yu, who also teaches law at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
As with his students, Charlie holds his team in Empire East to high standards—and helps them exceed these.
Empire East decided to celebrate their 25th anniversary this year by giving back to communities—public school students, orphans, at-risk children, the elderly, indigenous groups, the environment.
In July 2019, the employees set a goal of 25 projects. To date, they have done 33.
Turning the corner
During the Asian financial crisis from 1997 to 2002, real estate sales in the region were flagging—but not for lack of demand.
“There was a strong need for housing, and we had lots of supply,” Yu said. “But many people didn’t have the confidence or the disposable income to make a substantial down payment for a unit, which was the norm back then.”
Empire East surveyed the target market—middle-class customers who work hard and know the value of every peso—and came up with a financing scheme with no down payment and extended terms.This is “democratized home ownership,” said founder and chair Andrew Tan, whose Alliance Global Group includes real estate, food, beverage and gaming businesses.
Empire East’s loft-type cluster apartments, linked to major transport networks, are so popular that in their initial foray, all units immediately sold out.
“These innovations, which were [considered] radical experiments then, proved to be so successful that the industry followed them to this day,” Tan said in his Christmas address to employees.
“In the most difficult of times, Empire East showed the industry a different way of doing things. In more ways than one, Empire East helped turn the corner for our Philippine real estate industry in those most critical moments of the Asian financial crisis,” he added.
The heart of good business
Uplifting communities lies at the heart, not the periphery, of good business.
“I came from a very poor family,” Tan said. “My family could not afford the usual comforts of life. Instead of taking the jeep, I would walk to school instead. My family used to live in one of the rooms in one condo unit, with the bathroom shared by several units on one floor.
“To sustain my education, I needed to make sure that I was an honor student every semester. With my certificate that I am a dean’s lister, I would go to the family association to claim my tuition for the next semester.
“Without this help extended to me, I might have been deprived of an education. And without an education, there might not have been an Alliance Global or Megaworld or Empire East.”
While at the University of the East, where he would graduate magna cum laude, the budding entrepreneur sold watches from a stall at Araneta Center to augment living expenses.
In 2005, the taipan steered his flagship corporation, Megaworld, into a joint venture with the Araneta Group to put up 18 condominiums around the Center to revitalize the entertainment hub, which remains a premier destination today.
Through Empire East, Tan has made corporate social responsibility truly meaningful, through the active involvement and personal contribution of his officers and employees in uplifting communities. INQ
Queena N. Lee-Chua is on the Board of Directors of Ateneo’s Family Business Center. Get her book “All in the Family Business” at www.lazada.com.ph or call National’s Jennie Garcia at 0915-421-2276. Contact the author at [email protected].
