My life in public service

(First of two parts)

I am deeply humbled and greatly honored by this recognition for my work, both in the public and private sectors, by the most prestigious business and management organization in the country. Thank you very much, MAP.

Allow me to briefly share my life in public service, both in the public and private sectors, and its contribution to nation building as I thank individuals and institutions that played essential roles for my being here today as the 48th “MAP Management Person of the Year,” which happens to be my birth year 1948. These individuals and institutions have shaped my values and principles on good governance, providing guidance and support along the way.

Allow me first to dedicate this award to my father, Engineer Atanacio Singson, and my mother, Dra. Andrea Lazo Singson, for teaching me the values of simplicity, integrity and honesty, daily prayers and hard work. My father was a Department of Public Works and Highways district engineer in Ilocos Sur who stood by his values and had to refuse a request of an influential member of the Commission on Appointments of Congress who also happened to be his cousin. And because of this conflict, he decided to resign and work with National Power Corp. (NPC) as a lead structural engineer for NPC’s huge infrastructure projects, like the Ambuklao and Binga dams. My father worked hard, stood by his principles and showed us how to live a simple life.

I would like to thank the Responsible Parenthood Council, headed by the late Horacio Boy Morales, and the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), headed by Dr. Onofre Corpuz and executive director Boy Morales, for introducing me to grassroots community development work, which I found more fulfilling as a fresh graduate from UP College of Engineering in 1971, instead of joining the corporate world. Upon the recommendation of my then immediate boss, lawyer Milton Mendoza, I was appointed as the first resident manager of DAP Tagaytay Training Center when it was officially inaugurated by then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1974. There I learned to deal with high-ranking government officials attending the 13-week live-in Career Executive Development Program and other live-in management programs and made sure that participants were kept happy, busy and comfortable with our spartan accommodations.

At DAP Tagaytay, I met Jose “Ping” de Jesus, a person who would have a profound influence in all of my work in the public sector. As DAP senior vice president Ping de Jesus, known as JPJ, was running the organization and management development program while I was running the training center facilities.

Goal was to retire at an early age of 40

My goal in life then was to retire at an early age of 40, so I left DAP and decided to become an overseas Filipino worker in the Middle East as part of the CDCP/Ultra Overseas Team so that I could earn in US dollars. Indeed, I was able to retire before 40 with my dollar savings. I did retire at 38, constructed our retirement home in Baguio. But that was not going to go my way. The Lord had different plans.

Here again for some “divine” intervention, Secretary Ping de Jesus asked me to rejoin government while enjoying my short-lived early retirement in Baguio. I did eventually join sometime in late 1986, De Jesus and another mentor Undersecretary Chito Sobrepeña at the Office of the Cabinet Secretary of former President Corazon Aquino. My assignment included supporting the Office of Special Concerns, with Cabinet Secretary de Jesus and Sobrepeña, in preparing for the official trips of President Cory, to ensure that government services reached the furtherest and poorest municipalities of the country. President Cory, on record, traveled to 54 provinces from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi. This assignment meant traveling as advance party to the provinces under very stressful and challenging circumstances, including sleeping on school tables or hospitals since we were deep into places without accommodations—I am referring to places then, like Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, General Santos City and Batanes. Some of them were being visited by a sitting Philippine president for the first time.

I was also assigned as executive director of the Coordinating Council of the Philippine Assistance Program, a joint program with the US government, which was tasked to implement the creation of special economic and development zones and key infra projects—Calabarzon, Pavia/Iloilo, Gensan Sea Port, among others, and the promotion of build-operate-transfer/public-private partnership projects (PPP).

Allow me to thank the late President Cory for my appointment to Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) as the vice chair and its first executive vice president in 1992 when Republic Act No. 7227 was passed, creating the BCDA Act. We made significant progress in generating employment and economic growth thru conversion projects of former US military base lands. Among the major projects, which stand out today include Heritage Memorial Park as our first BCDA fund-raising project, privatization of Camp John Hay and Poro Point, the privatization and redevelopment of Clark Air Base into what is now known as Clark Special Economic Zone and the Clark International Airport.

With the leadership of SBMA chair Dick Gordon and as a board member of SBMA, we were able to privatize several assets turned over by the US military in Subic. But to me, our biggest contribution to our economic development was the privatization and development of Fort Bonifacio and the Villamor Air Base. I personally got involved in negotiating and clearing informal settlers in what was known as Imelda Park—which was around the American battle monument, where most of the past army generals and chiefs of staff lived—and the nearby Palar Villages. In all these resettlement activities, we made sure that the relocation was done with fairness, compassion and providing a reasonable and acceptable relocation for all affected families, be it a general or just a master sergeant living in the Palar areas along C-5. This led to the development of Kalayaan Military Village, Villamor Housing, Centennial Village and Diego Silang Housing, among others.

‘Real Estate Deal of the Century’

The privatization of 214 hectares of Fort Bonifacio, known as the “real estate deal of the century,” with the winning group led by Metro Pacific Consortium, raised for government P30.4 billion. I believe the government received the biggest check payment of P19.6 billion as downpayment for that successful bidding of Bonifacio Global City (BGC). Thank you to the professional management team of BCDA and the BCDA board who embraced good governance in all of our privatization undertakings.

From BCDA, in 1996, I joined the BCDA joint venture company with Metro Pacific Consortium, the Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation (FBDC) as senior vice president in charge of infrastructure development of BGC, together with Charlie Rufino. At FBDC, I got directly involved with the help of our US-based urban planners and consultants, in the implementation of the upscale urban development of BGC—using for the first time in the country—floor area ratios, geographic information system for all underground utilities and deed of restrictions handbook for all the lot buyers and owners. These have created long-term value to BGC properties up to today.

In July 1998, President “Erap” Estrada appointed me back as chair and president of BCDA to pursue more privatization and PPP projects using former military baselands and assets. I was told that President Erap wanted me back at BCDA because of the transparent and successful biddings of Fort Bonifacio military lands. From there, we continued to do more conversion projects to complete the master plans of all the baselands transferred to BCDA.

Another individual that I would like to thank is a former colleague at the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, Chito Sobrepeña, who invited me to join the community where I still belong, Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon (LNP), a family-based covenant community. After attending regularly the breakfast meetings of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen & Professionals, “sabi siguro ni Chito, may pag-asa pa ito si Mr. Singson (Chito must have said, there’s hope for Mr. Singson).” After going through formation programs as a member of LNP, I eventually became a district coordinator of LNP. INQ

To be continued on Dec. 9

This article was lifted from the acceptance speech of the author when he received the “MAP Management Person of the Year 2024” award from the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). He is president and CEO of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. Feedback at [email protected] and [email protected].