The current happenings involving the century-old Philippine Women’s University represent a departure from the manner in which control of the other old Manila universities have changed hands. Acrimony did not mark the transfer of control and management of University of the East, National University, Centro Escolar University, Mapua Institute of Technology and Manuel Luis Quezon University.
This is too bad, for two reasons. The first is that PWU is an education icon in this country. It was established to—as its name suggests—provide Filipinas with an education of high quality. Philippine womanhood was the target chosen by Conrado Benitez and Francisca Tirona-Benitez for the university they founded. Conrado Benitez came to the education scene with excellent credentials: studied in the US as a scholar and later became the first dean of the College of Business Administration of the then-new University of the Philippines.
The second reason why the current happenings at PWU are regrettable is that the progeny of Conrado and Francisca Benitez are good people. Bad things should not be allowed to happen to good people.
The head of the Benitez family is no one other than the iconic Helena Benitez, who turned centenarian last year. Helena Benitez is one of the finest people who ever walked the face of this planet. Except for one term in the pre-martial law Senate, where she made her mark as head of the Committee on Housing and Urban Development, Helena Benitez was always president of PWU after her father Conrado retired.
I am told that except for trouble with her eyesight, Helena Benitez is still in good health and remains mentally alert. I don’t know if she has been informed of what has been happening. It would be very sad if the Benitezes were to lose control of the family heirloom—and her personal treasure—in the sunset of Helena Benitez’s life.
I had a bad feeling when I learned several years ago that PWU was experiencing financial problems. The Benitez grandchildren—the current generation—are excellent academics but financial expertise is not their forte. For the university’s financial situation to have become that bad, financial deterioration must have been in progress for some time.
I had an even worse feeling when I learned that the new creditor —if I’m not mistaken, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. was in the picture at one point—was the STI Group headed by Eusebio Tanco. My bad feeling came from my uncertainty as to the STI Group’s intentions with regard to PWU’s real assets. Apart from the entire-block Taft Avenue property, there is also the big Edsa property upon which the Jose Abad Santos Memorial School has stood for decades. Already there is much talk that the STI Group has plans for constructing high-rise condominiums on the JASMS property.
In my view, the Benitez family has been handling PWU’s financial problem badly. From Day One, it should have called in a top-flight financial consultant or consultancy firm to put together a long-term financial plan that would have started with a restructuring of the university’s debt. Stated otherwise, the family should have called in a financial fireman to help. As far as I know, no such step was taken. But it still may not be too late, given the breathing spell that the STI Group has given to PWU.
One element—an important element—of a rescue plan is PWU alumni (more precisely, alumnae) support. I am certain that PWU’s alumnae must be saddened and dismayed by the STI Group’s actions. Why not address an appeal to the alumnae, foremost among whom is former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos? Given its admittedly modest (P20 million) equity in PWU, fund-raising to bolster the Benitez family’s stake is clearly necessary.
The thought of fund-raising brings to mind the fund-raising that was undertaken decades ago on behalf of the Community Chest of Manila by their organization’s incoming chairman, Gregorio Licaros. Being governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines, the CCM directors who voted for Licaros obviously that, with his office’s influence, Licaros would be able to do something bug for the CCM finances.
They were right. A certified public accountant by training, Licaros quickly decided that CCM should stop the practice of appealing to the public for funds every year and instead undertake a single big fund-raising campaign to cover the organization’s needs for the succeeding 10 years. Such an approach would make possible rational operational planning for CCM.
The target that the CB government set for the fund-raising campaign was considered very ambitious by many observers, but, with careful preparation and creative marketing, the target was not only reached. It was exceeded. Thereafter, Licaros did not have to engage in annual fund-raising and be distracted from his monetary policymaking duties.
STI Group’s management should realize that while it may have the law on its side, its very public tussle with the Benitez family is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of people within and outside the PWU community and that every acrimonious PWU-related item that appears in the media does not enhance its public image. The groups of Alfonso Yuchengco (Mapua), Henry Sy (NU), Emilio Yap (CEU) and Lucio Tan (UE) did not sustain any public-relations damage in the process of entering the education scene.
If I were Eusebio Tanco, I would tell his people to find a formula that is win-win for his group and the Benitez family. I have no doubt that there is one somewhere.
E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com