September 10, 2025 l Business Mirror
Since 1985, the Metrobank Foundation Inc. (MBFI) has bestowed career service awards upon exemplary public servants in the academe and in the uniformed services. The search for MBFI’s Outstanding Filipinos is now in its 40th year, celebrating individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty in contributing meaningfully to Philippine society.
Each of the 10 awardees per year receives “The Flame” trophy, a million-peso cash prize, and a medallion of excellence for making exceptional contributions to nation-building and community empowerment. This flagship project of MBFI honors the teachers, soldiers, and police officers whose lives embody social responsibility, integrity, and courage – inspiring future generations to excel in their respective fields.
The Outstanding Filipinos program is a testament to MBFI’s advocacy of recognizing excellence in public service. It aims to instill a culture of professionalism and dedication among government employees who serve with passion and purpose. As the corporate social responsibility arm of Metrobank, MBFI has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in this annual program.
For the 2025 cycle, the board of assessors composed of distinguished experts and institutional partners evaluated a total of 256 nominees – thus ensuring a fair, credible selection process. From this nomination pool emerged 10 winners, namely: Noel Sadinas, Amando Perfecto Molin, Mylene Uy, Angelo Marck Walag, Anro Anthony Turallo, Ricky Canatoy, Joey Fontiveros, Frederick Obar, Elmira Relox, and Ivan Velasco.
These men and women were honored as the 2025 Outstanding Filipinos during a conferment ceremony last September 5 at the Grand Hyatt ballroom in Bonifacio Global City. Conferring the awards were DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara, CHED Chairperson Dr. Shirley Agrupis, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., and PNP Officer-in-Charge Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. as well as Metrobank Chairman Arthur Ty, Metrobank President Fabian Dee, and MBFI President Philip Dy.
This event coincided with Metrobank’s 63rd anniversary celebration, which included the GT Foundation Inc.’s annual George S.K. Ty Grants Turnover commemorating the legacy of the late Metrobank founder, Dr. George Ty. Such noble initiatives involving public-private partnerships (PPP) are worthy of emulation by other industries and organizations that empower the citizens to become role models and catalysts for change.
Another noteworthy PPP is the recent investment of the Social Security System (SSS) in the Philippine Stock Exchange-listed Century Properties Group (CPG). Last July, the SSS acquired a 6.4 percent strategic stake in CPG via a P500 million block sale. The acquisition highlights the role of the SSS in investing its reserve fund for long-term viability and income, with CPG providing a significant investment opportunity at a 4.9-percent discount and an expected dividend yield of 7.8 percent.
As an anchor investor, the SSS can profit significantly from CPG’s affordable housing and premium residential segments – primarily through the PHirst Park Homes brand, which has become a major driver for CPG as shown by this segment’s 60 percent contribution to the company’s total revenues in the first quarter of 2025.
PHirst Park Homes recently expanded into new markets such as Bacolod City in the Visayas and General Santos City in Mindanao. It also has ongoing residential projects in Luzon, particularly in the provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, and Cavite aside from its existing developments in Pampanga, Laguna, and Bataan.
The SSS stands to benefit from the housing sector by tapping into a reliable and high-growth revenue stream, making this investment highly attractive for the state-run social insurance agency which needs stable, long-term returns for its millions of members. This strategy provides consistent dividends and the potential for capital appreciation.
Starting this month, the SSS will roll out the first tranche of its pension reform program for retired and disabled members. The next two tranches will take effect in September 2026 and September 27, and each of the three staggered hikes shall reflect a 10 percent annual increase. This would effectively increase the monthly benefits by 33 percent at the end of the three-year program.
For the first time in its 68-year history, the SSS is implementing a multi-year, multi-tranche pension adjustment–developed through a combination of strong financial performance and careful actuarial planning. This allowed the government financial institution (GFI) to approve the program without the need for a concurrent increase in member contributions–proving that a GFI mainly serving corporate and non-government employees can be a successful model of collaboration between the public and private sectors for a social good.
***The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX. For comments, email nextgenmedia@gmail.com. Photo is from Pinterest.