The ups and downs of Jesus N. Alcordo

WHEN I was posted at the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta after the 1986 Edsa revolution, the Filipino managing director of PT Aribhawana Utuma, an oleo-chemical facility owned by the Salim family, invited me for dinner at his home in Kuningan, one of the more comfortable suburbs of the growing metropolis. Jesus Alcordo was one of several outstanding Filipino professionals holding key positions in the Indonesian business community.

When I reached his place, I realized that we were the only guests for the evening. I was under the impression that my wife and I would be meeting other Filipino expats working in Indonesia. It was just Jess, Yolly and their children. The evening was capped by a musical presentation by the Alcordo kids, one playing the piano, another the cello and Jess rendering a vocal solo. It turned out to be a most enjoyable and relaxing event after rounds of diplomatic functions and activities marking our arrival in Indonesia.

Last week Penny and I were in Cebu City to attend the Conferment Rites on Jesus Alcordo by the University of San Carlos (USC). Jess was awarded the degree of Doctor of Technology in Energy Management, Honoris Causa, by the university, bringing to an end the year-long commemoration of the 75th year of missionary work by the Society of the Divine Word at USC. We in Metro Manila tend to believe that we have the best of everything including the best schools and the best universities in the country. It is time we got rid of this silly delusion. The University of San Carlos is up there with the very best. And Jesus Alcordo is proof of the pudding. (The university is named after the Italian cardinal St. Charles Borromeo, one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation during the 16th century. A patron of learning and the arts, he used his great powers to rebuild the church in light of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and nobles of the times.)

Alcordo’s citation brings up John Keats’ concept of negative capability that is “to cultivate the capacity to wait, to remain attentive in the face of incomprehension. To wait in this kind of way, requires a kind of inner security, the confidence that one may lose clarity and control without losing one’s self. This inner security, this confidence characterizes the management approach Alcordo has cultivated over a long and productive career. ”

Jesus Alcordo graduated from the University of San Carlos in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. After a short stint at Proctor and Gamble, the only graduate of a Visayan university to be recruited by the company, he moved to Alcantara and Sons as vice president for administration. This was followed by a 20-year engagement with Union Carbide, culminating in his appointment as president and general manager for Central America operations based in Costa Rica. Along with Senen Bacani who headed Standard Fruit, they were the only Filipino executives in the country. (Bacani would later serve as agriculture secretary during the Cory administration.)

In 1986, Alcordo was invited by the Salim Group in Indonesia to start an oleo-chemical facility using oil extracted from the palm kernel. Along the way, he was involved in a leadership capacity with a number of business activities including Reynolds Aluminum Corporation, Piltel, East Asia Power Resources Corporation, WG&A Shipping Lines and a host of power corporations in the Visayas.

At the national level Alcordo joined government as president of the National Power Corporation and member of the Energy Regulatory Commission. He is currently president and CEO of Filinvest Development Corporation Utilities Inc.

It wasn’t always moonlight and roses for Jess. After graduation from high school, he faced the problem of how to get a college education. He was the seventh of eleven children and the family had limited resources. The military profession held no special attraction for Jess but the Philippine Military Academy offered free education, three meals a day plus a small allowance and a guaranteed job after graduation. He would eventually end up with the class of 1959 but after almost three years at the academy, an event took place that would completely alter the direction of his life.

One afternoon, a fourth-class cadet (plebe) was subjected to vicious hazing by upperclassmen and landed in the hospital with serious injuries. During the investigation, the plebe refused to reveal the names of his tormentors and so the academy decided to penalize all occupants of the room where the hazing took place. Jess was one of seventeen cadets dismissed for hazing although he had never laid hands on the plebe.

Alcordo was devastated by the turn of events. He was a year away from graduation and for months refused to return to Cebu, unable to face the pain and humiliation of having to explain things to his parents, his friends and relatives. An older brother fetched him from Manila and gradually Jess recovered from the experience. With a lovely and understanding lady Yolanda Villon of Quezon at his side, he finished at USC and started his climb in the corporate world.

In 1969, the couple decided to start a business of their own. It was a case of wrong timing. The devaluation of the peso hit them hard and they lost everything, plus racking up substantial bank debts. In the midst of their difficulties, Yolly suffered a miscarriage. But they survived. They picked up the pieces and rebuilt their lives. Today Jess is one of the most successful and respected figures in the business community, his name synonymous with progressive energy development in the country. I would like to believe that his three years at the PMA contributed in no small measure to the excellent leadership qualities he exhibited in his rise to the top.

In his response at the conferral rites, Jess did not dwell on the world of energy as one would expect from an energy expert.

Instead he talked about a favorite topic, “Love of Country,” and focused attention on Ensign Philip Andrew Pestaño, a young PMA graduate who lost his life because he chose to remain loyal in the service of his country. He spoke of how his parents sacrificed and prepared him for good citizenship—an expression of love of country, and how his wife, herself a corporate star in the making had she chosen to pursue a career, decided to concentrate on raising a family and supporting his endeavors. He mentioned the likes of Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, all different men but sharing a great passion and love for the motherland.

For Jess, love of country has never been some esoteric concept. It has always represented a way of life that requires doing your best at all times, and then giving back and sharing with others the blessings of the Almighty.