Ayala entices FilAms to buy Philippine property

Diplomats proclaim praise for Ayala Corp.: ‘Innovation, integrity. No dishonest profit.’ From left: Retired Ambassador Marciano Paynor, Consul General Tess Dizon-De Vega, and Ambassador Teodoro Locsin Jr. Photos by Troi Santos

Retired Ambassador Marciano Paynor dealt with the elephant in the room.

“We are sometimes painted as yellow,” he said in opening remarks at a meet-and-greet tendered by Ayala Corporation, where he now works as a consultant for External and Government Relations.

The company should not be seen as a die hard for any president, he seemed to be saying, but one that ensures “the company’s objectives are parallel with the government’s.”

With that declaration, he addressed indirectly speculations about the Ayalas’ political fealty in the time of Rodrigo Duterte.

He was naturally short on specifics, preferring instead to highlight how this enduring family has always operated businesses that “run parallel to the government’s development goals,” and that Ayala Corp. is “known for seeing potential in all kinds of challenges.”

The influential Ayalas are long-time backers of the Aquino political family – from Cory to her son Benigno III. Family matriarch Bea Zobel is a close friend of Cory, and they marched side by side in confetti rallies against Ferdinand Marcos dressed in yellow – a color that came to be associated with the Aquinos.

Ayala Corp., is one of the oldest corporations in the Philippines at more than 180 years old. While it began as a distillery in the 1800s, it has grown over time through the judicious leadership of the Zobel de Ayala-McMicking families, establishing its leadership in real estate and property development.

Before Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Ayala developed what eventually became the Makati financial district from a depressing swampland. Today, the Ayalas have diversified interests in banking and financial services, hotels and resorts, shopping centers, telecommunications, water, and health care among others businsses.

A crowded bar watches a video presentation.

“We work with all presidents of the country,” Carmina Velayo-Villo, vice president of Globe Telecom, told The FilAm in an interview. “No matter who the president is, we support his initiatives.”

Manuel Arbues II, Ayala Land International’s regional head for North America, Middle East and Africa, echoed her remarks, stating Ayala Corp. has always been “in support of nation building.”

“The only businesses we won’t touch are casinos and memorial parks,” he said in all seriousness although his statement came out funny.

“Ayala Corp. works with government when the government is doing the right thing,” said Ambassador Teodoro Lopez Locsin, Jr. who is currently the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations.

Ayala Avenue. Photo by Bernardo Agulo

He recalled how during the time of the Marcos dictatorship, Enrique Zobel kept himself aloof from the despotic leader.

“Don Enrique was the man feared most by Marcos because he was independently wealthy, he had his own money,” Locsin said, pointing out also how he once worked as executive assistant to Zobel because his uncle Leandro ‘Lindy’ Locsin was the Ayalas’ favorite architect.

He stressed the Ayalas never cashed in or took advantage of perceived closeness with any government. “They just ran their businesses,” he said. The Ayalas, he continued, “never compromised the integrity of the company. It’s all hard work, and never a dishonest profit.”

Ayala, as a corporation, is known for “embracing the future,” said Consul General Tess Dizon-De Vega, just as it is noted for its “social responsibility, innovation, and leadership.”

During the August 15 event at a Midtown bar, Paynor led the Ayala executives in the launch of OneAyala, an incentive being offered to Filipino Americans looking to buy property in the Philippines.

Here’s their pitch: FilAms who buy condos from Ayala Land can benefit from “synergies” by getting mortgage financing from Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and use Globe Telecom as their service provider. All three belong to the Ayala Group of Companies.

“The objective is interconnectedness,” Manuel Tagaza, senior vice president at BPI, told The FilAm. “We see synergies in what we do.”

Arbues said many FilAms have bought properties from Ayala because it is a “trusted” name. Financial professionals, doctors and nurses have homes in the Philippines in preparation for retirement or as a place to vacation during the harsh winters, he said.

© 2017 The FilAm

Ayala executives, from left: Manuel Tagaza of BPI, Manuel Arbues II of Ayala Land, and Carmina Velayo-Villo of Globe Telecom (her back against the camera).