TWO former Philippine chiefs-of-state were at hand for the recent launch of the 2018 Philippines Yearbook, in which they are championed as “Faces of Leadership.”
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Fidel V. Ramos headlined the star-studded turnout at the C Lounge in Conrad Manila that celebrated this year’s edition
of the Yearbook with the theme “The Change Generation.” Also featured on the 2018 issue are Benigno S. Aquino III and Joseph E. Estrada, who with Arroyo and Ramos, share 24 years of presidential experience between them.
Every year, the Yearbook covers the country’s latest trends and developments. It is now on its 82nd year, having been founded by Dr. Jimmy Go Puan Seng in 1936 as an offshoot of The Fookien Times daily, the country’s largest circulated Chinese language newspaper.
The Yearbook has survived the Second World War, was allowed to continue through the martial-law years and onward past the Edsa Revolution. Arroyo believes that in spite of the challenges facing the print industry today—particularly the Internet—the Yearbook will continue to survive because it has “good writing, good style and good substance.”
Dr. Jimmy Go’s youngest daughter Grace Glory Go, The Fookien Times Yearbook chairman and CEO, and grandson Vernon Go, president, are now in charge of the family legacy. Grace Glory said that the Yearbook has been blessed throughout its run, and that it will continue on strongly. Both Grace Glory and her son Vernon were in attendance at the event, which the elder Go tagged as a very casual gathering. “It’s for friends to make friends,” she said.
Also present at the launch were several public officials and executives across different industries. Among them were Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, SM Prime Holdings Inc. Executive Committee Chairman Hans Sy and Ralph’s Wines and Spirits and Philippine Wine Merchants President Ralph Joseph, whose company sponsored a selection of fine wine and alcoholic beverages for the evening, to go with a six-star buffet laid out by host Conrad Manila.