Tomorrow, we will be celebrating my father’s 79th birthday. JoeCon, as he is known by many, finally retired as the Forbes Barangay Captain after 16 years. I jokingly told him he was getting too close to Marcos’ term of 20 years. Don Jaime Zobel hosted a dinner for him and paid tribute to his dedication for serving in whatever role given to him.

My father will forever be known as Mr. NAMFREL, with the slogan: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” In my tribute interview for him, I mentioned that he is the reason why I started my Go Negosyo advocacy. Rather than complain, do something to help shape a better future for our country.

I will always remember my growing up years with my parents, especially during Christmas, as a kid looking forward to Santa. Those times, we lived a simple life in our old home in Pasay City. We had simple desires and expectations. My dad loved to surprise us with toys. Baguio was the place where we would spend our Christmas and New Year. Our old home in Legarda still stands, but not liveable anymore. (more…)

Just two sleeps more ‘til Christmas… Our youngest, Isabella, eagerly counts her “sleeps”. It has been a busy Christmas season. There have been parties, family gathering and weddings.

Two social entrepreneurs, Mark Ruiz and Reese Fernandez, tied the knot yesterday. Mark is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Microventures/Hapinoy, with Bam Aquino. Reese, on the other hand, is the President of Rags2Riches and was named one of the five Rolex Young Laureates. Both of them are Go Negosyo Inspiring Young Filipino Entrepreneurs. Also, the son of Franco Delgado (a good friend who passed away two years ago) and Ros Ros got married over the weekend in Cebu. Juan Mig got married to Ana, the daughter of Bobby Aboitiz. We awarded Bobby in Cebu a couple of years back. I guess this will be the best Christmas memory for both couples. (more…)

Just eight more days to go before Christmas… My youngest daughter would always remind me “Papa, eight sleeps more.” At three years old, she is the most excited to open her gifts. And, during the birthday party of Tessa Prieto-Valdez’s daughter Athena, she was surprised to see Santa. My daughter said, “Santa is so fat!”.

For children, Christmas is such a special thing. We are reminded of how blessed we are that our children are able to have their parents with them. There are many OFW parents out there who are not able to come home. Many are not as fortunate to have gifts to open during Christmas. With countless of parties to attend prior to the Christmas day, sometimes we forget the real meaning of this celebration. (more…)

My column last week topped all the “Ask Go Negosyo” columns in terms of the number of responses that I received from people. Entitled “The Love of a Daughter”, the column shared a letter addressed to me written by my daughter Monica. It was her way of convincing me to take the offer for ambassadorship. It feels so good when your own children acknowledge the work you do and reconfirm their love for you.

We Filipinos are very family oriented. The Concepcion clan, I would say, is quite close and clannish. In parties, we would cluster together, which has its pros and cons.

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