De La Salle names Graduate School of Business after PHINMA founder

The De La Salle University has renamed its Graduate School of Business after PHINMA founder, Ambassador Ramon V. Del Rosario, Sr.

The joint resolution by the Board of Trustees of the De La Salle Professional Schools, Inc. and the National Mission Council of De La Salle Philippines renaming the Graduate School as "the De La Salle- Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. Graduate School of Business" was formally presented to the PHINMA founder during PHINMA's 50th anniversary gala dinner on November 15, 2006.

The resolution reads, “Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. is the quintessential Lasallian, a shining example of a business leader, entrepreneur, professional manager, public servant and family man who has achieved success without sacrifice of honor, principles and integrity and who has lived his life fully according to the basic Lasallian tenets of Religio, Mores, Cultura.”

Bro. Armin Luistro F.S.C., President of De La Salle, reads the citation during the ceremonies. On the stage with him are Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr.; Dr. Magdaleno B. Albarracin; Mr. Oscar J. Hilado; and Bro. Edmundo Adolfo Fernandez, F.S.C. (left to right)

Specifically, De La Salle cited Del Rosario’s role in building a progressive Philippines, “principally through the PHINMA Group and its catalytic role in Philippine industry, particularly in cement, petroleum refining and marketing, pulp and paper, and glass bottles, and its current investments in education, housing, energy, financial services, roofing, and hotels designed to help make life better for the Filipino.”

The Group recently made a radical shift from heavy investments in industrial and manufacturing industries to basic services, namely, education, housing, power, financial services, and tourism as it reformulates its new mission to “help make life better for the Filipino by giving him improved access to the essentials of a dignified life."

De la Salle also noted Del Rosario’s fourteen years as a public servant in his capacity as Philippine Ambassador to Canada, Germany and Japan, his having introduced to the Philippines and Asia the Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School, and his role in the establishment of institutions dedicated to management excellence such as the Asian Institute of Management and the Management Association of the Philippines.

The university  also  lauded  Del Rosario’s  advocacy  for  corporate citizenship and, thus, his role in  the establishment of Junior Chamber International (Jaycees) in the Philippines and Asia, the PHINMA Foundation and the Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Responsibility at the Asian Institute of Management.

Bro. Edmundo Adolfo Fernandez, F.S.C.(left) hands over the plaque commemorating the event, to Former Ambassador Ramon V. del Rosario (3rd from left). Bro. Armin Luistro, F.S.C. (in between them) witnesseses the gesture.

Attended by an illustrious roster of executives and guests, PHINMA’s 50th anniversary gala night themed "Empowering the Future by Honoring the Past" brought everyone along in a trip down memory lane. The event started with a presentation of PHINMA’s colorful history through a song number and flashing of a collage of photos capturing important faces and milestones comprising PHINMA’s five decades of reign in the country’s business landscape.