Bookkeeper of Asian dreams: SyCip - University of Santo Tomas Alumni

SGV founder Washington Z. SyCip

IT WAS a case of “if you can’t join them, beat them.”

In 1946 when Filipinos were not allowed to partner with British accounting firms, Thomasian bookkeeper Washington “Wash” SyCip dared to go against these Goliaths and show them the consequences of their discrimination.

He sought to beat them in their own game, in their home court.

SyCip established his own auditing firm that would eventually become the country’s largest professional services powerhouse, the SyCip, Gorres and Velayo (SGV) Group (formerly W. SyCip & Co.).

“Those (British) firms were all Caucasians, and they had a fairly general policy that partners were Caucasians. From my viewpoint I was as good as anyone and should not be subjected to discrimination in my own country,” SyCip said in his biography titled Wash: Only a Bookkeeper (SGV Foundation and AIM Scientific Research Foundation Inc., 2009) written by Jose “Butch” Dalisay Jr.

SyCip worked hard in this practice, finding his business partners along the way–long-time friend Alfredo Velayo and Ramon Gorres, among others. Together, they would lead SGV at the forefront of “Filipinizing” the accounting profession and permanently etch its name in the Asian business landscape.

Investing on people

But like every success story, it was not always easy pickings for SyCip.

The budding Filipino-Chinese businessman almost did everything single-handedly for the firm, while juggling it with a teaching career in UST and two other schools.

His hard work paid off as W. SyCip & Co. began to prosper with Velayo and Gorres joining in and the firm expanding nationwide. SGV would later take over other top British firms and find out that staff competency, more than anything else, would make the difference.

“I felt that the better our human resources, the greater our chances of succeeding against competition. So the amount of training has always been the hallmark of our firm,” SyCip said.

SyCip sent his Filipino employees to Arthur Andersen LLP, a Chicago-based audit firm that offered full-time training for its staff. He started sending one after the other, and every year, “as a staff member goes a step higher, he or she goes through another round of training to prepare him or her for the next level and so on.”

Apart from competency, SyCip banked on the firm’s integrity to preserve its long-established reputation. But the auditing magnate believed that he could do more than just “Filipinize” the profession. Thus, SyCip further emphasized these practices later on when SGV began expanding around Asia.

He had always believed in Asia “as a dynamic growth center that deserved more attention and respect from the rest of the world—and more understanding within its borders.” A handsome opportunity came during one of his trips abroad in 1962 when he passed through Taipei, Taiwan and learned that it was in need of “accountants whose signature would be recognized internationally.”

The situation greatly favored SGV, but instead of doing the conventional, SyCip decided to have Taiwanese leaders head the firm instead of Filipinos to avoid discrimination unlike what happened before with British firms.

“If someone had the same education, the same competence, why should he be discriminated against in his own country?” SyCip said. “So by the same token, I didn’t want a Filipino to head the operation abroad and do what the British were doing. The important thing was to pick the proper local person who had the ambition to grow his practice.”

The gamble turned out to be fruitful and was followed by partnerships with neighboring countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam among others. When SGV reached its 50th anniversary in 1996, its clients were spread in more than 350 locations in 74 countries.

“I believe that regardless of race, proper training enables any intelligent person to do what anyone else does. And probably my greatest satisfaction is that I helped develop, in each country, the local people, so they could take leadership of the profession in their country,” SyCip said. “That is probably the legacy of SGV—that it has helped develop local talent in the region.”

This “Asian” dream somehow materialized when SGV, with the help of other universities, established the Makati-based Asian Institute of Management, where SyCip served as its first president.

Choosing UST

SyCip’s concern for his staff’s training could have been rooted in his educational background. His father, Don Albino SyCip, was the “Dean of Philippine Banking” and a prominent lawyer, while his mother, Helen Bau, went to college in the US.

The elder SyCip had wanted for his sons to go to P. Burgos Elementary and V. Mapa High, both public schools, in order for them to “lead modest, unpretentious lives.” Back then, the quality of education in public schools rivaled that of private schools.

SyCip was primed to attend another university until he heard of Stanley Prescott, an American professor who had been assigned to the Philippines by a big American accounting firm and later on served as dean of UST.

He wanted to learn from Dean Prescott and took accountancy in the University. Alfredo “Fred” Velayo, who had been SyCip’s schoolmate since grade one, would later go to UST with him.

A Presbyterian, SyCip managed to get by in a Catholic university and graduated summa cum laude at age 17. He was also offered a teaching stint during the summer, but his being the only non-Catholic faculty member caught the attention of former rector Fr. Silvestre Sancho, O.P.

A Sancho emissary tried but failed to convince the young teacher to be converted. They remained friends soon after.

At 19, SyCip finished his master’s degree in UST and became a certified public accountant. He later on went to the US for further studies.

But just as SyCip was about to finish his doctorate degree in Columbia University in New York, World War II erupted. He became part of the military intelligence, and as a prerequisite, acquired himself a full-fledged American citizenship –his golden ticket en route to fulfilling his “Asian” dream.

Up to now, SyCip remains an American citizen even if the local government had offered him Filipino citizenship. He continues to travel, and in his journeys he bridges the Philippines –and Asia –with the West in terms of exchanging ideas from an Eastern perspective. Through this, he believes he has become a “citizen of the world.”

“I believe that we Asians should help each other and I thought that if we had done well here, then we could do the same thing for others around the region,” SyCip said.

At 88, SyCip is already in his twilight and has passed on the mantle of preserving the auditing profession to the younger generation. He had already resigned from SGV as its executive but he remains one of the pillars of the accounting profession in the country.

SyCip firmly believes that education should be a top priority in order for a country to develop. “I see the standards of education here are going down. In the end, [whether] a nation goes ahead or not is [dependent] on what you do in education.

It’s so clear that education is a long-term process,” he said. “They’re always thinking of a short-term political convenience. Compared to our neighbors, we’re not moving as fast because our per-capita spending on education has gone down,” SyCip said.

But SyCip can only do so much for his part, having built a foundation that emphasizes the importance of education and giving back to his alma maters together with his boyhood friend, Velayo.

In his retirement, SyCip devotes his time to family and friends and sits in with other board executives on various causes and concerns.

But he is yet to write the final chapter of his life story, one built on clear vision and character. Sarah Jane P. Pauyo

University of Santo Tomas Accounting students to get software training

By John Constantine G. Cordon

ACCOUNTING students will soon get training on a widely used business software, boosting their chances of being employed in big companies and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms.

German business software giant SAP has agreed to give the license for free, while a consulting firm will provide training and modules. Germany’s Deutsche Bank, which has BPO operations in the Philippines, will give financial assistance.

A memorandum of agreement was signed last June 25 by UST Rector Rev. Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P. with Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing (SAP) Philippines Inc., Kaisa Consulting Company, Inc., a business and information technology services firm, and Deutsche Knowledge Services, the financial controlling services provider of the Deutsche Bank.

The agreement establishes the SAP Learning Link Program in the University to teach students accounting-related activities using SAP software.

With the SAP license, faculty members and students can use the software for accounting lessons. Kaisa will house the SAP software’s servers and conduct training courses. SAP, with the help of Kaisa, will offer Financial Accounting and Controlling (FI-CO) modules to senior Accounting students.

“Our students will only get the FI-CO modules because the full-blown module is costly,” Accounting Dean Jose Ireneo said. “However, SAP, together with Kaisa, is giving these modules to the college for free.”

Deutsche will provide financial support to the University and the project. It will also establish a faculty development assistance program to meet the educational and research needs of the UST Alfredo M. Velayo-College of Accountancy.

In turn, the University will put up a steering committee to regularly monitor the project’s progress.

Thomasian Accounting students can later work at Deutsche, which is in need of graduates familiar with SAP, the college‘s Information Technology supervisor Shirley Teng said.

University of Santo Tomas joined the Alliance against child pornography

THE YOUTH must face the problem of child pornography in the Philippines.

This is the call of Batingaw, a nationwide campaign against child pornography launched by the Anti-Child Pornography Alliance (ACPA) and Iskolar, an institute for youth development.

“We are the main victims of this evil in society,” said Lean Peace Flores, chair of the ACPA-Committee on Children and Youth Concerns. “Child pornography leaves far-reaching effects that may last a lifetime because these are lasting testaments of a child’s exploitation. It excuses no one: children who have access to cell phones with cameras are vulnerable to it; thus the proliferation of sex videos of minors taken through cell phones, finding its way ultimately to the Internet.

“As the (number) of the victimized children of pornography in the country mount, we (the youth) will not be heedless and neglectful. We will act and pave the way for a suitable response to resolve the crisis to ensure a better future ahead of us,” said Flores during the Batingaw’s caucus last Sept. 7 at the De La Salle College of St. Benilde.

‘A neglected, vague issue’

Child pornography in the Philippines is a vague and neglected issue, according to Prof. Arnie Trinidad of the Psychosocial Support and Children’s Rights Resource Center of the Philippine Social Science Center.

“A 2005 study of the United Nations Children’s Fund found out that child pornography has vague meanings to a lot of people,” Trinidad said. “Many people merely think of child pornography as reproductive health discussions on science textbooks used in high school.”

This is compounded by the problem that Philippine laws hold no formal definition of child pornography, though legislation against pornography in general exists, according to Prof. Aloysius Marana of the ACPA National Secretariat.

“Because we do not have a law specifically dealing with child pornography, we cannot prosecute people engaged in the trade,” Marana said. “Other laws may deal with pornography generally, but once our police encounter a suspect engaged in producing child pornography material, they do not know upon which law or on what grounds they should arrest the offender.”

Marana said that legislators of the 14th Congress have promised to file bills defining child pornography.

Marana told the delegates that in order to combat the problem, three fronts should be addressed.

“First, we must establish a protective environment, which includes lobbying for legislation against child pornography,” he said. “Next, we should participate actively in the drive against child pornography. Lastly, we should take part in rehabilitation of the victims, which requires empathy and compassion.”

Media and child pornography

In the parallel talks during the afternoon, Alecks Pabico, multimedia desk head of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, stressed that generally the media are not interested in child abuse stories.

“There is a lack of interest in the media for children’s issues,” Pabico told campus journalists who attended the parallel session. “There is hardly any report on the effects of new media.”

Pabico added that one of the journalists’ crucial roles should be to report on children’s rights and abuses.

“Lack of reporting on child pornography contributes to the proliferation of crimes against children,” Pabico said. “Therefore, reporting on child pornography will help deter commission of these crimes.”

Reporting child pornography, according to Pabico, should shed light and understanding, going beyond problem identification and showing how the problem arose. Pabico said that this kind of reporting goes beyond the usual method which treats the children as victims in a sensational manner.

Side-by-side with the youth

The Church and University of Santo Tomas have also come forward to support the youth in their fight against child pornography.

Melo Acuña, managing editor of the CBCP Monitor, said that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will be working side-by-side with the youth to look for ways of reporting pornography.

“The CBCP Ad Hoc Committee on Pornography is pioneering a plan enabling local parishes, schools, and other religious groups to report on cases of child pornography in their area,” Acuña said. “We are testing the scheme now in the Diocese of Bacolod.”

He commended the efforts of Batingaw in addressing the issue. A walk against child pornography will be held on Sept. 28.

“This symposium on child pornography is important,” Acuña said. “Poverty may be a reason for pornography, but it is not an exuse.”

Speaking before the parallel sessions began, Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez lauded the youth for supporting the anti-child pornography advocacy.
“You chose to confront the problem,” Iñiguez said. “I pray that you may find the solution to this evil plague that is ravaging society. God is very happy with all your intentions.”

Nathaniel R. Melican

University of Santo Tomas Social Science: Double-degree course now offered

By Maria Pacita C. Joson and Ma. Cristina S. Lavapie

THE FACULTY of Arts and Letters (AB) and the College of Education will offer this school year a double-degree course in Social Science, according to AB Dean Armando de Jesus.

AB-BSE Social Science will include professional subjects for education while covering all areas of the social sciences such as political science, sociology, history, and economics. The course will last eight semesters and two summer courses covering 18 units.

According to De Jesus, the course will respond to the needs of teachers who seek specialization in the social sciences. “With globalization, the trend is towards multi-disciplinarity. Merong value added sa isang graduate na puwedeng magpalipat-lipat sa ibang field,” he said.

Students may enroll either in AB or Education. However, they will hop from one college to the other to take their subjects.

The neophyte program has shown encouraging signs of acceptance as of 48 freshmen students have already enrolled.

The introduction is just the start the start of a wide-ranging curricular innovations that AB is pioneering.

De Jesus said he envisions more changes in AB’s curriculum in the coming years. He explained the Legal Management course may soon be transferred to the College of Commerce and he also envisioned the Economics program of Commerce to be solely Artlets’, which also offers an Economics program.

“Yung Economics (ng Faculty of Arts and Letters is focused on) macro at ‘yung Business Economics sa (Commerce) is micro. Would it not be better to have both?” he said.

Next year, De Jesus said he hopes to add AB-BSE Literature and AB-BSE History in the college‘s roster of majors.

In the UST Graduate School, a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing will be offered to students interested in sharpening their craft in drama, fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

In an interview with the Varsitarian, Center for Creative Writing and Studies director Dr. Ophelia Dimalanta said that the degree’s addition in the list of courses was the consensus of the associates of the Center and Graduate School.
This semester, however, only fiction, drama, and poetry will be offered.
Among the faculty are distinguished writers like poet Cirilo Bautista, playwright Jose Victor Torres, and National Artist Francisco Sionil Jose.

“There’s going to be a linkage between the Graduate School and the Center and we can supply the faculty members because we have connections with the literary world,” she said.

Those with a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature, English, Communication Arts, Journalism or any related field may apply.

Interested students must submit a Writing Project Proposal and samples of previous writings.

Supplementary subjects, such as Principle of Literary Criticism, Contemporary Literary Theory and Literary Research will also be offered.