Nagpaabot ng kanilang pakikiramay ang Malacañang sa pamilya ng negosyane na si John Gokongwei Jr., na pumanaw kagabi sa edad na 93.
Sa isang statement, iginiit ni Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo na isa si Gokongwei sa mga leading Taipans at haligi ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas.
“Our people recognize [his] amazing journey as a self-made industrialist, respected business leader, and generous philanthropist. A grateful nation respects the man for the indelible legacy he made in the fields of business, entrepreneurship and philanthropy,” ani Panelo.
Kinilala rin nito ang matinding kayod at sakripisyo na kinailangan pagdaanan ni Gokongwei bago marating ang rurok ng tagumpay makaraang pumanaw ang ama nito.
“While being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the demise of his father when he was 15 removed the family from luxury and wealth. He had to work to provide for his family. He sold soaps, candles, and threads to earn money. From thence begun his journey of hard work, discipline, creativity, perseverance, accumulating vast business knowledge and acquiring entrepreneurial acumen in the process, until he built a giant of a business empire,” dagdag pa ni Panelo.
Inilahad din ni Panelo kung paano nakatulong sa ekonomiya ng bansa.
“A cornstarch plant he built in 1957 became the seed that grew into various business enterprises that made one of the leading pillars of the business industry.”
Ayon kay Panelo, sa pagpanaw ni Gokongwei ang iniwan naman nito ang legasiyang karapatdapat na tularan ng hindi lamang ng kasalukuyang henerasyon kundi ng mga susunod pa.
“His favorite advice: ‘Never stop learning.’ He always said: ‘I really loved my work. I loved being an entrepreneur.”
“Mr. Gokongwei was an exceptional and ideal Filipino. He exemplifies the traits that should endow us: industrious, disciplined, indefatigable, creative, generous, always hungry for knowledge, grateful and never forgetting his origins, and most of all, a loving person to his family and his country,” dagdag pa nito.
