Joey Concepcion

At around this time every year, as the back-to-school season begins in the Philippines, market vendors would normally brace for the familiar surge of parents with their school-age children in tow, looking for notebooks and pens, school uniforms and shoes, getting ready for the opening of classes.

Japan and ASEAN have close economic connections, but what I experienced during my recent engagements in Japan as chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council brought home some realizations on how our close neighbor has impacted the Philippines, in almost all aspects of life.

Every July, we mark National MSME Month in the Philippines – and rightly so. MSMEs are the engine of our economy.

In my line of work – whether it’s in RFM, Go Negosyo, the MSMED Council, PSAC or ASEAN – I have observed that when things get tough, successful MSMEs innovate around constraints and continue to dream big for their businesses.

I learned early that the success of a business is rarely the work of one person alone.

Like many Filipinos last Monday, I watched with interest President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address. It was delivered with great passion, and I admire his candor in addressing the issues that are now foremost on the people’s minds.

Being included on any list ranking the wealthiest in the country is a moment that inevitably invites celebration.

In our many policy discussions in ASEAN, there are repeated calls to help the region’s MSMEs scale – especially now that we are on the cusp of realizing an integrated, digital economy.

If there is anything we’ve learned in recent years, it is how fragile an interconnected global economy can be. Sadly, this is not an abstract concept.

My father, Jose “Joecon” Concepcion Jr., used to say that ideas only become durable when they are pursued with persistence. He spent decades of his life proving it. NAMFREL remains a byword when it comes to poll vigilance, and one can hardly talk about nationalism and industry without mentioning his rallying cry of “Yes, the Filipino can.”