By Cherie del Rio

They were the most popular matinee idols of their time. Richard Gomez was the ultimate depiction of the much-desired breed of the “tall, dark, and handsome”. Aga Muhlach was the mestizo actor known for being extremely good-looking whichever way you look at him—thus earning the title of “Ang lalaking walang anggulo.”

Richard Gomez, or Goma to friends and colleagues in the business, has made a name for himself as an actor, athlete, TV show host, model, and director. He had chart-topping movies and TV shows. Goma has also won Best Actor merits from prestigious award-giving bodies such as Gawad Urian, FAMAS, Metro Manila Film Festival, and Star Awards. Goma has also been branded as a ladies’ man, having had romantic relationships with equally popular showbiz stars like Sharon Cuneta and Dawn Zulueta. The Dawn and Richard tandem is perhaps one of the most iconic love teams in Philippine cinema, with their critically acclaimed movie, Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit, as one of the most memorable romantic dramas in Pinoy movie history. But Dawn and Richard’s off-screen love affair was not meant for eternity. The couple eventually split up and Goma later married Lucy Torres, his leading lady in one of their more popular TV commercials.

Goma has had his share of downtime in showbiz, having transferred from one network to another and ultimately coming back to ABS-CBN where he landed the lead role in the remake of Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit — the primetime hit teleserye Walang Hanggan (where he rekindles onscreen romance with Dawn). This new soap could well be Goma’s biggest break after a period of drought in his career. And it seems that the veteran actor subscribes to the saying that one must strike while the iron is hot. He now has plans to run for Mayor of Ormoc City in Leyte in the 2013 elections.

Aga Muhlach shares the same circumstance. He has expressed his intent to run for congressman of Camarines Sur. Last August 3 Aga was sworn in by Mar Roxas as a new member of the Liberal Party. Incidentally, Goma and Lucy, who is an incumbent congresswoman of Leyte, are also LP members.

A couple of years ago, in the height of the fame of shows like Oki Doki Doc and movies like Kailangan Kita, one could not have foreseen the decline in Aga’s career — considering that the actor was able to maintain his baby face good looks and impeccable acting skills. But perhaps with factors such as age, marriage, and the tough competition with and among newer and younger actors, even the biggest names in Philippine cinema are susceptible to having their once stellar careers morph into lackluster visibility in showbiz.

Compared to Goma, Aga’s career has taken a steady spiral down to unpopularity. He has no new projects or upcoming movies. He left his home network ABS-CBN and transferred to TV 5 in 2011. The multi-awarded actor now hosts a TV 5 show called Pinoy Explorer. He is married to former beauty queen Charlene Gonzalez.

Both Goma and Aga are seeking a new career in politics — a considerably seamless transition since the realms of politics and show business are so closely intertwined in the Philippines. Showbiz celebrities, whether they are seasoned actors or starlets, have gone in and out of politics. And even politicians themselves sometimes cross over to the world of movies and TV.

Aga is up against formidable odds in his first try in politics. He will be facing the candidate of the Fuentebella dynasty of Camarines Sur. Aga does not consider this an obstacle, confidently offering his services to the people of Camarines Sur, believing that the “people will decide.”

Goma, on the other hand, has his eyes on the mayoral seat in his wife’s hometown of Ormoc. Wife Lucy meanwhile is seeking reelection as Ormoc City’s representative. It was actually Goma who sought the congressional seat in 2010 but he was disqualified for lack of residency, forcing Lucy to take his place at the last minute.

The actor is confident of winning the mayoral seat, pointing to his wife’s performance in Congress. “Sabi ko sa kanila, huwag na silang manggulo kasi ang ganda ng ginagawang trabaho ni Lucy,” Goma said. “There’s so much improvement, there’s so much progress sa Ormoc… Continuously, nanggugulo sila. I’ll be forced to run head to head against them. Ayaw nilang tumigil so maglaban tayo head to head. Lalabanan ko sila,” referring to his political foes.

Intrigues will continue to besiege the political path that Goma and Aga have chosen to traverse. Their political opponents will undoubtedly find one controversy after another to hurl against the former matinee idols. Their motive for running will always be questioned. And they will, as previous actors who have shifted their careers to politics have been grilled, be accused of using their showbiz fame and popularity to garner votes and will therefore win not based on actual political merit or skill but on face value and artista factors.

The trend of showbiz personalities shifting to politics is not new in the country. Countless actors have tried their hand in public service and governance. Vilma Santos is currently the governor of Batangas, Tito Sotto has been a senator for several terms, and Joseph Estrada was once the president of the country. It seems that there is a certain age in showbiz, a period close to retirement, when actors deem it most practical to dabble into politics, to present themselves to their fans and ask for their support as they run for public office. This recurrence is widely accepted in the industry that older actors gradually put a foot out of the silver screen and into government office.

The question now is, will Goma and Aga’s once-sparkling careers be bright enough to snag them the electoral win they’re vying for? Winning Best Actor trophies seemed an easy enough feat for these talented actors. Will a mayoral and congressional seat for Goma and Aga, respectively, be just as easy to achieve?

By Cherie M. del Rio

“I am insulted by the way your minds run.”

Addressed to her colleagues, this statement was one of the most memorable quotes Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago delivered during the highly publicized impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona. Her speech immediately became a cause for controversy, with her powerful lines eliciting both praise and scorn. Santiago has been known to bring to public attention issues that most politicians deliberately conceal or are afraid to acknowledge. But while the substance of her speech and the wisdom of her statements are often admirable, many people find her antics and method of delivery – in her trademark Ilonggo-accented shrieking voice — discourteous, insulting and arrogant. In the halls of Congress, her actuation is referred to as “unparliamentary.”

Santiago’s witticism, or antics if you will, never fails to land on primetime television news. She is a favorite of young professionals and college students who abhor the typical long-winded boring and uninspired remarks of politicians. Like a whiff of fresh air, she brings vigor and color – and controversy — to the drab proceedings in the Senate. But there is always the question of whether or not she goes too far and whether her “eccentricity” crosses the lines of “propriety” and “civility”.

In one of the hearings on the Corona case, Santiago vented her ire on the prosecution panel for boasting that it had already won the case. “Kung ano-ano ang pinagsasabi nyo sa media na panalo na kami . . . you are engaging in a public discourse on the merit of the case . . . ang yayabang ng nagsasalita ng ganyan, gago naman . . . Ang kagaguhan is a ground for contempt of court. . . Sasabihin nyo na panalo na kami sa tatlong articles of impeachment. Kami ang nagde-desisyon nyan, hindi kayo. Ang yayabang nyo!”

Reacting to Santiago’s rant, Fr. Catalino Arevalo remarked that Santiago was “worthy of the fires of hell”. The respected Jesuit priest said the senator should issue a public apology for always berating the congressmen-prosecutors during the Corona impeachment trial. “If you call anybody ‘you fool,’ you are worthy of the fires of hell,” he said. “And she called them gago, which is Filipino for fool, before millions of people.” Santiago’s retort: “Under Vatican 2, there is no hell; but even if there is, there is nobody there.”

Others joined in. An editorial chided Santiago: “She is loud, arrogant, and intolerant of anyone but herself.” A lawyer observed, “I was just wondering why the Senate, composed mostly of lawyers, has not admonished or even disciplined Santiago for her uncalled-for behavior of bamboozling key witnesses and other parties during the impeachment trial and even in committee hearings.”

Among the more recent onslaught against Santiago was initiated by the group US Pinoys For Good Governance, which launched an online petition asking the International Criminal Court, where Santiago was elected as one of the judges, to reject the senator.

The petition read in part: “We are bringing this matter to your attention for fear that you may construe her uncivilized behavior and her loose ethics as epitomizing the Filipino people. While, ironically, it should be a source of pride for Filipinos to have one of our own elected to your honorable court, we are embarrassed by the ill-considered nomination of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Far from representing the best of us, she typifies the worst. We fear that her presence in the International Criminal Court will make us the laughing stock of the world.”

In the face of it all, it cannot be denied that while people are both thoroughly amused and incensed by the senator’s theatrics, there are those who have come to admire the honesty and candor of her words. Although her way of conveying her views may appear infuriating to some, Santiago indubitably sheds light on realities in a manner so effective that her detractors probably wish they had the same flair and competence.

Her page in official website of the Senate of the Philippines declares, “No other politician in the country, despite wealth or popularity, has received the universal admiration she evokes as a brilliant, principled politician with a wicked sense of humor. She remains feisty and controversial, as she weaves her unique brand of what media calls ‘Miriam Magic,’ the noble appeal to idealism in the hurly-burly world of politics in a developing country.”

Santiago’s brand of humor was on the news again recently when her “pickup” lines strewn all across the Internet, spreading quickly among social media platforms. Addressing an audience at the University of the Philippines, she dished out her own pickup lines:

Kung magkakaroon ako ng sariling planeta, gusto ko ikaw ang axis nito, para sayo lang iikot ang mundo ko.

Sana naka-off ang ilaw, para tayo na lang mag-on.

Parang see-saw, pag wala ka, down ako.

She followed it up with her taray lines. “So… kailangan minsan sa pulitika, para lang mabuhay sa pulitika, to survive, if not to prevail, kailangan mataray ka. Iba naman klaseng taray ito. Eto nga yun sinasabi ko:

Di ko sinasabing maganda ako. Sinasabi ko lang, pangit ka.

Pag nakikita kita, parang gusto kong magsorry sa mga mata ko.”

Is Miriam a worthy idol or simply an idiot? There are no easy answers and the question will persist even when she vacates her Senate seat soon to assume her post at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The only sure thing is that without Miriam Philippine politics will never be as wacky and entertaining.

Boxer, Godfather, saint, politician … Is there anything in the world that Manny can’t do? READ FULL STORY in Newsweek magazine’s cover story of November 7, 2011, Philippine and Latin American editions.

By Jose Antonio Vargas

Over the past 14 years, I’ve graduated from high school and college and built a career as a journalist, interviewing some of the most famous people in the country. On the surface, I’ve created a good life. I’ve lived the American dream. But I am still an undocumented immigrant. READ FULL STORY

By Cecil Morella

Agence France Press

MANILA — Philippine blogger Bryan Yambao went from reading his mother’s magazines to the front rows of the world’s top catwalks at warp speed, as the Internet demolishes the exclusive barriers of high fashion.

Supermodel-thin and fond of wearing colorful hats, fur-collared cardigans and handbags, the 24-year-old is now an industry heavyweight who hangs out with the likes of supermodel Naomi Campbell and designer Marc Jacobs.

“If you ask me, all of my dreams have already come true. What else can you ask for,” Yambao said in a speech at an independent fashion bloggers’ conference in New York late last year.

Yambao’s vehicle for fashion stardom is his online journal at www.bryanboy.com, which delivers fresh, irreverent, and witty critiques of the world’s newest trends on expensive clothing and accessories.

The site attracts more than 200,000 unique visitor hits a day, while nearly 52,000 people follow his Twitter stream, giving the jet-setting former web designer from Manila awesome powers to thrash or promote a product.

The blog is also studded with money-spinning ads that would be the envy of fashion magazines that have only a small fraction of his readership.

Recent posts told of his labors to buy Prada’s red men’s wingtips (“It’s the shoe of the season, no doubt”) and how Hollywood stars Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher stole the thunder from fashion figures at a Sao Paulo show.

“I’ve heard several rumors that they were paid about half a million dollars to be here. Celebrities. They always f— up the whole experience,” Yambao ranted.

Drawing heavily on the Paris Hilton playbook, the blog is also as much a homage to the author as style, with photos of him in outrageous, gender-bending outfits.

“Shower me with attention and inflate my ego. Email photos of your love and I’ll add you to my ever-growing collection. Be creative! Be spontaneous!” he wrote.

The biggest fashion labels indeed do work super hard to inflate his ego, as evidenced by one of his latest posts for the current fashion week in Paris.

“I’m trying to enjoy the calm before my set of shows,” he wrote.

“My invites are starting to pour in. So far I’m confirmed at Isabel Marant, Mugler, Balmain, AF Vandevorst, Gareth Pugh, Rochas, Damir Doma, Chanel, etc. Can’t wait to receive more of my invitations!”

The traditional media also love him.

“Bringing androgyny and attitude to the blogosphere since 2004, Bryanboy’s reflections on fashion never fail to entertain,” Elle magazine wrote, in an excerpt posted in his blog.

“With his sharp wit and cheeky style choices, Manila-based blogger Bryanboy is on the brink of international stardom,” Teen Vogue wrote.

Yambao’s extraordinary online career began with him blogging about his foreign travels in 2004.

But he had always been drawn to fashion, even as a 10-year-old studying at a strict Manila Catholic school.

“I would steal my mum’s magazines and read them at school,” Yambao said in his New York speech last year. Yambao initially agreed to be interviewed by AFP but then did not reply to e-mailed questions.

From a puny readership of his friends and family, the blog took off in 2007 after his posts caught the eye of Jacobs, the influential American creative director of French design house Louis Vuitton.

“I discovered this sort of satirical little film that Bryanboy had done of me, and I was really amused by it. I started to look at the blog and I thought, this guy is so into fashion,” Jacobs said in a clip posted on Yambao’s site.

Jacobs named an ostrich leather tote bag, BB, on his own 2008 fall collection, in the Filipino blogger’s honor.

“Love your passion for fashion,” the designer gushes in a post on Yambao’s site. “After all, where would designers be without enthusiasm like yours?”

In 2009 Dolce and Gabbana put Yambao and other top bloggers on the front row at the Milan fashion week, beside traditional industry arbiters such as Vogue’s Anna Wintour and Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune.

Menkes, the doyenne of the fashion press, said bloggers had democratized an industry that had long been used to having everything dictated from the top down by the fashion houses.

“And then along comes Twitter and all of a sudden somebody walks out of a, say, Louis Vuitton show and says, ‘That show sucked. I hated it,’” she said in an interview posted online from last year’s Berlin’s fashion trade show.

“But that can go viral and other people can answer… and suddenly you’re faced with three million people saying negative things. It’s pretty terrifying for these brand managers.”

Yambao, who had had his Facebook account fill up with a maximum 5,000 friends a long time ago, appears to revel in the irony of a Third-World blogger dictating to the rich what to wear.

“It did happen to me, you know, somebody from the boonies, in the Philippines,” he said in his New York speech.

One of Yambao’s friends from the Philippines, fashion reporter and blogger Ingrid Go-Chua, said his spectacular career in breaking through one of the world’s most exclusive industries was an inspiration across Asia.

“A lot of Asian people look up to him. He’s like a beacon of a person. In the Third World, you never thought that dreams would come true but he made them come true. He’s put the Philippines on the map,” she told AFP.

Washington — Late Monday afternoon (Feb. 14), Manny Pacquiao and company, lots and lots of company, boarded Acela Express No. 2165 in the belly of Pennsylvania Station. Pacquiao entered his private car (cost: $10,000) flanked by two documentary film crews, promoters, publicists, advisers, his chief of staff and his wife, Jinkee. READ FULL STORY (Photo: Manny Pacquiao with US Senate Leader Harry Reid on Capitol Hill.)

He’s not an actor, director or producer, but Cebuano Kenneth Cobonpue has made it big in Hollywood. The world renowned furniture designer’s creations, known for mixing comfort, style and organic materials, have been featured in several films abroad such as Ocean’s Thirteen led by George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon; Made of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey; and Spread topbilled by Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche. READ FULL STORY

For Manuel V. Pangilinan, one of the top business executives in the country, eradicating poverty should be Job No. 1 for every Filipino. But to be successful, more people should help not just in civic projects but also in government programs that invite partnerships with private businesses. READ FULL STORY

By Cecil Morella

MANILA – Armed with a fast-growing fleet of planes and enough junk food snacks to feed entire armies, Philippine tycoon Lance Gokongwei is striding out confidently in the world’s most populous region.

Best known as the boss of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, the 43-year-old also leads a vast conglomerate that is involved in an array of ventures, with one claiming the title of the biggest consumer food business in Southeast Asia.

Thrust by his rags-to-riches father to lead the family-owned businesses in 2002, the US-educated Gokongwei said the group had worked feverishly to diversify and become a big player across a range of markets throughout Asia.

“I think any family business has to adapt because things are so much more competitive now,” the reserved, soft-spoken father-of-two told AFP in a recent interview at his office in a Manila high-rise tower owned by the family.

“Our job, really, is to push our international business.”

The airline and its trans-Southeast Asian branded food manufacturing business, Universal Robina Corp., are the two biggest moneymakers of the listed family conglomerate JG Summit Inc., capitalized at about $3 billion.

But it also has interests in real estate and hotels, retailing, telecommunications, petrochemicals and banking in the Philippines.

On the food side, the company each year sells $1.15 billion worth of wafers, potato chips, tea, cereals and chocolates in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and China.

The food business, which calls itself the Philippines’ first multinational, has struggled in China but succeeded elsewhere and has little debt, said April Tan, research chief with stock brokers Citisecurities Inc.

With nearly half of its profits coming from outside of the Philippines, the company’s efforts to broaden its base are paying handsome dividends, according to Tan.

“If you’re catering to a bigger market, the earnings potential is much higher,” Tan told AFP.

Cebu Pacific, the no-frills carrier with dancing flight attendants, has similarly started to spread its wings across Asia after success at home.

When Cebu Pacific began flying in 1996 with the motto, “It’s time everyone flies,” few Filipinos could afford to traverse the archipelago by air and hundreds were dying every year in alarmingly frequent ferry disasters.

It has since become the country’s biggest airline in terms of the number of domestic passengers — eclipsing national carrier Philippine Airlines.

“With Cebu Pacific, it’s quite clear that they’re capturing the bulk of the market and obviously, they are the fastest-growing carrier in the country,” Tan said.

The airline boasts a young fleet of 32 planes and serves 50 domestic and 23 regional routes. Profits are surging and it is set to bulk up with 24 new planes due for delivery over the next 14 months.

Gokongwei said the entry of other low-cost carriers in the Philippines since the Cebu Pacific success showed the huge potential pent-up demand in a country of 95 million people, 10 percent of whom work on short-term jobs abroad.

Gokongwei company shares surged last year ahead of the airline’s listing, turning the family into the country’s third richest and putting it on Forbes magazine’s billionaires’ list, its worth estimated at $1.5 billion.

A fitness nut who ran the New York Marathon last year, Gokongwei said that at times he and his father, John, a Chinese immigrant who remains the group’s largest shareholder, disagree on which countries or businesses to invest in.

In the end though, the old man, who made his name as a risk-taker, gets his way.

“I’m a working man. I’m working for him,” said the son, who went to business school at the University of Pennsylvania.

However the son proved his management mettle by reviving the young airline after one of its planes flew into a Philippine mountain killing all 104 people aboard in early 1998, according to Manila businessman Antonio Ramon Ongsiako.

“Lance is well regarded and has a reputation of being a better, more refined version of his father,” Ongsiako, a former director of the Financial Executives of the Philippines, told AFP.

“Lance will take JG Summit to a bigger and better future.” (Agence-France Presse)

Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC), the country’s largest fast food chain, has taken over control of Mang Inasal, a highly successful Visayas-based restaurant chain specializing in grilled chicken, in a deal worth P3 billion.

In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Oct. 18, JFC said it has submitted an unsolicited offer to acquire 70 percent of Mang Inasal Philippines Inc. (MIPI), which was unconditionally and irrevocably accepted by its parent company, Injap Investments Inc. MIPI remains a significant minority holder with 30 percent equity.

Mang Inasal, a homegrown business, started as a single proprietorship in December 2003 by its founder, Edgar “Injap” Sia II, in Iloilo City, the first barbecue fast food chain anchored by its flagship chicken inasal product.

MIPI, which has grown its branches to 306 stores nationwide, is in a positive net cash position, racking up total revenues of P2.6 billion and system-wide sales of P3.8 billion. It is targeting 500 stores nationwide before 2012.

Observers say Jollibee’s buyout of controlling interest in Mang Inasal was meant to eliminate a fast-growing competition and maintain its market dominance over the local fast food industry.

The Jollibee Group already operates the most extensive fast food network in the Philippines with a total of 1,578 stores: Jollibee (703), Chowking (404), Greenwich (218), Red Ribbon (215), Delifrance (23) and Manong Pepe’s (15).

On Oct. 12,  Sia,  chairman and CEO of Mang Inasal Philippines, Inc., was presented the Small Business Entrepreneur award for 2010 by the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Philippines) for best demonstrating management excellence in a business with assets of less than P100 million.

In the following article, Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2010 chronicles how the young probinsiyano entrepreneur defied the odds and steered Mang Inasal to its phenomenal success.

Young probinsiyano entrepreneur shows the way

The Philippines is the 12th most populous country in the world with over 90 million mouths to feed. Without a doubt, getting into the food business remains a very viable opportunity for entrepreneurs. But with so many players, how does one stand out to be noticed? More importantly, how can another food business make it big time?

Edgar “Injap” J. Sia II answered these questions by conducting his research in a very methodical manner. He looked at the 16 different regions in the Philippines and recognized that each has a unique set of culinary traditions and eating habits. He then analyzed and identified what type of food would have the most potential and mass appeal. This was the ubiquitous barbecue (inasal in Ilonggo).

With much perseverance, innovative thinking and a deep understanding of business, Sia created Mang Inasal in Iloilo City in 2003. Today it has emerged as the country’s sixth largest fast food chain and its growth seems to be unstoppable.

That the boyish Sia would venture into business comes as no surprise. Born into a family of Chinese-Filipino entrepreneurs, he was exposed to business from a very young age.

He recounts how, at the age of 10, he would spend his after-school hours stacking merchandise or manning the counter in his parents’ grocery store in Roxas City. “While many of my friends were playing or riding their bikes, I would be moving inventory and counting soap,” he recalls.

The family store became the training ground that cultivated Mr. Sia’s drive for success. Learning from the example of his industrious parents, Sia developed what he refers to as an almost “sixth sense” for business. At 20, he was already running multiple businesses — a photo developing franchise, a 58-room three-star hotel and a laundry shop in Iloilo City.

Sia seized another opportunity that came knocking in December 2003 when he was offered a 250-square meter space behind Robinson’s Place Iloilo. The space, in an unused car park, was being offered at a very attractive price. Listening to his well-honed business instincts, he jumped at the chance to acquire it. In retrospect, Mr. Sia admits that he acted on a hunch.

“The price was so attractive that I couldn’t forego it, even if I had no business plan in mind. I bought the space not knowing what to do with it! You can say that the space came ahead of the concept.”

While mulling over ideas, Sia was sure of one thing — whatever he came up with had to have the potential to expand on a nationwide scale. After much consideration, he eventually decided to go for the time-tested appeal of the Ilonggo’s comfort food, chicken barbecue or inasal, served fast-food style. Mang Inasal fuses Filipino cuisine with the fast food dine-in concept.

Mang Inasal was Sia’s first venture into the food industry and the challenges he encountered were daunting. When he started, the concept of a fast food restaurant serving traditional Filipino dishes was a novelty and Sia knew he was up against the top players in the Philippine fast food industry. Without a real system in place during his first year of operation and no commissary to supply their raw materials, he had to learn the hard way.

Sia in fact had to do most of the work, from managing the business to preparing and serving the food to cleaning up afterwards. This complete lack of hesitation to do backbreaking work, however, enabled Sia to achieve in seven years what others have taken twice as long to achieve.

Barely a year after Mang Inasal opened, Sia was able to set up another branch, this time in his native Roxas City. Their second year of operation saw six more branch openings and, in their third year, over 20 more. This phenomenal growth brought a flood of franchise offers but Sia held back until 2005 when he was completely confident of the stability and brand recall of the business. Only after a year of sustaining market demand and developing his customer base was he convinced that Mang Inasal was en route to expansion.

When Sia finally opened Mang Inasal for franchising, he concentrated his efforts on his own backyard — Visayas and Mindanao — where inasal is most popular. Not long afterwards, potential franchises from Luzon showed much interest, paving the way for Mang Inasal to penetrate Metro Manila. Mang Inasal now counts 306 branches nationwide of which 28 are company-owned.

As Mang Inasal gained popularity, there was a need to maintain top quality. To safeguard consistency in all aspects of the business, such as product quality and cleanliness, Sia established several monitoring systems and procedures. A highly skilled research and development team was tasked to handle product development and guarantee a consistent inasal taste. To facilitate smooth transactions with their commissaries and ensure consistent supplies, Sia implemented an advanced online supply ordering system for his branches.

The 32-year-old Sia considers sheer hard work and innovation as the primary reasons of Mang Inasal’s success. He also cites the uniqueness that allowed him to beat the odds as a new player in the fast food industry.

He says, “Mang Inasal is a truly Filipino-style fast food chain. Our concept, ambiance and even the way our food is served on banana leaves is authentically Filipino.”

This, according to Sia, differentiates them from the other fast food giants in the country. In addition, Mang Inasal was one of the first quick-service restaurants to offer unlimited rice, which strongly appealed to diners.

Despite the success of Mang Inasal, Sia recognizes there’s still a lot that can be done to even make it bigger. He is constantly thinking up new ideas to maintain Mang Inasal’s competitive edge, such as their recently launched delivery service.

Variations in the breakfast menu are being developed and he is also looking at giving fast food dining a whole new feel with patented combo cups. The company is preparing to go public by the end of 2010 to solidify its stronghold in the Philippine fast food industry.

While he listens to his instinct, Sia is very calculated and strategic in his approach to business. He firmly believes in hard work and perseverance, and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to do the same.

He also urges them to believe in their capacity to make their dreams come true, saying “Nothing is impossible with the right attitude. Do not be intimidated by problems. Instead, look at them as opportunities for growth. I was lucky to acquire the right entrepreneurial attitude as a young boy. You could say I developed the right asal (behavior) for inasal,” he quips.