Jollibee Group Chairman and Founder Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong (4th from right), together with his wife (5th
from right) Grace Tan Caktiong, accepts the Ramon V. del Rosario Award for Nation Building. Joining
them on stage are (from left to right): JCI Manila President Richard Lim, 2010 RVR Awardee Amb. Jesus
P. Tambunting, PHINMA Chairman and CEO Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr., former Chief Justice Artemio V.
Panganiban, Asian Institute of Management President, and Dean Dr. Jikyeong Kang, and Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.

MANILA, Philippines. July 27, 2022 – Jollibee Group Chairman and Founder Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong has been Named the 2022 Ramon V. Del Rosario (RVR) Awardee for Nation Building during the awarding ceremony held last July 25 at the Manila Polo Club, Makati.

The RVR Award for Nation Building honors notable individuals worthy of emulation and who have demonstrated outstanding traits such as Entrepreneurial Spirit, National or Global Impact, Corporate Citizenship, and Social Responsibility.

Launched in September 2009, the prestigious award was Named after Ramon V. del Rosario Sr., who was the founding president of the Junior Chamber International Manila and was also acknowledged as the “Father of Philippine Modern Industry.

“In honoring outstanding nation builders, we are helping build a business constituency for good. We do not see this as just another recognition ceremony but rather, a recommitment event as well as a continuing clarion call to make business a genuine force for good. I am confident that tonight’s honoree will join his fellow awardees in multiplying this force,” said PHINMA Chairman and CEO Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr.

Source of national pride
Dr. Tan Caktiong was chosen as this year’s awardee for his dedication to quality, innovation, and excellence, which propelled the Jollibee Group from its humble beginnings to being one of the largest food companies in the world with 18 brands across 34 countries—putting the Philippines on the global map and being a source of national pride.

“When we set our vision of being one of the Top 5 restaurant companies in the world, we never intended to become big for the sake of becoming big. We set this imbued with a sense of purpose—including that it be something we, our people, and our country can all be proud of,” Dr. Tan Caktiong said in his acceptance speech.

“To be recognized today based on the legacy and honor of the late Ambassador Ramon V. Del Rosario is both humbling and inspiring. Having built and contributed as much as he did from the ground up was certainly not easy, but he showed many what was possible, which also reminds me of something I have always believed in—that the only real limitations are those that we place on ourselves,” he added.

Dr. Tan Caktiong also addressed students and budding entrepreneurs: “For all the aspiring entrepreneurs, I highly encourage you to chase your dreams. And when you achieve your dreams, to dream even bigger. As I earlier said, the only limitations are those we place on ourselves. Believe in yourselves.”

Socially responsible business
“I thought to myself that one of the greatest forms of charity is through building a successful and growing business—as this, beyond creating jobs—also in many ways has a multiplier effect on improving lives of countless people and families: the families of our people, suppliers, franchisees, partners, and many more,” he added.

Yet the Jollibee Group has extended beyond providing livelihood to its people and business partners. Under Dr. Tan Caktiong’s leadership, the company’s social development arm the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) works to improve food access in the country through programs on agro-entrepreneurship for small-scale farmers, feeding programs for underprivileged schoolchildren, and food distribution during disasters.

“Our Farmer Entrepreneurship Program seeks to improve the capacity of small-scale farmers in the country. We help them to organize themselves and consolidate their produce for greater market competitiveness by selling directly to institutional markets such as JFC. We believe that their improved capacity for greater productivity and profit will redound to the continued growth of the nation’s agricultural sector,” Dr. Tan Caktiong said.

During the pandemic, JGF distributed 8.4 million meals for pandemic and disaster-affected communities across 358 cities and municipalities across 60 provinces from 2020 to June 2022. The company also vaccinated its employees against COVID-19 for free and offered several Jollibee stores in different regions as vaccination sites to help the country speed up its vaccination efforts.

“This award you have given me is an affirmation that we are all capable of doing great things for our country and our people. It will continue to inspire me and all of us in Jollibee Foods Corporation,” he added.

Dr. Tan Caktiong joins the ranks of other RVR Awardees such as Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Manuel Pangilinan, Henry Sy, Sr., Oscar Lopez, Vicente Paterno, Washington SyCip, George Ty, Ambassador Jesus Tambunting, Senen Bacani, Diosdado Banatao, and Jaime Aristotle Alip.