Lucio C. Tan Sr.
陳永栽
Tan in 2018
Born (1934-07-17) July 17, 1934
Amoy, Fukien, Republic of China[1]
NationalityFilipino
EducationChemical Engineering
Alma materChiang Kai Shek College
Far Eastern University
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor, philanthropist
Known forChairman and CEO (LT Group, Inc.,[2] Philippine Airlines,[3] MacroAsia Corporation)
Spouse(s)Carmen Khao-Tan
(1942—2020)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese陳永栽
Simplified Chinese陈永栽

Lucio Chua Tan Sr. (simplified Chinese: 陈永栽; traditional Chinese: 陳永栽; pinyin: Chén Yǒngzāi; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Éng-chai; born July 17, 1934) is a Filipino business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He presides over the Filipino conglomerate company LT Group, Inc., a company with extensive business interests in sports, banking, airline, liquor, tobacco, real estate, beverages, and education. As of November 2023, his net worth is estimated at US$2.4 billion.[4]

Early years

Tan was born in Amoy (now Xiamen), Fujian, China. His parents moved to Cebu in the Philippines when he was a child. He was said to have gone to school on barefoot and first worked as a stevedore who tied cargo with ropes made from abaca[5] He earned a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Far Eastern University in Manila.[6] Forbes states that while in college, Tan "worked as a janitor at a tobacco factory"[7] where he "mopped floors to pay for school."[8]

Philanthropy

Though the companies of Lucio Tan Group has been involved in various social responsible programs, Tan has benevolent personal philanthropy works, particularly in the academic sector. Notable of which is his ownership stake with the University of the East, resulting for the erection of the nine-storey Dr. Lucio C. Tan Building on the university's Caloocan City campus. Tan also gave a grant as an endowment for the development of Central Philippine University Institute of HRM and Tourism in Jaro, Iloilo City, which in return, was renamed in his honor as the Dr. Lucio C. Tan College of Hospitality Management, the first college/school in his namesake outside Manila. A building which houses the said college is also named after him on the CPU's main campus, the Lucio C. Tan Building.[9]

In the 1990s, Tan was president of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Institute Foundation (LRMFI), an organization established in 1989 and composed of Chinese-Filipino Catholics that aims to spread the Christian faith worldwide.[10]

Business interests

Controversies

In 1997, Forbes, in an article entitled "A report card on Asia", complained about the "considerable corruption still prevalent" in the Philippines, bolstering that claim by citing how Tan "single-handedly held up a tax reform intended to remove special privileges for local tobacco and beer producers."[12]

In 1998, Forbes reported that Tan was spending his free time "[j]ousting with the government over charges of tax evasion" and with Philippine Airlines "shareholders who tried to block his bid for the airline."[13]

According to the January–March 1999 edition of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Solita "Mareng Winnie" Monsod, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines and former Economic Planning Secretary, was quoted as saying that "Lucio Tan is a role model for the worst kind of conduct as far as our national objectives are concerned. He signals that you can evade taxes and get away with it, pay the courts and get the judges to decide in your favour, get good lawyers and delay your cases. The messages that are given by the kind of treatment that he gets from the Government are the antithesis of what we need for sustainable development: an even playing field and Government intervention of the right kind." [3]

The Presidential Commission on Good Government ("PCGG") originally filed a case against Tan in July 1987, and has since amended it twice, the last time being on September 5, 1991. According to the PCGG, the state is entitled to PHP 50 billion in damages and PHP 1 billion in legal expenses.[4] In addition, the state was seeking to recover 60% of Tan's holdings in companies that Tan held in trust for the former president Marcos – such as Fortune Tobacco, Asia Brewery, Allied Banking Corporation, Foremost Farms, Himmel Industries, Grandspan Development Corp., Silangan Holdings, Dominium Realty and Construction Corp., and Shareholdings Inc. – as the PCGG alleges that they were illegally acquired by Marcos using government funds.[14]

After filing the case in July 1987, the PCGG seized control of Tan's companies, continuing to do so until 2006 when the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan nullified the writs of sequestration on Allied Banking Corp., Fortune Tobacco, Foremost Farms and Shareholdings Inc. The court ruled the writs had no basis as there was no prima facie proof that any of Tan's assets were obtained illegally.

The PCGG soon afterwards filed a petition to the Supreme Court. On December 7, 2007, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the anti-graft court. The Supreme Court found no proof that Tan, his family, or his various businesses took undue advantage of their relationship with former President Marcos. Finding no factual basis for the sequestration of the stocks, the Supreme Court denied the PCGG's petition, according to a court statement.[15]

In an April 29, 2009, letter filed at the anti-graft court, the PCGG announced that it is "resting its case" and terminating its presentation of evidence in the PHP 51 billion lawsuit. This, the report said, came as a surprise as government lawyers had earlier insisted in court that they still have several key witnesses, including former First Lady Imelda Marcos.[16]

In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte accused him of owing the Philippine government around US$600 million in unpaid taxes. After the tycoon was cleared of tax evasion, the national leader vowed to “shut up” about the issue.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Lucio Tan Success Story". Millionaire Acts (Join my journey to financial freedom). March 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Board of Directors". LT Group, Inc. webpage. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Company Info, (PAL Holdings Inc.)". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Forbes profile: Lucio Tan". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ Chen, Min (2004). Asian Management Systems: Chinese, Japanese and Korean Styles of Business. ISBN 1861529414. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Lucio Tan (Philippines); Cigarettes, Beer And Airline Tycoon". huayinet.org/biography/biography_luciotan.htm. Internet Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ↑ "ASIA: 50 Asian billionaires on the list, up from 44 last year; Lucio Tan". Forbes. July 5, 1999. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Philippines' 50 Richest: #2 - Lucio Tan & Family". Forbes. July 2013. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  9. ↑ [Scientia et Fides: the Story of Central Philippine University Volume II by Elma Herradura 2013]. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Rise of Asia's new missionaries". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. June 25, 1995. p. 17. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  11. ↑ Dumlao, Doris C. (April 8, 2014). "Lucio Tan consolidates control of Victorias". inquirer.net. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  12. ↑ "A report card on Asia". Forbes magazine. February 24, 1997. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  13. ↑ Bruce, Katherine; Karmali, Naazneen; Mao, Philippe; Miyazawa, Kazumi; Shook, Carrie; Weinberg, Neil (July 6, 1998). "ASIA; Lucio Tan". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Graft court admits evidence vs Tan in ill-gotten wealth case | Economy | GMA News Online". Gmanews.tv. August 23, 2010. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  15. ↑ "SC Voids PCGG Sequestration Orders Against Lucio Tan, et al". Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  16. ↑ "PCGG to end presentation of evidence in Lucio Tan case". ABS-CBN News. September 5, 1991. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  17. ↑ Kate Berbano (July 29, 2020), "Philippine Airline CEO Lucio Tan was once a janitor – he's cleaned up nicely as one of Southeast Asia's biggest billionaires, but still uses an old Nokia phone", South China Morning Post Online, archived from the original on May 27, 2021, retrieved May 27, 2021
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