Don and Annalou: When true love goes beyond teenage years

Better Half

By EUGENE Y. SANTOS

Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA

MANILA, Philippines — One’s teenage period is said to be a crucial part of life, as this is usually the transition phase from childhood to adulthood. For restaurateurs Don and Annalou Ho, adolescence paved the way for true, realistic, everlasting love.

Annalou first met Don during her Halloween-and-birthday-celebration party back in October 31, 1993. Both of them were based in Los Angeles, California then. It was a typical teenage party, complete with mutual friends. “He crashed my party. I had a birthday [celebration too] because my birthday’s on November 2,” says Annalou. “I was invited,” interjects Don. “Sort of,” reiterates Annalou. “One of my friends invited Don but didn’t tell me that he invited Don. We have mutual friends and then he came with his friends. I was mean to Don because I felt he crashed my party. But a week later, one of our friends kind of hooked us up so we started talking on the phone.”

Through communication, Don and Annalou sparked a connection between them. They felt that their personalities really jibed with one another. Don loved Annalou’s feisty zest for life while Annalou found a good, caring confidante in Don. On December 7, 1993, they officially declared themselves as a couple. However, Don had to move to Texas in January 1994, where he lived with his sister for a year. Hence, they decided to pursue a long distance relationship. They kept their relationship intact by calling each other every day.

“This was before the Internet,” shares Don, “so we would just talk for hours. The telephone bills would amount to around a thousand dollars. It was very costly at that time.” Annalou adds, “My parents would be mad and his sister would be mad because the phone bills were so high.”

The year-long long distance relationship definitely strengthened Don and Annalou’s commitment to each other. “It’s what made our relationship strong because we ended up being best friends through the phone, because you get to know so much about each other on a daily basis,” says Annalou. “I think the best thing about our relationship is open communication. We don’t keep anything from each other. We’re very close and we became best friends through that year.” Don moved back to Los Angeles in February 1995.

In retrospect, Don and Annalou have their fair share of funny moments as teenagers, which they recount fondly in the present. “The first time we ever went on a date, I was a 15-year-old kid trying to be romantic,” says Don. “It was our first date and I bought a rose for her, not knowing that she was behind me. So when I turned around, I poked her eye with the rose.” As Annalou shares, “He was so clumsy about it. He was so nervous that he accidentally poked me on the eye with the rose and I was like, ‘Ahhh…’ and he was like, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’ He thought I was going to break up with him. It was our first date, like we just went to the mall. We went to City Walk in Universal Studios for our first date.”

As teenagers, Annalou humorously recalls that “we were bad. Just to be with each other, we defied orders. His parents were strict. My parents were strict. And we tried to see each other often.”

Don and Annalou lived a bit far from each other, even if they were both based in Los Angeles then. He studied in the Reseda High School and lived in the Reseda area. She, on the other hand, lived in the Granada Hills area and studied in the Bishop Alemany High School.

When they were young, Don says that he even snuck out in the evenings and drove his way to Annalou’s house. “I would stay and try to wait for him. And in almost three nights in a row, I fell asleep and I couldn’t hear him throwing rocks at my window. He even hid in my closet a few times,” relates Annalou.

“Most of the things we’ve done in the earlier stages of our relationship, being 15-years-old and in love… being in love makes you do the stupidest things in life,” says Don. For this couple, there are no regrets, only memories to share on how they witnessed each other grow up through the best and the worst of the times.

Despite being high school sweethearts, Don and Annalou claim that their story is “not a fairy tale.” Just like any other couple, they also admit to having their own imperfections. Six years onto their relationship, Don and Annalou took a “hiatus” from each other. For four to six months, they evaluated their options in life and the “painful issues” they faced then. They barely contacted each other.

Looking back, it was a healthy move for the two. They learned to forgive each other’s shortcomings and were able to learn that it takes two to tango in a relationship. Thus, the couple learned how to balance each other through compromise.

In February 2000, Don and Annalou decided to give their relationship a second chance. It was a clean slate, where they began as friends again, before declaring themselves as a fully reunited couple. “It was like falling in love the second time around,” says Don. “It’s like having a ‘new relationship’ but the enlightening part of it is that it was based on a more mature level,” adds Annalou.

After they reunited, Don and Annalou’s relationship became more stable. Through the years, they earned the respect of each other’s families. “We’re both family-oriented. Whatever is mine and whatever he has, we share it. I think the generosity from each of our sides gained the respect of our families,” says Annalou.

Raised as Catholics, Don and Annalou valued the sanctity of marriage. Even if their relationship grew stronger through the years, it was something they did not rush into until both of them felt ready for it.

Ironically, they became officially married in Las Vegas back in May 30, 2008, in a quick wedding ceremony. It was initially for a legal purpose, considering that a marriage license and official documents are processed faster when wed there. However, it turned out to be a romantic event for Don and Annalou.

They consider it as a very intimate moment. It was just the two of them (by choice), and they were wearing everyday clothes such as jeans. “Our witnesses were just a receptionist and the security guard that worked [in the venue where we got married],” says Don.

It was supposed to be casual. But as soon as they stood in the chapel and went on with the ceremony, emotions bubbled to the surface, a testament to true love conquering life’s ups and downs. “When we got to the chapel, as soon as we joined hands, and as soon as the minister said his first word, it hit us that we’re getting married,” shares Don. “We cried,” adds Annalou. “It was that moment of 30 seconds of like, ‘Wow, I’m getting married to this guy.’ No matter how much we felt like it was going to be casual, it did not. It’s because we were like, ‘I’m going to spend the rest of my life with this person.’”

On March 21, 2009, Don and Annalou held a grand wedding celebration to share their appreciation of their loved ones. “It was for our family, since we already had our moment together in Las Vegas,” says Don. The wedding ceremony paid due respect to Don’s Chinese-Vietnamese heritage and to Annalou’s Filipino roots. It started with a tea ceremony from Annalou’s house to Don’s house, followed by a church ceremony at the Saint Euphrasia Catholic Church in Bernardo Hills in California.

They had around 300 guests. At the reception, which was held in CBS Studios in Universal Studios, Don says that “we didn’t do the traditional bouquet toss. It was about live entertainment. It was really for the guests.” It was an interactive, Hollywood-inspired party, with entertaining performances and live music.

Last year, Don and Annalou moved to the Philippines. This is for Annalou to be closer to her mother, who moved to the country after retirement, and her younger sister. The couple also saw the potential of Manila’s thriving local dining scene. With this in mind, they put up the restaurant Le Fusion by Chef Don Ho Restaurant and Wine Bar Lounge at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, where they serve fusion-style dishes mostly cooked using modern molecular gastronomy techniques. “We evaluated the Philippines and it’s a growing country and it’s a place where there’s room for success in the food industry,” says Annalou.

On managing a restaurant together, Don and Annalou address whatever professional differences they may have through communication and thorough discussions. “But as soon as we walk out of the restaurant, we don’t take work at home,” says Don. “We’re very relaxed at home. We watch TV shows together or just share a nice meal,” adds Annalou
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Cooperativism gains headway in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Cooperatives, whether they are groups of farmers, fishermen, vendors, or electricity users banding together for a common purpose, are people-centered organizations formed to benefit its members. They are government partners in the delivery of livelihood and micro-entrepreneurial activities geared to addressing the problems of illiteracy and poverty. They help alleviate the living conditions of members through marketing support, credit facilities, new technology, adult education, livelihood opportunities, and scholarships for children.

In the Philippines, cooperatives are registered with the Cooperative Development Authority, created by Republic Act 6939, and signed into law on March 10, 1990, to promote the viability and growth of cooperatives as instruments of equity, social justice and economic development. Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, equality, equity and solidarity. The members learn honesty, transparency, social responsibility and caring for others. The use of funds is for mutual, rather than individual, benefit.

Cooperativism in the Philippines started in the 19th Century when Filipino travellers to Europe, including the National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal, brought the idea of the economic movement to the country. While in exile in Dapitan, Dr. Rizal set up a school for the poor and a store on a cooperative basis.

Today, cooperatives are gaining momentum as vehicles for the economic empowerment of poor and rural Filipino workers. There are more than 20,00 registered cooperatives nationwide, and they help in the pursuit of people-oriented projects to benefit target beneficiaries, especially small farmers and fisherfolk.

It is hoped that given more government incentives as well as private sector support, the cooperative movement in the country will continue to flourish and make a difference in the lives of many Filipinos
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Young man has novel condotel project

This driven 23-year-old goes for minimalist black-and-white design, but has aggressive, maximalist approach to real estate

By: Alex Y. Vergara
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Gabriel “Gab” Perez, 23, is a young man in a hurry. As founder, president and CEO of Green Asia Real Estate & Development, the Ateneo management economics graduate doesn’t seem to be letting anyone or anything get in the way of his pursuit to be a real estate mogul.

The youngest in a brood of three, Perez is almost singlehandedly orchestrating the funding and construction of the family-owned Angelica Manor—an eight-story, 65-unit condominium building in Pasig. He has proven himself to be an inquisitive and forward-thinking newbie. But at the same time, he has no qualms about admitting that he’s also a creature of habit.

“You’re the third person this week to notice my cell phone,” says the eligible bachelor good naturedly, referring to his Nokia 6303. “What’s wrong with it? It’s not a smart phone, but it does the job quite well. It even comes with a camera. Anyway, all I need to do is call and text.”

We’re also not the first person, says Perez, to tell him that we expected someone young and supposedly hip like him to carry around the latest iPhone. He says he’ll give Steve Jobs’ favorite gadget a thought.

He may not be that into gadgets, but the tall Perez is a natural when it comes to fashion. He says he shops for clothes here and abroad only when necessary.

Savoring traveling

He savors traveling abroad, especially to Europe, basically to get ideas for his future projects, one of which is a condominium hotel named Privato. Located also in Pasig, the project recently broke ground.

Despite his seeming nonchalance about fashion, his efforts show in his choices as well as the mix of high and low brands he wears: Tod’s driving shoes, Hermès black leather belt, dark gray blazer with gingham collar detail by Randy Ortiz, Tyler gingham shirt, Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite billfold and dark Defacto Industries denims.

The same expensive but no-frills approach to fashion extends to his choice of furniture and interiors. His 60-sq m condo unit at the Angelica Manor is, as Perez describes it, clean, linear, crisp and stark due mainly to his decision to limit the color scheme to black and white.

Angelica Manor, named after his mother, a doctor, is almost fully occupied less than a year after it was finished. Perez flew the coop fairly recently, but he’s open to the idea of moving back to the family’s Quezon City home to be with his empty-nester parents. His two older siblings are married.

“It’s a special unit consisting of three bedrooms, living room and kitchen,” he says of his Pasig digs. “I got the entire front area, which didn’t require the merging of units or knocking down of walls. I knew from the start that I would do a lot of entertaining, so I made sure I incorporated open spaces into the design.”

While not a few people take a lifetime to find their niche, Perez says he knew what he wanted to do even before finishing college. To his dad’s relief, he didn’t parlay his stint as a student council officer into a career in politics.

“Since I was quite active in campus politics, going into politics was my original plan, until I interned at Discovery Suites Hotel and Sta. Lucia Realty,” he says. “That was when I decided to pursue real estate.”

He narrowed his choices between construction, an area familiar to his dad, an engineer who does occasional projects for the Department of Public Works and Highways, and real estate. Soon enough, he opted to focus on the latter, and eventually founded Green Asia two years ago.

“Making roads isn’t my passion,” he says. “I can’t imagine myself going into the food business, either. I don’t want to deal with perishables. Real estate, which involves the entire process of choosing a location and building design, excites me. I like things that are tangible. I like to see things rise.”

He’s also glad he took up business administration instead of civil engineering. He continues to hone his business skills by taking up graduate studies in entrepreneurship also at Ateneo.

“On hindsight, by not taking up civil engineering, I saved myself from all the math,” he says with chuckle. “I think my passion for building is innate, but the skill is something that’s nurtured. I’m not ashamed to ask questions, to learn the ropes. I figured I could pull it off as long as I know how to end it.”

Buckling down to work

After securing a loan, Perez buckled down to work on Angelica Manor. It helped, he admits, to work with the best people in the business. He scoured Metro Manila in search of the best, most reasonably priced materials.

There were times he had to haul off sample materials in his car.  Since he was having so much fun learning and discovering new things, he never thought of it as work.

But rather than embark on the project blindly, he also did his homework. He read up and validated his knowledge by asking the right people, even bureaucrats he dealt with while securing permits and other pertinent papers.

“After accompanying me during the initial meeting while we were planning Angelica Manor, my dad felt I could do it myself,” he says. “I was basically on my own after that.”

Whereas Perez directly sold condo units at Angelica Manor to interested parties, he plans to employ a different marketing approach to appeal more to investors, balikbayans and retirees with extra cash for Privato. He will still be on top of the project, but perhaps not as hands on as he was.

“You’re not just a unit owner when you buy a condo unit at Privato,” says Perez. “Since it’s a ‘condotel,’ you also buy a share in the hotel operations. We will operate the hotel, and every month you get a share in the earnings, whether or not your unit is occupied.”

Unlike buying a condo unit, investing in a condotel saves you from all the headaches that come with maintenance. Since a management arm would be running Privato, you’re also spared from dealing directly with hotel guests. You or your friends can even use the room for free for 15 days a year.

“The 15 days can either be staggered or used continuously,” says Perez. “And unlike in other condotels, you can transfer the privilege to visiting friends and relatives from abroad. The arrangement is quite ideal because most of our investors have homes in Metro Manila anyway.”

You’re also spared from paying huge association dues. And the best part is you’re not stuck with a non-performing asset should no one occupy the room. That isn’t the case with a condo unit, which you have to rent out continuously to help you maximize your investment.

“In other words, you earn without even lifting a finger,” says Perez. “Once you’ve invested in Privato, your investment keeps on earning income for you. We in Green Asia call it the art of investment.”

Son of owner not allowed to eat in exec lounge

By: Theresa S. Samaniego

Philippine Daily Inquirer

 2share16 10

RAUL Joseph Concepcion

At a young, tender age of 7, Raul Joseph Concepcion, unlike most other kids, spent his extra waking hours working for the family business.

Concepcion tells SundayBiz that he actually enjoyed those times when he was tasked to punch cards of different colors, stack them together, and after which he would use these to play monopoly.

But the harsh reality of working in a “real office” struck him hard when at the age of 11, Jojo, as he is fondly known, was sent to the company’s factory to finally get his hands dirty.

It was ironic that the present chief of Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning (CCAC), one of the country’s leading provider of cooling solutions, then had to work with two conditions under his father’s explicit orders: one, he cannot work in an air-conditioned room and second, he cannot eat in the executive floor so he can truly mingle with their factory workers.

Son of owner

“The monicker really given to people like myself is we are SOO [son of the owner]. But in my father’s case, you have to earn the title, for you to be a COO or CEO,” Concepcion explains, adding that they all had to work hard and know the company from the bottom up. This was why all his free time in the mornings were spent in the office to learn.

Coming from a family of mostly businessmen, Concepcion relates that their dad has always been very clear about them having to work for the family business.

THE MULTI-AWARDED Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning Company plant.

“We were always expected to work, so that expectation level was brought up from day 1. We were expected to manage the business,” he says.

Admittedly, Concepcion says the “brainwashing” done to them by his father made it a little easier for them to accept the fact that they would soon run the business.

Food, according to him, was also one of the baits that his father used to entice them to work.

“We had an open budget, but we had to eat with the workers. We can go to the canteen and order everything we want. That was the bribe,” he relates.

When asked if he thinks that his father became too imposing for him to like the job, Concepcion notes that he didn’t see it that way as he has always wanted to work for the family’s business.

“I always dreamed of working for and leading the company. It was something really expected of me so it wasn’t very difficult for myself to adjust,” he shares.

Deemed as the family’s favorite, Concepcion admits that his parents may have spent more time nurturing him and exposing him to the business which helped him to really want to come into the family’s business.

Living abroad

Concepcion’s sheltered life, however, took a strange turn when he was sent abroad to study.

“My parents decided for us to experience the world. They wanted us to experience living alone in a less protective environment,” he says.

“The problem is in the Philippines is that you live in a very protective environment – you have your yayas, your maid, your driver so you don’t experience life,” he adds.

Concepcion relates that he had to live separately from his family for about 10 months and stay with people he didn’t know.

This setup, he claims, had helped build his confidence level and his character.

Add to that the fact that living in the US was a different experience altogether for the young Concepcion, who was then forced to learn to do things by himself –from folding his bed, doing his laundry to cleaning his area. He was likewise lumped with the other Asians since during that time, not too many Americans had seen a Filipino in their entire lives.

“This is the ’70s and the ’80s, so imagine going to that environment. It builds a lot of self-confidence in you and that experience is really what carries you through life,” Concepcion says.

He adds that his early marriage, although a challenge, has likewise helped in shaping him for who he has become today.

Honing skills

It was in 1987 that Concepcion officially joined his family’s company, Concepcion Industries Inc.

He, however, was given a different task by his father, who had then just decided to venture into agriculture, having a bought a prawn farm in Pangasinan for him to manage. From scratch, Concepcion was able to grow the business and at the same time, hone his own managing skills.

“Again, I’ve had a lot of learnings from that. Growing the farm developed my business style and philosophies. The farm taught me to work very hard. I was even then called  ‘boy putik’ because I was always muddy, but I took it as part of really learning the business, and that really brought down the philosophies and values I had in running this business,” he explains.

He then took various positions at the credit and collection, manufacturing, sales, after sales service and then finally went for the corporate, eventually landing in the position of CEO.

Challenges

According to Concepcion, there are multiple challenges in running the business, such as dealing with changes of the people and the environment.

“People tend to underestimate managing a business here in the Philippines. Demands of consumer and business are changing. The rules of the game are changing. My competition today is not locals. It’s the foreign companies, the multinationals whose companies’ total valuation is bigger than the Philippine economy,” he explains.

But one of the more daunting challenges will be from the family point of view in the generation of leadership, how is the baton passed from one generation to the next.

“When you join a company and you’re the owner, am I there because of my name or am I there because of what I can do? I think that challenge was more to myself than to the employees. Proving that you know we were worth the position that we carry. That, I tell you, is the biggest challenge faced by companies like ourselves where you have a family corporation, where you tend to tangle up family affairs and business affairs—that’s very critical,” Concepcion explains.

But Concepcion has proven his naysayers and detractors dead wrong.

As the third generation Concepcion in the airconditioning business, Jojo has diligently carried his family’s heritage, taking the joint venture between Concepcion Industries and Carrier Corp., to lead the way as the company became the country’s most trusted provider of innovative cooling solutions.

And despite the success of the company, Concepcion says he remains hands-on in the business.

“I don’t micro manage. You have to know your staff. I’m very easy to relate with. That’s the advantage – people can easily come to me, talk to me and we discuss. but I challenge them. Every time, I try to raise the bar, motivate and challenge people to do best,” Concepcion concludes.

At present, CCAC’s market leadership has been borne out of its strength in offering the market the best cooling solutions and backing this with excellent after sales services. These cooling solutions, according to CCAC, are defined by individual customer needs and are adapted to Philippine weather conditions and use.

By end-2010, CCAC registered a 32-percent growth in its total sales to P4.5 billion. With the overall AC market earning P13.8 billion last year, CCAC’s sales represented 45 percent of the overall share with 250,000 units sold during the period.