Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 6) — Rafael Jose Consing Jr., the first-ever president and CEO of Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC), has made it clear that he got the role through his own efforts and not the influence of his previous bosses in top companies he used to work with.
Before joining the government as executive director of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Investment & Economic Affairs (OPAEIA), Consing held prominent positions in the private sector, including Enrique Razon’s International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and Sabin Aboitiz’s Aboitiz group of companies.
In a one-on-one interview on CNN Philippines’ Politics as Usual on Wednesday, Consing said neither Razon nor Aboitiz picked up the phone to vouch for him to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
\”Even for OPAEIA, I do the day-to-day, I go to Malacañang every day, speak to investors write papers for them,\” he shared. \”I applied for that role, similarly when the opportunity for MIC came. There was no influence from either (Razon and Aboitiz).\”
On allegations that the implementing rules of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) were relaxed to accommodate him, Consing denied these by saying that people should look at his experience.
\”I think they should look at my experience first and foremost and they’d see that I added significant value to companies I’ve worked for,\” he stressed.
\”I intend to do the same for Maharlika,\” he also said. \”Similarly, a diploma coming from a master’s degree does not guarantee that.\”
Consing was vice president and treasurer at Aboitiz and senior vice president and chief financial officer at ICTSI, where he said he received multiple awards and recognition for his exceptional work.
His resume lists an executive education course at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he attended a strategic financial leadership program designed specifically for chief financial officers. He also holds a political science degree from De La Salle University.
“That’s probably where the difference was compared to what others would’ve done or those who have got their diplomas or MBA,” he said. “I don’t think they would’ve been able to achieve the same thing.”
READ: Marcos appoints new Maharlika Investment Corp. chief, but timing questioned
In applying for the position of MIC chief, the seasoned corporate finance expert said instead of a mere resume, he wrote the advisory committee a letter detailing his career experiences and achievements.
“Every paragraph had a title and the last paragraph was ‘Three Decades of Preparation’ because I really feel that it was really a culmination of what I’ve been doing over the last three years,” he said.
Consing said he felt that it was time to “give back” when he decided to serve the government after three decades in the private sector.
“I felt it was time to give back,” he said. “The country has been very good to us, my family. I want to do it when I still have the energy.”
