In celebration of this month's Father's day, I invited a person whom I think has a story that needs to be heard. His story is the perfect rags to riches story. Proving that poverty is not a hindrance to attaining success in life. He graduated Cum Laude in law school in San Beda while juggling his first job as an executive assistant to becoming the president of the company he was working for. He also became the president of the Clark Development Corporation from year 2012 to 2015. And he started his own business called Perry's Group of Companies that started with eight employees and now has thousands of employees under him. We know him as the Department of Transportation Secretary, and I hope we can all be inspired by the story of Sec. Art Tugade. Hi, Tito Art. I was really excited to be here. But after hearing your introduction to me, the excitement is gone. -How come?
-It turned into jitters. Now, I'm really nervous. I remember when Paul and I were still dating, he kept telling me, upon meeting Jart, your son, that I have to meet you. "He's one of the people I really look up to when it comes to being a husband, a father, an entrepreneur, a leader." said Paul. Because of all your achievements, you proved that where you came from is not important As long as you do your work with integrity, a hardworker's mentality and determination you will reach your dreams in life. That's right. We have a lot of old friends, and colleagues and acquaintances, who started from nothing. Some were not able to rise to the occasion, because they gave in to the problems that they faced. But a lot have also made it in life, because they didn't see their struggles and challenges in life as an inadequacy. Instead, they look at these problems as challenges, that's why they moved up in life. I am not different from them. Also, Tito Art, you don't like saying that you grew up in a "squatter's area." right? You don't like using the term "squatter." Yes, I don't like that. Why so? The words "slum" and "squatter" are demeaning to me. Instead, I would say that I grew up in "challenged areas." I look at the situation as a challenge for me to strive to move up in life. Do you know the... What, sir? You don't need to call me, "Ma'am." Ever since you and Paul were dating, that's how I already address you. I'd like it if I keep it that way, because that is my way of respecting you. Respect for everyone I meet. That's just how it is. You told me before about your childhood in Tatalon. Yes. Do you know the Santo Domingo Church? Yes. If you go inside that church, that leads to the University of the Philippines. There's a house that's perched right at the center. As you move forward, you'll see a small kangkong vegetation. Yes. The flood-prone area there was where I lived. You were born there? No, I was born in the town of Claveria in Cagayan. I was born in a challenging area. Imagine being born into that. In really challenging areas. We lived in Delgado Street in Sampaloc, Manila. Another challenged area. If you're familiar with the University of Manila, we live right outside its walls. Okay. There was a sewage system right under where we lived. Our house also burned down at some point. I vividly remember that. They were trying to have us cross to the other side of the university's walls. If you stay, you'll die of suffocation. And because of that experience in Delgado, I now went to Tatalon. My parents and I moved there. Another challenged area. When you say "challenged area," how are the comfort rooms there? -This is what I'll tell you...
-Ok. Challenge number one. Number one. There's no proper toilet. Toilet. You dig into the soil to make your makeshift toilet. You will put a piece of wood that you'll sit on, then you'll put some sort of housing on it. How old were you then? I was already studying law that time. We lived there for more than ten years, I was studying at San Beda that time. How did you get in San Beda? I was a scholar. -You must be very intelligent, Sec. Art. -You must be very intelligent, Sec. Art.
-I was a scholar, yes. I was able to maintain my scholarship since I was in first grade, up until I was taking up law. Challenge number two is that there was no source of water. We just go to a well. I was studying law in College already but we still get our water from wells You will go to the community well, you get water and you take it home. So that you won't have to carry it all the way home, you can opt to take a bath there already. I experienced that before. So with all this, how do you keep your focus to study? They say, "If there's a will, there's a way." Will you still pity yourself with all those challenges? If you're really persistent, you won't use that as an excuse. I didn't stop studying and working hard. Even if there's no light to use so I could read at night. Even when it's raining, I still need to get water from the well Stuff like that. It's always easy to make excuses. You study even without electricity? There is power, but we need to also limit consumption. That's why I use a Kerosene lamp. You use a Kerosene lamp. That's your studying conditions while taking law? The thing is, why would you study at night? On weekends, you can use a Kerosene lamp at night. But why would you? If you could just study during the day. You can always find ways. Where did you get this mindset? Your parents? Yes, my parents. They were government employees. My mother would bring me and my siblings in her workplace, and I see her working there. She brings in a lot of things. When she gets home, she cooks. My father worked in public highways. We would roast pigs during weekends. We would even get the excess drippings from it, and collect it. Seldomly, of course. And when we have bread, I would put that under the roasting pig and get its flavor. Before you deliver the roasted pig, you also get to make your bread tasty. Really tasting like roasted pig. Small things like that. Isn't that a nice way of using what you have? If I have a problem and I give up, would I be here talking to you? I never gave up. Because I knew I would have kids. I will build a family of my own. I don't want them to go through what I have gone through. So when you were growing up in Tatalon, what was your dream? To leave Tatalon. I didn't dream of living in an executive village. My dream was to just have a place with a nice comfort room. To have a proper sink. A simple one. That's my dream. You know what I'm making sure of these days? That all my comfort rooms look exceptional. -The comfort rooms.
-Yes. My office has nice comfort rooms. I requested for the workplace to have nice comfort rooms. You know why? When I go inside the comfort room, I would always say, "Yes, I have arrived." That's it. That's your definition of success? For you to have a nice comfort room. Yes, a really nice one. All my life, I never had that. I would remember my youngest sibling. My sibling would always get nervous and scared to fall off the hole that we dug. Think about that. But you know what, Sec. Art, your challenge didn't really stop there, because after you graduated as a cum laude, you now got a job in the Delgado Brothers, Inc. His story is inspiring, he started as an executive assistant and eventually became the president of Delgado Brothers, Inc. -A logistics company.
-Yes, ma'am. How did that happen? While my colleagues were taking their breaks and having a good time, I would continue working. While my colleagues show their prolific skills and intelligence, I study them. Be honest, and never steal. Be prudent and work hard. That's something I'm proud of, and the Delgados know this, I am grateful for this. They would have me picked up every Sunday. In a Cadillac vehicle. Okay. All the neighbors would stop and stare. This car would take me to Victoria Avenue in Quezon City, I would work there. On a Sunday. So while others are resting and having a good time on weekends, I would work. That's totally fine with me. Because I could directly learn from Antonio Delgado. I would pick his brain. -You would observe your boss.
-I observe and listen to the knowledge he imparts. That's where I learned the intricacies of finance. Financial management. Until you built your own company. Yes, ma'am. I took the fruits of my labor and the knowledge with me as I went along. But before you built your own company, when did you meet your wife? How old were you? I was still taking up law. Ah it's another story to tell. Your wife was well-off? She was really well-off. -Her family was rich ever since.
-Yes. Her father was an executive judge, and before that, he was a governor. Your relationship with your father-in-law was challenging, yes? Of course, ma'am. That's how it was. He didn't like you? I saw it as another challenge. Let's tell them about that time you were eating with your father-in-law. Brother-in-law. You were eating together and then he threw food at you? Not that way, it was the spiteful way he handed the food over to me. He would eat chicken. And he would say it blankly, "Eat the chicken." So I took some and ate it. But it was hard to swallow. My eyes were welling, but I had to hold them in and put my head down. I told my mom about my experience, and all she said was, "You wanted that, so persist and stand your ground." How did you do that? Love. You loved your wife. I know her place and I know mine. Right? It's also wrong to think that, I entered their world, I would expect them to treat me like one of their own right away. No. I had to earn that. I had to work for that. Then prosper. What did you learn from that experience? Humility. As you strive and have your humility, you must have that maturing challenge in life. So when the time comes, you won't do that to the people you encounter. When you were climbing your road to success, as a self-made man, there had to be a lot of sacrifices, right? Because huge successes ask for something in return. Yes, you know what, ma'am, Especially when you have children, you will give them names that are meaningful to you. Right, ma'am. When I became a lawyer, it became my obsession to earn and earn money. Your money is bound to grow. At that time, I really wanted to earn a lot of money. So while you're earning for a living and striving for your obsessions, you tend to forget about your family. My eldest son, died early on. At eleven? At the age of eleven. Asthma, ma'am. My world was ripped apart. It became a wake up call. It was such a painful one. It's hard to imagine that your son had to pass away, for you to wake up from your obsessions. For him to tell you, "Dad, can you please make time for my siblings..." "Your children..." "Make time for my mother..." "And to communicate that message," "I will go ahead..." That was how I saw his departure. That pain is excruciating. That heartache, that pain, that regret, and guilt, everything. Put all that together on a scale, the scale will be drastically imbalanced. There are times I loathed myself and realized that I didn't just neglect my son, I wasn't able to give him my time. Maybe it really was my fault. Imagine that thorn in your heart. I was angry at God. You were angry. Lord, I'm sorry for saying this. I told the Lord, "I'm the bad one." "Why did you take the child?" "He wanted to be a priest." He wrote that in his graduation annual book, "I want to be a priest." "He wanted to be a priest, and I was foolish." "Money blinded me..." "Why didn't you take me instead?" "Why did you take him?" I was in the office when he passed away. Everyday, as a family, do you know where we go? To his grave. We pray the rosary and countless novenas. We've prayed several novenas. We keep going back everyday. Until somebody told me, "Art, your life is not normal anymore." "Continue the life that your son wished to live." "If he wanted to be a priest, help the priests." I got a scholar and had him study to become a priest, as well as a nun. I've watched him playing basketball when he was young, They told me to be involved so I could see my son, so I involved myself in the sport. I became San Beda College's finance manager and became a partner. That place where I watch basketball, while I cheer loudly, makes me feel like I actually feel my son's presence. I named my companies after him. Perry's Group of Companies. But, I was just covering my feelings. Even if I do those things, I could never bring back my son. But what returned were the memories of him. And when memories return, the pain resurfaces. That was a tough phase. Biggest regret. Heavy. The last thing we did to try to move on was, I told my family, "Let's go back to normal." Let's visit his grave once, but before we do that, all the places we went to as a family, with your brother, together with your siblings, I told my eldest, let's go back. Imagine the pain and heaviness You go to a place where they, as siblings, went to have a good time. As I was thinking about that, I broke down and cried. And that was the experience that I had to undertake and bear upon myself. So that, again, I can live a normal life. With my children and with my wife. The name of your eldest is... My eldest is a girl. My eldest is a girl. Pilar Luz Barie. Pilar is the name of my mother-in-law, Luz is the name of my natural mother, Barie because she was conceived when I was preparing for the bar exams. I took that risk, ma'am. If I had fallen, and failed that exam, That name will forever be a burden on my daughter. And it will be heavy on my part. Thank You, Lord, you helped me pass. After her was my son Mark Perry, that has meaning, yes? "marked money" That was the time when I was starting to earn more money... It was very fluid. Money was multiplying quickly. "I'm on top of the world." Yes. The next one is... Paul Louie Tugade. Paul Louie Tugade. Pope Paul. He became the pope. Louie came from the first international trip I had. In my trip in the United States of America in St. Louis, Missouri. As a group study exchange scholar of Rotary. And that is where I delivered my first speech ever. In the United States of America. So the fourth one, a friend of yours and Paul's. Jose Arturo. Do you remember that time... What was that show? Dynasty. Dynasty! Jay-Art. Isn't he the villain? I wanted a "junior" or somebody to inherit my namesake. But I realized that if I do that, he might be challenged or pressured to follow my footsteps. Why would I do that to a kid? Jose Arturo. Jart. Jose was the name of the President of the Delgado Brothers, Inc., Jose Roberto Delgado. I was the next one who became the president. And to remember that, I named my son, Jose Arturo. Jart. Those are your milestones in life, I see. The youngest is Finina Marie. Yes. If my son gets my name, my wife should also get my daughter's name. Marie. Maria Soledad. Why Finina? She's the last. Final. -Every year.
-It is finished. Every three years, we try to have a kid. Imagine that But the last two were only months apart. That was it. I'm happy already. What was the greatest lesson you taught your kids? -The greatest?
-In life. It's teaching by example. I think, Marie shared something about that... that time when she had a meeting with you. Yes. And she and her business partner were late. -And she and her business partner were late.
-Yes, ma'am. That is my character. The minute they arrived and saw you... I left. Because? She was late. For fifteen minutes. I'm known for being punctual. I often tell people, based on my initials... A.P. Tugade. Art "Punctual" Tugade. That's what my name stands for. Why do you value being on time so much? Because time is gold; time is precious. Time lost will never be regained. If you lose money, you can always get it back. But time, once it passes, you can't take it back. At the age of sixty, usually people start retiring already. Retire? Yes, retiring. But when I look at you, it seems like you're just at the beginning of your career. As you accepted the role of secretary of the Department of Transportation, Yes, ma'am. I accepted this job, and I will do my best. I did not accept the job because of the title, I accepted that so I can serve. I need to deliver. Because if I don't, I shouldn't have accepted it in the first place. What's your dream for the transportation system here in the Philippines? My dream is for transportation to serve as the great equalizer. You know what's sad about our perception here? The jeepneys. The buses. The trains. People think that taking public transportation is for the poor. Isn't it, ma'am? I really think it's a great equalizer. Wherein our public transportation, will be utilized by a regular person in a t-shirt, a person wearing floral tops like me, a person wearing black shirt. business suit. Yes, a business suit. That's how it is in Europe and in America. Yes, Right? All walks of life take the train. Why don't we use it? I hope I am not oversimplifying it. But that is one of my passions. For you, what is your biggest achievement in life? My children. You can give me all the plaques of appreciation, you wish and you want, but it's the picture of my children that I hang on the wall. That gives me a full realization. And I will put the picture of my late son, Perry Boy, with that family picture, and I will say, "Son, you were with me in shaping and molding your siblings." What would you want your legacy to be? When it is my time, the only thing I want written on my tombstone, "Art Tugade" "...he delivered." That's it. And to everyone watching, who also live in challenged areas, -what is your message to them?
-Right. You live in a challenged area... My friend, that is not the end of the world. The world you want to achieve is the world you will create. If you are in a challenged area, and you bear that as a burdening mindset, my friend, you should change your perspective. If you are standing on a pedestal of a challenged area, the platform of a challenged area, and you tell yourself that you create your own destiny, so that you can finally leave your challenged area, you have planted the seeds for you to be transformed. To be revolutionized. Because you had the will to rise above. Never give up. Because that impoverished place you come from, for me, is a golden opportunity for you to succeed. Second piece of advice. Love your children. Because you'll never know when they'll be taken away from you. Don't be so sure that when you leave for work in the morning, you'll come home to his embrace. My friend, don't. Make your children feel the unconditional love you have for them. Because, one day, when you come home, you might not see him alive and breathing anymore. I brought that with me and took those words to heart. There's no use for those flowers for your child, if it means you'll have to put it on their own grave. Love your children. That lesson that Tito Art imparted to us is priceless. He's right. No amount of wealth or money can ever compare to the time and love that we can give our children. Even if Tito Art can't get back what was lost he was able to remind us of what matters most.
im so desperate for attention