Politicians come and go, but businessmen are here to stay

A wise wealthy businessman once told me, “Politicians come and go, but businessmen are here to stay”

- AMBASSADOR B. ROMUALDEZ

That remark, uttered decades ago, is as true today as it was then. In the Philippines, governments may rise and fall, presidents may change and political winds may shift dramatically — but the business community always finds ways to endure. Through every coup attempt, constitutional crisis and transition of power, Filipino businessmen have survived - adapting, recalibrating and continuing to build. For them, politics is temporary; business is perpetual.

In a developing democracy like ours where personalities dominate over institutions, it is often the private sector that provides the continuity. While politics moves in cycles of elections and allegiances, commerce depends on stability, trust and a long-term vision. A factory, a mall or a ports-handling company cannot simply stop operating when a new administration comes in. Business owners have learned to navigate around the turbulence of political change — maintaining relationships across parties, adjusting to new policies and keeping their enterprises alive for the sake of their workers, their customers and the economy.

That is why the corruption scandal shaking the country has created such unease in the business community. Aside from the scale of the alleged wrongdoing, it is the consequent uncertainty that disturbs the private sector. Sadly, corruption is not new - it is a persistent disease that has plagued Philippine governance for generations. But what makes this particular issue alarming is the erosion of public trust due to the magnitude of corruption.