Ropali Group turns 50

EYES WIDE OPEN

- IRIS GONZALES

Fifty years or half a century is a long time. Some people don't make it to that age; some marriages, too, don't get that far. The same is true in business. Some companies or conglomerates fade into oblivion before they even get near 50.

But that's not the case with the Ropali Group which, just last month, celebrated its 50th year as a business group. The low-key Ropali Group is actually a huge presence in various industries, but especially in agriculture.

Led by Roberto Alingog, founding chairman of the Ropali Group of Companies and 2021 TOFIL or The Outstanding Filipino awardee, the Ropali Group is a conglomerate of many businesses including Agribank, rice harvester dealer Adamco, Ropali Motorcycles, one of the top motorcycle dealers in the country, and many more.

I was fortunate to join the celebration held at the glittering ballroom of Shangri-La The Fort and attended by Ropali stakeholders, including clients and customers as well as friends of the Alingog family.

It was actually a double celebration as Robert Alingog also celebrated his 70th birthday.

During the celebration, there was an exhibit about the Ropali Group outside the ballroom and from that, I learned that aside from its focus on agriculture, the group is also into property through Ropali Land Inc., which develops socialized and economic housing across the Philippines.

I didn't get a chance to talk to Alingog that night except for a short greeting because there was a long line of people who wanted to greet him, too. I congratulated him for the success of his conglomerate.