Hans Sy’s faith on Phl

Golden visas, anyone?

- IRIS GONZALES

Not for tycoon Hans Sy, the son of the late retail magnate Henry Sy, who delivered a moving speech on Monday after being named the Management Association of the Philippines Management Person of the Year for 2025.

My biggest takeaway was that, at 70, he only has one passport - a testament, he said, to his faith in the Philippines, warts and all.

One Philippine passport

“Iam 70 years old now. And I still hold only one passport, a Philippine passport. That is both a fact and a statement of faith. Despite the risks, the noise and the many uncertainties, I have never doubted our country’s promise or the strength of the Filipino spirit,” he told a crowd of fellow managers, businessmen, government officials and tycoons at the MAP awarding ceremony held at the glittering ballroom of Shangri-La The Fort.

Bumping into him the next day at the anniversary celebration of BizNewsAsia, I said I was touched by that line about the passport.

Lessons from his father

This was particularly interesting to me because the impression is that many of the country’s billionaires and powerful individuals have so-called golden visas, ready to leave when the going gets tough in our chaotic yet beloved nation of 115 million.

But Mr. Hans said this was not what he learned from his father, who, though Fujian-born and later a naturalized Filipino, remained deeply rooted in the Philippines and stayed through the decades, including tumultuous episodes.

This makes him “more Filipino” than many who were actually born in the country.