Sharing is the clearest manifestation of gratitude. It is a message of thanks spoken in the deepest language of the human heart.

It is with this generosity that Dr. Ty founded Metrobank Foundation (MBFI) in 1979, sixteen (16) years after he built Metrobank in 1962. It is the foundation responsible for acknowledging the efforts of our heroes in the academe, the military, and the police force through its search for Outstanding Filipinos. It is the same foundation together with partners like yourselves, that is responsible for giving teachers proper recognition through its nationwide celebration of the National Teachers’ Month. Of course, MBFI is the same foundation that has been recognizing the talent and hard work of young Filipino artists since 1984 through its visual arts and design program, the Metrobank Art & Design Excellence. Aside from these programs, MBFI also contributes to development through grants in the areas of health, education, arts, and livelihood (heal).

Contributions to these areas, along with the aforementioned notable programs, are testaments to Dr. Ty’s generosity of spirit. Mr. Arthur Ty, his eldest son, said it best in his message during the MBFI 40th Anniversary, “the work we do at the Metrobank Foundation is a reflection of Dr. Ty’s enduring legacy to make a difference in the lives of the citizenry and contribute to nation building.”
Anyone who has achieved this much can spend the rest of his days enjoying his blessings, finding comfort in the idea that he has contributed back to society just as much. But just like this year’s Metrobank Foundation anniversary theme “Puso at Sigasig”, Dr. Ty has heart and zeal that refuse to rest knowing there is always room for growth and knowing he can help more.

Not known to many, Dr. Ty also put up his family foundation, GT Foundation, Inc. (GTFI). Since its inception back in October of 2009, the foundation has silently pursued the philanthropic initiatives of the family in the areas of health, environment, and education. Taken together, these grant priority areas result in the acronym “heed,” which is very fitting as GTFI aims to respond to the needs of the underprivileged and hope to pave ways for a better and brighter future.

In addition to grants, GTFI also supports projects that perpetuate the legacy of the Ty family primarily through infrastructure development. These projects cut across the foundation’s priority areas, helping fund the construction and equipping of school buildings, classrooms, laboratories and the like, for education; barangay health stations and maternity waiting homes, for health.

A few years back, when asked to talk about his accomplishments with respect to putting up a bank at the very young age of 29 with hardly any experience in the industry, Dr. Ty compared himself to “an ant that moves a mountain.” He said ‘we have stories in Chinese about an ant that moves a mountain. Actually, it is not just one ant; it’s a group, thousand of ants that moved the mountain. In my particular case, i was just one small ant.”

The analogy he made himself, however, was to the spirit of a singular ant. “i have the spirit of an ant. Ants work together: they never give up. I have a very good people and we are working together to move more mountains.”

Throughout his journey to success, Dr. Ty found partners who also shared a vision for nation building. Among them was the late President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino who served as Metrobank foundation’s chairman of the board of advisers from the time she stepped down from the presidency in 1992, up to the time of her death. We specifically remember today our beloved Tita Cory whose 10th death anniversary we just commemorated last August.

This is the very essence of today’s event – partnerships. As our two foundations mature, MBFI and GTFI try to explore ways to make our projects more strategic in generating the desired impacts. We want to be able to determine if our efforts in fact contribute to nation building, and in what way. In order to do this, we rely on you, our partners and stakeholders. If we are to succeed, we need your commitment, not just to carry out project deliverables, but to provide relevant solutions to stakeholder needs; to assess the undertaking; and make sure the next one is even more meaningful and impactful. As we propagate a culture of excellence, we need partners like you who share the same mindset. Today’s ceremonies therefore, allow us to express our trust in your capabilities in turning our shared vision into reality.

With these directions, Dr. Ty will surely find peace knowing that the values he championed endure, and his legacy lives on, thanks to our concerted efforts.

Thank you once again, and welcome to the 2019 Anniversary Grants Turnover Ceremony in celebration of Metrobank’s 57th Anniversary.

Have a pleasant morning.

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