Businessman and philanthropist Ambassador Dr. Francis C. Chua was named the 2020 Most Influential Man in the Philippines by the Philippine Cancer Society.
“This hat is so much larger than what I can fit. There is definitely millions of Filipinos, who are more influential than me,” Ambassador Chua said during the virtual awarding in the second week of December.
The recognition coincided with the launch of the Best Dressed Women in the Philippines coffee table book, a tribute to the women of PSC that not only spoke of how these ladies carried themselves during the crisis but more how and what they contributed to the country and fellow Filipinos during the pandemic.
Ambassador Chua’s BA Foundation donated vital health supplies like personal protective equipment, face masks, face shields, testing kits and health supplements to frontliners and medical institutions amid the pandemic.
As a Filipino-Chinese national, he led the transfer and dispense of P3 billion in cash assistance from the Taiwan-based TzuChi Foundation.
“As a modest member of the TzuChi Foundation, we try to be always the first to respond to any calamity. It is very humbling to be given the opportunity to contribute to such a humanitarian effort,” he said.
Families from Marikina and Rizal affected by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses were the first to benefit from the cash donation sent by the foundation.
Ambassador Chua has been instrumental in many private sector and government humanitarian undertakings—for assistance from local and foreign civic groups for calamity survivors and for personally reaching out to distressed families, individuals and even, students who are caught in a bind.
“My influence, if there is any, is to work with philanthropists like you, to reach out to those with less in life,” he said.
He is one of the strong pillars of the Philippine Chamber Movement in the Philippines, being the only Filipino who has ever led, as president, in the three most influential business chambers in the country—the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of the Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce Inc. and the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands.Othel V. Campos
In his various capacities as business stalwart, he is continuously giving immeasurable contribution to the business world, to the academic sector and to the larger humanity.
He has led several private organizations and, as a honorary Consul General to Peru since 2005, has helped strengthened bilateral cooperation with the Peruvian government and institutions. He also served as the Special Envoy to China.
Among his many hats, he sits as a board member of major Philippine industries like the Bank of Commerce, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, 2GO Corp., Global Ferronickel, and DITO CME Telecommunity.
He is a board of trustee at various educational institutions–University of the Philippines, Central Luzon State University, Adamson University, and University of Manila. In China, he is also in the board of Hua Kiao University in Fujian and Fuzhou Normal University.
In October 2020, Chua became the first recipient of the PCCI Presidential Excellence Award—the highest and most prestigious award from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
As chairman emeritus of PCCI, Chua raises awareness among PCCI members the benefits of having more connections outside the country. With his extensive experience in diplomacy, Chua spearheaded the creation of the International Chamber of Commerce Philippines.