MANILA, Philippines – Ramon Lopez was abroad on vacation and had to cut his trip short after receiving a job offer from someone whom he considers only as an acquaintance.

Saying no was a difficult option, as this person happened to be the next President of the Philippines.

Lopez and President Duterte barely knew each other prior to the former’s appointment as secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

But Lopez’s reputation as a man for the little guys was enough to land him the Cabinet post.

“I was approached through his team. I was told I was being considered and then part of the shortlist. My name was given and was endorsed by many, I was told. I wasn’t expecting it as I was on vacation abroad when these things were happening. Until I was requested to come back earlier to meet the then incoming president,” Lopez, who holds a master’s degree in development economics from Williams College in Massachusetts, told The STAR.

“As far as my relationship with President Duterte is concerned, he did not know me well before, but he remembers always joining our Go Negosyo activities in Davao since two years ago for his many inspirational opening remarks.

“He just says he likes what we are doing since we help empower the poor and the micro entrepreneurs,” Lopez added.

Lopez has served as executive director of Go Negosyo of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship for the past 11 years. He has pushed for a strong entrepreneurship advocacy and enterprising culture among Filipinos together with Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion.

Back to where it started

Before being named as the country’s new DTI chief, Lopez spent 22 years in the private sector where he served as a top executive of RFM Corp.

Lopez also formerly worked with the National Economic and Development Authority and the DTI and has vast experience in trade and industry development planning.

A long-time colleague at RFM described Lopez as a man of intelligence and integrity.

Lopez was regarded as a servant-leader type – not overbearing nor domineering, but one who listens to and cares about people.

“I met Mon Lopez at DTI in 1986. By way of background, I was working with Joecon (Joey Concepcion) at RFM until the EDSA revolution swept away the Marcos regime, and he was appointed DTI secretary. Joecon brought me there as assistant secretary. My first impression of him was as a competent technocrat, handling plans and programs for DTI,” said Felicisimo Nacino Jr., former CEO and a current member of the board of directors of RFM.

“We had come upon DTI as one of the more professional organizations in government at that time. Mon came across as a prime example of that type, who could stand toe-to-toe with any of us in the private sector armed with our MBAs.

“As I got to know him better over the years, my professional respect for him has not only gotten stronger, but also cast an even wider net as I learned more about his personal qualities and people-handling skills,” Nacino added.

But even though Lopez enjoyed his time in the business sector, the call to serve in the government once more was too hard to resist.

“My advocacy is really to serve the government,” Lopez said.

Nacino attested to this.

“Mon is really one of those few professionals who truly want to serve the people. In a way, one can say that RFM only borrowed Mon Lopez from DTI. We have now returned him to DTI, even more fully equipped to serve his chosen constituency,” Nacino said.

A perfect fit

For his new team at the DTI, Lopez is a perfect fit to spearhead the agency in the next six years.

“He has always been known as an advocate of MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises). Personally I don’t know him that well but by reputation I know him because of his advocacy. It’s good that he was a part of DTI in the past. He really has that strong background on industry development prior to joining the private sector,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said.

“My first impression of him is he’s very simple. His ideas are very brief but very clear and they are really doable. And you can really feel that his priority is how to get the micro products accessible to the consumers and not only during trade fairs. So I think there is no doubt he will get the full support of the entire DTI family,” DTI Undersecretary Victorio Dimagiba added.

Lopez is assuring the public that his commitment of service is for the Filipino people and not only to the President.

“Our goal is really towards a progressive Philippines. We can achieve this by attracting companies that will not only generate employment but provide quality employment for everyone,” he said.