At his 90th birthday party last June 30 at the Rizal Ballroom of Shangri-La Makati, where some 600 guests—business, political, and society heavyweights, including President Benigno Aquino III—feted the grand old man of Philippine business, celebrator Washington Sycip reportedly brought the house down with his apology for the supposed typographical error in the invitation.

“I’m 90,” he joked, with that perpetual twinkle in his eye. “Not 19.”

Sometimes, you have your doubts. Although the venerable SyCip retired in 1996 as chair of the venerable accounting firm he founded, SyCip Gorres Velayo and Co. (SGV), he hasn’t exactly been puttering in the garden.

When the 1992 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for International Understanding is not in the office he still occupies in the SGV Building, where a busy day can start as early as 7 am and end “with whatever evening reception there is,” Sycip is globetrotting, jetting between countries to attend meetings and meet up with the many world and business leaders who have become his friends.

In fact, that’s how he confesses to keeping in good physical shape. “I walk up and down airports, where I unfortunately spend a lot of time. Yes, I travel alone. I cannot afford to have people traveling with me, they would just slow me down.”

Sycip has no secret formula for staying young. “I’m very busy, that’s the reason I have to try to stay young. There’s so much work do, whether it’s for non-profit or business organizations. I enjoy my work; if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it.”

Never on vacation

The concept of retirement, or of even going on most senior citizens’ idea of a vacation, is alien to him. “I’ve retired from the firm, but not from work. I still have an active mind, so if I can still help out, I try to do so. Oh, and I’m never on vacation; I don’t need to go on vacation. Some people like lying on the beach to relax, but that’s not my cup of tea. I read a lot, to relax, but also as part of my profession.”

What Sycip does quite well is keep his finger on the pulse of the youth. In his office, where every inch of shelf and table space is filled with figurines of turtles, a symbol of longevity, there is also an iPod on a dock, filled with music that his grandchildren have downloaded for their angkong (grandfather in Chinese, which is what they call him, Sycip says).

Sycip says he learns a lot from his grandkids, whose advice he seeks often. “I learned from them to see what young people see. If I always responded on the basis of what an old man sees, I wouldn’t see it from the point of view of young people. I talk to grandchildren to get their view, and they do give me their opinion, which improves my knowledge. I’m glad they also believe in improving education.”

Education is topmost on Sycip’s mind nowadays, as he is a trustee of Synergia, an organization working with local government, private business, and parents to upgrade the educational system in the country and give Filipino students a shot at a better future.

“What’s on my mind now is to work to reduce poverty. I see a lot of it, and we can’t talk about democracy if we still have poverty, if people are hungry and illiterate. The key is to have more intelligent voting to reduce poverty.”

With such life-changing stuff on his razor-sharp mind, Washington Sycip will be moving and shaking for a long time to come.