JERICHO Petilla believes that success in one’s life and career lies in having a happy family. In his case, he said that venturing into business, working in government, and returning to help run his company wouldn’t matter if his family were not intact.
Petilla and wife Anne have five children: Carlos, 23 years old; Nicola Marie, 21; Jose Lorenzo, 20; Frances Mikayla, 18; and Danika Pilar, 15.
If there’s one notable trait his kids share with him, the former Energy Secretary and now Liberal Party senatorial candidate said, “They’re strong-willed individuals. They can easily articulate or defend something which they feel strongly about. Also, all of them like music and movies, just like me.”
Like a typical father, Petilla admitted he encountered problems, especially in their teen years. “But they would almost always be easily resolved,” he noted, “because we make sure the lines of communication between us are always open.”
The Petilla children are fortunate that their dad has been a good provider and they have a comfortable life—something that Petilla himself didn’t enjoy growing up in Palo, Leyte.
The second of seven siblings, Petilla attended public school from elementary to high school, hitching a ride with his cousin to Tacloban. There were times he had to take a jeepney.
“’Pag kulang ang pamasahe, you walk. That’s 12 km from Tacloban to Palo. In grade school I must’ve done that five times. It was a lowly provincial life,” he recalled.
He never had his own bedroom until college. “I used to sleep in the banig sa sala,” he recounted. “My father, a lawyer, had clients who would arrive early in the morning, so I had to wake up because I could hear their discussions. And I had to share breakfast with the clients.”
Greatest dream
After he graduated from Leyte National High School, the Petillas moved to Manila, where he enrolled at Ateneo de Manila University, in management engineering.
His greatest dream then was to ride his classmates’ private cars.
It was during his Ateneo days that he became aware of the great divide between the rich and the poor, and the value of education. “Pagkatapos ng college, pantay-pantay na kayo. It’s what you do with your knowledge that will determine your future,” he said.
After obtaining his degree, he joined the Ateneo faculty for five years.
He actually had two jobs then—teaching at Ateneo and working in a software development company he formed with four co-professors. That was when he was finally able to buy a car. But it was preowned and had a few defects.
“Pinagtatawanan ako ng girlfriend ko noon na asawa ko na ngayon,” he said, looking back. “Kapag umuulan, nagdadala na siya ng basahan kasi butas ang kotse ko, nababasa ang sapatos niya.”
His business partners, meanwhile, had to exercise patience in a struggling startup. “’Pag walang pera, hati-hati kami sa ¼ lechon manok, dinadamihan na lang ang rice,” Petilla said.
It came to a point he told his partners it was okay for them to leave if they were offered higher-paying jobs, he said, adding that the threshold salary was P12,000 a month in 1985. He was left with just one partner. “Another company bought us out for almost nothing.”
In 1989, Petilla ventured into business process outsourcing with another startup, with little capital. He still could not pay his employees on time, some of whom have stayed with him to this day. His company is now on its 26th year.
He left the company when he became Energy Secretary, and went back after he quit his government post.
Reflecting on his slow, hard climb to achieving financial independence, Petilla said it’s important to have a philosophy in life: “Maintain your values. Keep them close to your heart. What I learned from the Jesuits is how to be an idealist with values. Success in life means keeping your values intact. People lose their values in favor of practicality as they get older.”
He added that philosophy and theology should be taught from elementary to college. “Sabi nila, tiyaga will bring you success. I also believe you need faith and a chance. Not everybody gets a chance. What matters in the end is how you deal with that chance.”