• Author: Resil B. Mojares
• Publisher: Aboitiz & Company (Cebu City)
• Publication Date: 1998
• Number of Pages: 293

Commissioned for the company’s 1998 centennial celebration, Aboitiz: Family & Firm in the Philippines was written by acclaimed Filipino historian Resil B. Mojares. Rather than a standard, glorified PR brochure, the book serves as a “strategic post-mortem of survival against total erasure” and the story of an “intangible institution”. It traces the firm’s history from its origins as a small 19th-century Spanish-Basque trading post in Leyte to its evolution into a massive, publicly listed Philippine conglomerate. As a powerful synthesis of the Aboitiz century, the story ultimately asks a defining question: Are you building a business that can survive a century of storms, or just a season of sunshine?

The book in 3 sentences

1. This book chronicles the evolution of the Aboitiz family business from a modest 19th-century hemp trading operation in the Philippine provinces into one of the country’s most massive and successful corporate conglomerates.
2. It highlights the incredible resilience of the family through catastrophic crises—most notably the 1920s abaca price crash and the devastation of World War II—driven by patriarch Ramon Aboitiz’s uncompromising adherence to palabra de honor (word of honor).
3. The narrative serves as a masterclass on how an enterprise can successfully navigate the precarious transition from a highly centralized, patriarch-led family firm into a professionally managed, decentralized, and publicly listed institution without losing its core values.

Top quotes

On reputation and integrity

• “La mayor fortuna que tengo es mi palabra y mi reputación; el dinero se puede perder y volverse a recuperar pero el que una vez pierde la reputación y no tiene palabra terminó para siempre.” (“The greatest fortune I have is my word and my reputation; money can be lost and recovered, but he who once loses his reputation and has no word is finished forever.”) — Ramon Aboitiz, refusing to declare bankruptcy to wipe out his debts in the 1920s.
• “The reputation we want is that you don’t have to check Aboitiz.” — Endika Aboitiz, on striving for service and safety standards that exceeded even those of Mediterranean countries.

On pragmatic expansion and effort

• “Any business where we can make money, we will go into.” — Ramon Aboitiz, explaining his philosophy on diversification.
• “The abaca business, Manuel, I know from sad experience that without putting all your efforts into it, you might make money but it is more likely that you will lose everything.” — Ramon Aboitiz, writing to his cousin Manuel Moraza in 1918 about the extreme volatility of commodity trading.

On family, culture, and meritocracy

• “We shout at each other but after that, we’re buddy-buddy again. We’re not only cousins, we’re friends… We grew up together. We don’t have major philosophical differences. We had the same education. We think the same way. So it’s not difficult.” — Jon Ramon Aboitiz, on family cohesion.
• “He is Aboitiz & Company, and Aboitiz & Company is Don Ramon.” — The author describing the profound impact of the patriarch on the firm’s identity.
• “It is a misconception to think that Aboitiz is a closed, family-run corporation… If family members occupy managerial positions, it is because they have demonstrated the ability, leadership, and work ethic that make them deserving of such positions.” — Roman S. Ronquillo, a top non-family executive.

On scaling and national duty

• “To catch the wave, we needed to access capital resources. The numbers are too big… we cannot solely rely on internally-generated funds.” — Erramon Aboitiz, explaining the pragmatic realization that taking the company public in the 1990s was the only way to fund massive projects.
• “There was chaos at the time and I felt I could contribute something.” — Ernie Aboitiz, on deciding to serve as president of the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) to help the country during an energy crisis.

Key takeaways

• Business success is written in the DNA: The Aboitiz dominance in inter-island shipping was not a random pivot; it was a continuation of centuries-old Basque maritime tradition. Paulino Aboitiz was raised in the Txanton Torre farmstead overlooking the Bay of Biscay, a region defined by “fierce, even stubborn, independence”. He was formally trained in a mariner’s school (escuela de nautica), equipping the family with an ancestral “passion for risk and adventure”.
• Integrity is the ultimate capital: During the 1920s financial collapse, the price of abaca plummeted and the company accumulated a crippling P800,000 debt. Ramon Aboitiz was in Spain and had to “pack up post-haste” to rush back and save the firm. Instead of walking away, he partnered with an ally, John Talbot Knowles of Smith, Bell & Co., and spent until 1941 fully paying off the creditors. This 20-year commitment forged a “solid reputation” that became their most liquid, valuable asset.
• Diversification as a survival mechanism: Ramon’s risk-taking strategy was rooted in his youth; as an 11-year-old sent to Spain, he was a self-described “bad boy” with a fondness for gambling and cockfighting. This restless energy matured into a deliberate strategy to diversify into shipping, sugar, ice plants, and power, ensuring they survived when the hemp market inevitably collapsed again.
• Kinship as an anchor and “external lungs”: The firm navigated growth by treating the family and the firm as “two distinct entities, each with its own peculiar dynamic”. They professionalized by integrating “external lungs”—highly skilled non-family professionals like Bill Bowler (legal and tax matters) and Tamezo Ohtsuka (abaca department). Meanwhile, the “Aboitiz Women” served as the vital “social glue” that kept the familial unit intact.
• Rebuilding from ash is a habit: The company survived the “total erasure” of World War II, which destroyed their ships and leveled their commercial district. They restarted operations in Don Vidal’s Spanish-style house on Ranudo St., and later built a makeshift office from flattened oil drums and scavenged lumber. Working in that “monstrously hot place” forged a corporate culture that permanently valued persistence over prestige.

Strategic networks and family connections

The Aboitiz empire was structurally built on a tight web of intermarriages and highly strategic corporate alliances.

By marriage and kinship:

• The Moraza and Yrastorza bond: The foundational alliance was formed when Paulino Aboitiz and his close friend Angel Moraza married the Yrastorza sisters, Emilia and Guadalupe. This functional merger created a lifelong business partnership that managed the early stores and trading posts.
• The Escaño family: The Escaños were prominent Spanish-Filipinos who provided critical protection by sheltering the Aboitizes in their Malitbog estate during the Philippine-American War. In 1928, they merged their shipping fleets with the Aboitiz family to form La Naviera Filipina, dominating Visayan waters.

By business affiliation:

• Chinese-Filipino entrepreneurs: Ramon Aboitiz heavily partnered with local Chinese businessmen, astutely noting that they “do business better singly than in groups.” He allied with Manuel Gotianuy, Lim Tian Teng, and Sy Jong Chuy to acquire and control the massive Hoa Hin shipyard. He also forged early partnerships with the Chiongbian and Sycip families in shipping and engineering.
• British and foreign partners: During the firm’s darkest hour in the 1920s, Ramon was championed by John Talbot Knowles, the British manager of Smith, Bell & Co., who advocated for Ramon based on their shared history and trust. Later generations actively partnered with global giants like Japan’s Kao Corporation (for oleochemicals), Singapore’s Keppel Group (for shipyards), and Norway’s Jebsen Group (for shipping).
• Historic national elites: As the company transformed into a national conglomerate, they entered massive joint ventures with legacy mainland elites, including the Ayalas, Sorianos, and Elizaldes to tackle projects in banking, cement, and manufacturing.

The business portfolio: Entries and exits

The Aboitiz clan’s history is defined by entering businesses out of pragmatic necessity (“Any business where we can make money, we will go into”) and ruthlessly discarding them when markets shifted.

Businesses they kept / expanded (and why):

• Hemp (abaca): Entered in the 1870s to capitalize on the booming global Western demand for marine cordage.
• Inter-island shipping: A logical complement to the hemp trade; they needed vessels to transport goods. They later revolutionized domestic shipping with containerization and the high-speed SuperCat ferries. It evolved into a massive, modernized container and passenger fleet (SuperFerry, SuperCat).
  • Update: In 2010, the group sold off Aboitiz Transport Corp, which operated SuperFerry passenger and cargo vessels. It was difficult to compete with a travel alternative: budget airlines, which were gaining popularity.
• Shipbuilding and engineering: Acquired out of operational necessity to repair their own ships. They pioneered the industry in Cebu.
• Power (Davao Light, Cotabato Light, HEDCOR): Entered post-WWII to capitalize on the massive infrastructure needs of the Mindanao frontier, eventually becoming a dominant player in hydroelectric power.
• Manufacturing: They heavily streamlined operations, going so far as to install “box car rails” in Cebu to speed up the movement of cargo. They operated ice plants, industrial oxygen, and sugar centrals.

Businesses they discarded (and why):

• Hemp and copra trading: Phased out by the 1970s and 80s as the global hemp market shrank, shifting their focus toward advanced processing rather than basic commodity trading.
• Coconut oil milling: Forced out in the late 1970s when the Marcos martial-law government created a monopoly (UNICOM) that cartelized the industry.
• Ormoc and Jolo electric utilities: Sold to the government in 1978 due to heavy political pressure from the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to convert rural utilities into cooperatives.
• Cebu Shipyard & Engineering Works (CSEW): Sold their majority stake to the Singaporean Keppel Group in 1988 to gain access to international capital and global markets.

Surviving catastrophe, a.k.a. crisis management

The Aboitiz firm survived events that wiped out their contemporaries through a mix of flight, grit, and extreme operational agility.

• The Philippine Revolution & American War (1898–1901): When hostilities broke out, the family prioritized physical safety over assets. Fearing the collapse of the Spanish colonial government, they packed up, sought temporary refuge with the Escaño family in Malitbog, and ultimately fled to Spain to wait out the war. They returned only when the Americans had pacified the islands.
• The 1920s Abaca Price Crash: Just after incorporating in 1920, global post-WWI hemp prices plummeted, leaving the company with massive overpriced inventory and a crippling P800,000 bank debt. While friends advised declaring bankruptcy, Ramon Aboitiz refused, stating his reputation was his only true fortune. He spent decades paying the debt in small installments, a grueling process that cemented the firm’s legendary creditworthiness.
• World War II (1942–1945): The Japanese occupation completely destroyed their infrastructure—ships were seized, shipyards bombed, and assets frozen. The family survived by scattering to the provinces and engaging in the underground “buy-and-sell” barter trade of consumer goods (rum, medicines, food). To manage wartime inflation, they paid loyal employees in kind (like rice) instead of useless Japanese currency. Immediately after liberation, they set up makeshift offices in flattened oil drums and rapidly re-established shipping dominance by buying and converting surplus U.S. military supply vessels.

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Chapter summaries and notes

Here is a comprehensive and detail-filled summary of each chapter:

Chapter One: The Early Beginnings (ca. 1851–1920) This chapter traces the family’s Basque roots and their initial establishment in the Philippines.

• Spanish origins and arrival: The story begins with Paulino Aboitiz, born in 1851 in the picturesque Basque town of Lequeitio in Vizcaya, Spain, to a farming and seafaring family. Educated in a local mariner’s school, Paulino set sail for the Philippines in the 1870s to seek better economic opportunities during a time when the Spanish colony was opening up to global trade.
• Establishing the foundation: He settled in the coastal town of Ormoc, Leyte, where he piloted a sailboat and eventually married Emilia Yrastorza in 1880. Around the same time, another Basque immigrant, Angel Moraza, married Emilia’s sister Guadalupe, forging a deep familial and business bond between the Aboitiz and Moraza families. They engaged in the lucrative trade of abaca (Manila hemp), collecting it from local villagers and shipping it to major trading houses in Cebu and Manila.
• Early growth: As their trading operations expanded, they opened a general merchandise store, acquired their own sailing vessels—including the steam launch Picket in 1902—and formed a partnership known as Muertegui y Aboitiz. By 1910, the partners realized the need to be closer to market access and moved their main operations to Cebu. Meanwhile, Paulino’s second son, Ramon Aboitiz, educated in England, emerged as a fiercely driven entrepreneur who would go on to shape the company’s future.

Chapter Two: Crisis and Triumph (1920–1941) This chapter details the formal incorporation of the firm, its near-collapse, and its pre-war diversification.

• The Abaca Crisis: Aboitiz y Compania Incorporada was officially formed in February 1920. However, its first year of operation coincided with a massive global economic shock following World War I, causing the price of abaca to plummet drastically. The company was caught holding massive inventories of overpriced abaca, leaving it heavily indebted to banks and British trading houses.
• Triumph of character: While facing tremendous pressure, Ramon Aboitiz firmly refused to declare bankruptcy, believing that reputation (palabra de honor) was a businessman’s most vital asset. He spent years slowly paying off the debts, a feat that earned him immense respect and established a foundation of unshakeable creditworthiness for the company.
• Diversification strategy: Having survived the crisis, Ramon enacted a deliberate strategy to diversify the company’s assets to protect against the volatility of single markets. In the 1920s and 1930s, the company expanded by investing in Cebu Ice & Cold Stores (1926), consolidating their shipping fleets to form La Naviera Filipina (1928), organizing the Ormoc Sugar Company (1929), and acquiring a shipyard that would become the cornerstone of their ship engineering business. They also entered financial services by investing in local building and loan associations.

Chapter Three: Recovery and Expansion (1942–1970) This era covers the devastation of the Pacific War and the aggressive rebuilding and expansion that followed.

• Surviving the war: The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (1942–1945) brought the company’s operations to a halt. Their ships were commandeered, their shipyard was bombed, and employees were scattered. Family members survived the dangerous war years by engaging in small-scale buy-and-sell trading and hiding in provincial areas.
• Rebuilding operations: Immediately after the war, Aboitiz rapidly rebuilt. They quickly reestablished their shipping dominance by acquiring and converting surplus U.S. military vessels, formally establishing the Aboitiz Shipping Corporation (ASC) in 1952. Their engineering capabilities were similarly revived and expanded under the Cebu Shipyard & Engineering Works (CSEW).
• Widespread expansion: The post-war decades saw explosive diversification. Aboitiz expanded its marketing division to supply the booming industrial and logging sectors. They entered manufacturing by establishing oxygen and industrial gas plants (COACO) and the Pillsbury-Mindanao Flour Milling Company. Crucially, they made their first major foray into the power sector by acquiring and modernizing the Davao Light & Power Company and Cotabato Light. Additionally, they strengthened their footprint in banking by helping establish the First Insular Bank of Cebu in 1960 and City Savings Bank in 1966.

Chapter Four: Forging Ahead (1970–1995) The final chapter focuses on modernization, professionalization, and preparing the conglomerate for a globalized future.

• The changing of the guards: As the company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1970, aging patriarchs Don Ramon and Don Vidal Aboitiz began passing the torch. The company underwent a major generational shift, transitioning from a centralized, patriarch-led structure to one managed by younger, highly educated family members and skilled non-family professionals.
• Modernizing industries: The company modernized its core businesses dramatically. In shipping, Aboitiz revolutionized the domestic industry by pioneering containerization with their SuperCarrier vessels and introduced high-speed sea travel via the SuperCat and SuperFerry fleets. They also established Aboitiz Air Transport. Their power generation portfolio expanded through the Hydro Electric Development Corporation (HEDCOR), which pioneered mini-hydroelectric plants.
• Major acquisitions and public listing: The company’s investments grew in scale and complexity. They became a major player in banking by acquiring Union Bank of the Philippines in 1988, expanded into oleochemicals with Pilipinas Kao, and heavily developed real estate and construction ventures through ACOLAND and Metaphil.
• Facing the future: Recognizing the need to streamline operations and raise capital for even larger projects, the holding company Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) was established and publicly listed on the stock exchange in 1994. This marked the ultimate transformation of Aboitiz from a traditional family firm into a modern, widely-held corporate institution, while still preserving its foundational values.