BIZ BUZZ: When ‘SOP’ stands for something good
Venture capital veteran Martin Lichauco is throwing a birthday concert for the second time this year, with True Faith, a Generation X favorite, set to perform at Hard Rock Cafe on Friday night.
It could be either an advanced or belated birthday bash—Lichauco is born in January—and the private joke among his friends is that he celebrates his personal anniversary every month.
One thing stays the same as his previous birthday gigs: this one is a fund-raising concert to support an advocacy.
Like the earlier concert he hosted in April, this will also benefit nonprofit Special Olympics Pilipinas (SOP).
The president of private equity firm Warburg Pincus Philippines, after all, isn’t one to throw a party just for fun.
As treasurer of SOP, he takes his role to heart. Together with fellow patrons of SOP, they want to promote inclusive sports and youth leadership.
SOP, which helps individuals with intellectual disabilities by giving them the platform to thrive in athletics, is preparing for two major events in the coming year.
The first is the Asia-Pacific Football Competition (venue is yet to be announced). Then there’s the Special Olympics (3×3) basketball competition that the Philippines will host in December 2026.
This early, SOP is also preparing for the World Games to be held in Chile in 2027.
Lichauco promises a “night where music meets meaning—and every beat moves us closer to inclusion.”
And in this case, the acronym SOP stands for something good, signifying giving back and not kickback (which we Filipinos are dying to get rid of).
