I’ll never forget the company’s culture of generous hospitality

Two weeks after I gave birth to my son (now a doctor) Ivan in 1995, i joined The Westin Philippine Plaza (later renamed to Sofitel Philippine Plaza) as vice president for PR. No choice but to report for work, as the hotel had to undergo partial renovation.

For six months I had the worst case of postpartum blues, but I delivered good outputs, with Sandra Garcia as my boss and my best mentor. My colleagues provided great support! It’s when I realized the nature of the hospitality industry. Our weekly forum “Bulong-Pulungan” was a great opportunity to meet the best of the media, and learn the best!

In 1999, I gave birth to my third son Isaac; nine months from conception till birthing time. It was another time to experience the best of the Philippine Plaza culture. From the GM to operations team, everyone was mindful of my condition and attended to me during work hours.

Sadly, six months later, I was recruited by Standard Chartered Bank, an industry I did not know about but stayed in for 10 years. But my GM and resident manager were generous with their support to encourage me to move for professional reasons.