Business tycoon and SMC top honcho Ramon S. Ang revealed that contracting COVID-19 thrice and experiencing some of the most unfortunate events in 2020 had humbled him. He also denied that he was eyeing presidency in next year’s elections.
San Miguel Corp’s president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said he was humbled after experiencing some of the most unfortunate events in his life last year including getting sick with COVID-19 not once but thrice.
Ang, a known philanthropist who has been providing assistance to the government and victims of COVID-19 in various ways through his firms, made the revelations during an online conference held by the Bureau of Internal Revenue on the country’s top taxpayers.
“Ang natutunan natin ay maging humble. For the first time in my life, I’ve experienced na yung mga masasakit na pangyayari, na nangyari noong 2020, he said.
Namatayan po ako ng anak. Tatlong beses ako tinamaan ng COVID-19,” Ang narrated.
He likewise pooh-poohed suggestions that he run for President, saying he will continue to work in San Miguel and engage more with their big-ticket infrastructure push.
Ang added their businesses were also severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in losses on some of their companies.
“Sa negosyo naman ho, nahirapan po kami, marami talagang paghihirap yung negosyo. Pero sa ganon pa man, dahil sa maayos naman natin pinapatakbo ang negosyo natin, maganda ang kinalabasan,” he related.
Ang noted that their beers and spirits units saw incomes fall by more than half last year as authorities imposed liquor bans during the height of the lockdowns.
Petron, another unit of San Miguel, also saw its income drop sharply due to low demand on fuel at the height of the lockdowns.
To recall, SMC recently opened the Skyway Stage 3, and is set to begin work for its massive airport project in Bulacan this month.
Earlier, he also bared his plans to build a tollway that runs the length of the Pasig River to connect the eastern and western parts of Metro Manila.
The Transportation Department earlier also said the MRT-7, which is being built by San Miguel, may start partial operations by December.