The first female chair and administrator of the country’s premier Freeport will be walking (again) in the bigger stage of the economic arena with her appointment as the new President and Chief Operating Officer of the country’s gaming institution-- the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation or PAGCOR.
The former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairperson and Administrator Atty. Wilma T. Eisma, who was then appointed in March 2022 to Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as member of the Board of Directors, took her oath of office as President and COO of PAGCOR on Thursday in Malacañang.
With her appointment to PAGCOR, Atty. Eisma will become the first female president and COO of the Corporation replacing a campañero in profession, Atty. Juanito Sanosa Jr., who resigned in January this year.
Eisma’s career is a classic example of a typical worker who started her employment as a clerk and after working hard, learning more, discovering the possibilities and introducing innovations to achieve every assigned task, her efforts were rewarded.
She started her government service in early 90’s as volunteer Executive Assistant to then SBMA Chairman and Administrator Richard Gordon where she contributed her talents and expertise in legal crisis management and policy making during the infancy of the Authority which manages the Subic Bay Freeport and Special Economic Zone.
After her stint in SBMA in 1998, the opportunity of working in various private and government corporations were wide open to her. She became the Manager for Government Relations at Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC), Inc., the Philippine affiliate of Philip Morris International where she mastered community relations and leadership roles.
Atty. Eisma’s expertise in people and office management, both in the private and government arena; and her ability to expertly supervise projects and programs toward success, gained her respect from the corporate world.
To mention a few, in June 2023, Eisma, was declared silver Stevie winner for “Thought Leader of the Year” in that year’s edition of the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, recognizing the innovations she introduced in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region.
In 2019, while still in SBMA, she received the “CSR Leadership Award” and the “Woman Leadership Award” during Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Day’s World Women Leadership Congress in Manila, her third citation by the World CSR Day group for leadership excellence.
In 2017, Eisma was selected to be among the awardees of “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World” by California-based nonprofit Filipina Women’s Network (FWN), during the 14th Filipina Leadership Global Summit, from October 25 to 29, in Toronto, Canada.
She was recognized for demonstrating exceptional organizational impact “in a large workplace environment, deep passion for a cause and high potential and skill with measurable results in the public or private sector.”
As the new PAGCOR chief, the very person who will be implementing and supervising the plans and programs of the agency, Atty. Eisma is expected to revitalize and resurrect the corporate image of PAGCOR which was tainted recently with doubts and controversies.
The public is now ready to watch how Eisma’s female power will do that. Let us, and yes, make us witness why she belongs to the list of 100 most influential women in the world.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #PAGCOR #SBMA #DBP