JOJI ILAGAN BIAN

Joji Ilagan-Bian has been in a total of 24 organizations—and is still currently active in six—owns four schools, and is a columnist for two broadsheets. Yet this mother of three children (yet another feat to add on her list!) has not one complaint about her jam-packed work schedule. "Do what you love and love what you do; so work becomes light and easy and pleasurable," says Joji. "You don't feel stressed out because you are happy doing it. So for me, this is really nothing."

 

"Nothing" for Joji includes taking part in effective organizations, such as the Committee on Population Corporate Social Responsibility and Governance, the Philippine Center For Population Development, the East ASEAN Business Council (EABC), the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII), and the Mindanao Commission of Women, amongst many others. She also reaches the public through her two columns: MindanaWorld in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and MinBizTalk in the Mindanao Times.

 

At the start of a new year, Joji states that she is switching into expansion mode with regards to her schools and training centers. Her various educational institutions, including Joji Ilagan Foundation, Inc. College of Business and Tourism, Tumble Tots British Preschool, a fashion school, a call center and English training institute—are now all undergoing a major face lift. "We are more aggressive now than before since we see the potentials of Filipinos when property educated and trained. We will also be opening a welding and technical institute. So I could say we are also in 'pioneering mode'," says Joji.

 

When not planning steps for the country's education, Joji devotes a great chunk of her time in various organizations. She is currently the National Chair for Population and Corporate Social Responsibility for the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to be the Mindanao Representative in the Export Development Council. She is also Vice President of Special Projects for the Mindanao Commission of Women, sits on the Board of the Bantay Bata and the Technical Assistance for the Development of the Rural Poor, and is Chair of the Mindanao Technical Vocational Schools Association. Indeed, this wonder woman is involved in issues that cut across all sectors: the academe, business, women, children, and the poor. "It my way of reaching out to all sectors to the best that I can," she says.

 

Joji's two major advocacies, however, are the plight of the small and micro entrepreneurs, and the uplifting of the technical vocational schools in Mindanao. These, in fact, are the causes that led to her active involvement as Chair of the Mindanao Business Council (of which she resided from 1998 to 2003, later becoming a regular consultant), the PCCI Trustee for Mindanao from 1998 to 2003, as a current Trustee of the Philippine-Australian Business Council, and as Chair of the Technical Training for Mindanao. "Through my leadership and influence, certain issues were addressed or are being addressed to further the development of these sectors. For instance, I got the support of the Australian Aid Philippine Human Resource Development Facility to focus on the upgrading of the managers and owners of tech vocational schools in Mindanao. These schools are the ones that will help alleviate poverty and provide livelihood for the magnitude of our Filipinos," says Joji. "We have piloted an enterprise-based school management system among selected schools, and one of the components of the training is an international benchmarking in Australia. This is the first time in the history that such a program has been done to the vocational sector and the impact of these will be unprecedented—the effects of these will bring quality education to the grass roots."

 

Joji traces her passion for educational and training advocacy to her value of sharing and humility. "Sharing because I believe there's no monopoly of leadership and talents. I am willing to share and to pass on what I know to many, hoping that in the end I leave a valuable legacy. Sometimes when you have accomplished so much, you tend to be 'off the ground',   and I try very hard not to . The value of listening and empathy comes handy many times. It makes you understand people better and relate to them," she says.

 

Joji continues that there are difficulties to hurdle along the way—people who aren't comfortable with strong and successful women, overcoming the Filipino's "crab mentality", etc.   Her trick to surpass all these is to just not let these things affect her since she knows she cannot please everybody. As long as she does her best and is able to help others, Joji is perfectly happy. "Life is too short. I believe in enjoying it, loving it and making the most out of it. When you do that, its like living a heavenly life in an earthly environment," she says. "On the other hand, you also have people who appreciate what I do. These are God's gifts to me, I think. These people are my inspiration actually. They push me to do better and to do more."