Pagcor chair Naguiat honored by communication practitioners

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chair and chief executive officer Cristino L. Naguiat Jr. is chosen as one of this year’s CEO Excel Awardees for his leadership and use of excellent business communication strategies which enables the state-run gaming firm to maintain its stature as the third largest revenue-generating government agency in the country. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAGCOR

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chair Cristino L. Naguiat Jr. is among the 14 recipients  of this year’s Communication Excellence in Organizations (CEO Excel) Awards bestowed by the Philippine chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

The CEO Excel Award is the honor program of the IABC Philippines for top-level executives, CEOs and organization leaders in the country. The awarding was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati City on Sept. 14.

According to IABC Philippines, a CEO Excel awardee is  an “acknowledged champion of excellent communication to achieve business goals, and a leader for good governance and responsible corporate citizenship who inspires others to serve for the greater good.”

Naguiat was recognized for his leadership and use of excellent business communication strategies which enabled Pagcor  to maintain its stature as the third largest revenue generating government agency in the country,  the gaming firm said  in a statement on Friday.

Under Naguiat’s term, Pagcor said, the agency started remitting billions of cash dividends to the government, making the state-run gaming firm a part of the elite circle of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) which forwards billions in cash dividends to the National Treasury every year.

“Through its high revenues and the prudent management of its resources, Pagcor was also able to venture into far reaching corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects, the biggest of which is the construction of thousands of classrooms in public schools nationwide,” it said.

“To date, the state-run gaming firm has already constructed a total of 1,745 classrooms in 361 sites nationwide. Thousands more are undergoing construction in various provinces all over the country,” it further said.

Naguiat said  being conferred with the highest leadership honor by  the IABC Philippines was  a “testament that being in government service can also be fulfilling despite the challenges.”

“A lot of people believe that it is a thankless job to be in government service. There are so many challenges and people expect you to solve problems overnight. But at the end of the day, you will know that you did something right when your stakeholders and reputable organizations like the IABC recognize your efforts,” he said.

In his acceptance speech, Naguiat recognized the contribution of Pagcor employees in the attainment of the agency’s goals.

“Our corporation would not have achieved its success in the last five years of the Aquino administration were it not for the dedication of our 11,000 Pagcor employees nationwide,” he said.

“As chairman and CEO of Pagcor, I had the good fortune of working with very good people and hardworking employees. I owe them the success of our corporation. As we often say, a good leader is only as good as his team,” Naguiat added.

Kane Errol Choa, president of IABC Philippines,  said this year’s CEO Excel Awardees could be likened to rock stars.

“The term rockstar is also used to describe someone who is influential, has won the admiration of many and will be remembered by generations,” Choa said.

Meanwhile, Joe Zaldarriaga, chair of the 2015 CEO Excel Awards Committee, emphasized the importance of innovation in the worlds of business and communication.

“Innovation works hand-in-hand with progress, with success. It serves as a map that leads organizations to achieve its goals and targets. It also helps build and strengthen the relationship of companies with all its stakeholders by introducing value-adding out of the box solutions,” Zaldarriaga said. Maila Ager/RC