Business magnate Dr. George S.K. Ty is not only known as a remarkable businessman who founded Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) and ventured into a wide range of industries through GT Capital Holdings, Inc. He will also be remembered as a Filipino who gave back and paid forward, championing advocacies and upholding causes.
Giving back
Sixteen years after establishing Metrobank in the 60’s, Dr. Ty initiated his philanthropic endeavors by setting up Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI) in 1979.
MBFI implements various programs on education, visual arts, health, and in the recognition of excellence among key professions,
In recognizing noteworthy Filipinos, MBFI instituted the Search for Outstanding Teachers (SOT), The Outstanding Philippine Soldiers (TOPS), Country’s Outstanding Police Officers in Service (COPS), Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE), Search for Journalists of the Year (JOY), and the Professorial Chair Lectures.
The foundation also works on promoting education — one of the advocacies close to Dr. Ty’s heart — through Metrobank-MTAP-DepEd Math Challenge (MMC), MetroGold Scholarship Program, and the National Teachers’ Month celebration.
Furthermore, MBFI became the majority owner of the highly esteemed Manila Doctors Hospital. With the foundation’s involvement, Manila Doctors has always been on call as a provider of a wide array of social services such as subsidies for in-house patients, outreach programs, medical missions, and other health-related interventions in adopted communities.
Paying forward
The former chairman emeritus of GT Capital Holdings — which holds 51% of Toyota Motors Philippines (TMP) — continued extending his helping hands through Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation (TMPF), established in 1990 as the corporate social responsibility arm of TMP.
TMPF has become TMP’s constant partner in pursuing social development projects, particularly in the fields of education, health, environment, and community service.
Moreover, in 2013, Dr. Ty expressed his gratitude to Toyota by building and opening the P1-billion, 10-hectare, world-class, nonstock, nonprofit Toyota Motor Philippines School of Technology (TMP Tech) in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Reaching out
Dr. Ty and his family, continued their personal advocacies and philanthropic pursuits by establishing GT Foundation, Inc. (GTFI) in 2009.
GTFI’s projects include the following: the Bags of Blessing (BOB) project, in which bags containing assorted food items are distributed to underprivileged families every Chinese New Year; the GTFI Scholarships for Technical Vocational Education Program, which have benefited 261 students to date; and surgical missions and programs catering to patients with dermatological issues including hernia, gallstones, clubfoot, and cleft lip and palate.
GTFI also responded to the Marawi crisis, granting assistance to families of soldiers killed in action as well as uniformed personnel who fought during the Marawi siege.
Dr. Ty excelled not only as an industry leader, but also as a philanthropist. The accolades he received, from the Order of Lakandula in 2010 to the Grand Exemplar Medallion in 2014, reflect his dedication to giving back and paying forward. His legacy of bringing service to Filipinos is worth remembering and emulating by the next generation of leaders who are following in his steps. — Adrian Paul B. Conoza
