President's Corner
Therence G. Batulon
President and CEO "The Youngest President"
"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." - Henry Ford
Warm greetings to everyone!
I can vividly remember 22 years ago when I was hired as a bookkeeper at the Lagawe Highlands Rural Bank, Inc. - the juridical name of BancoLagawe. I was just having a simple dream by then - to do the work which was expected from me and have salary. But that simple dream have changed as we go along .The bank came across many different challenges. We had the lows and highs, failures and successes, the cries and laughters. The journey is not that easy, we need to learn and change gears depending on the terrain in order to be on track.
Today is the 22nd year of BancoLagawe! There are set of people whom I want to thank on this significant day. Firstly, allow me to recall with gratitude the initiative of the pioneer of this bank, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), who envisioned of helping people in the rural communities. Their unconditional support to the bank is unbounded. Secondly, the past and present Board of Directors for their invaluable guidance and collaborative ideas. Thirdly, our selfless Stockholders who had entrusted their hard-earned money. Fourthly, the past and present employees who have worked against all odds that occurred in the past 22 years. Lastly, the success of BancoLagawe would not be possible without you, our dear CLIENTS! Your trust and confidence on us is our inspiration to give our BEST SERVICE that strengthens our partnership. All your contributions are remembered with gratefulness!
Above all, Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Lets give a round of applause to our unity and efforts! Keep growing and celebrating victories. Happy 22nd year to all. Haggiyo BancoLagawe!
By: Therence G. Batulon, BancoLagawe CEO
20 March 2021
To our fellow stockholders physically and virtually present today, colleagues in the Board and management, good morning to all of you! Above all, I would like to thank the Lord Almighty for giving us the opportunity to join together for this 21st Annual Stockholder’s meeting of BancoLagawe
Year 2020 was the most and undeniably challenging year for BancoLagawe. We never imagined and experienced a world of confinement for the reason of public health. Economic activities came to standstill due to lockdowns. As this Covid 19 virus spread globally, SURVIVAL is everyone’s ultimate goal.
January 31, 2020, I was just then appointed as your new President and CEO. In my first day at the office, I sat down with mixed emotions. The passion to give my BEST and the fear not to meet the expectations of the people who trusted me. This brought me to my knees and ask the full intervention of God. It reminded me a bible verse my father always tell us, (Proverbs 3:5-6) “5] Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not on your own understanding. 6]In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” Clinging to this verse, I felt uplifted and “on fire” to continue the work for the betterment of the bank. I am extremely grateful to all the staff especially the MANCOM for being supportive to the plans I laid on the table. We crafted things which we think will strategically guide the bank in achieving its goals and objectives for the year and the years to come.
March 16, 2020, the pandemic journey of BancoLagawe begins. We are caught unguard of the lockdown declaration by the Philippine President. The unexpected widespread of the virus followed by the pronouncement of ECQ Enhanced community quarantine is a stern warning that we need to be fully prepared for the “worst-case scenario” that could hit the banking operation. True enough, the following three months after the declaration, we have seen how our financial figures and ratios really performed. Almost all key financial indicators registered the worst performance of the bank for the past 20 years. Our TEAM carefully assess the situation and made a speedy twist on our strategies with timely execution to be at least a step ahead of the possible impact of the crisis. We employed all efforts to set a “winning mindset” from the rank and file up to the Board. There is a need to adapt and continue to finetune our approaches to have a remarkable output.
For a year, COVID19 has been a part of our daily lives and in the face of the ongoing pandemic, our BancoLagawe family has continued to keep our core purpose, “Enriching People’s Lives”. We did our best to fill-in the banking needs of the people in every place in which the bank operates. In turn, we had a great realization that our “good” can become “better” and eventually the “best” by nurturing everyone in the team. The overwhelming spirit of TEAMWORK and commitment in the management level and the unfathomable favors from the Board of Directors is very commendable. We faced the challenges as ONE, learning more from our losses than our gains.
In closing, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the stockholders for the continued trust to the Board and Management; the strong commitment of the staff and management who go beyond their call of duty; the Board of Directors for their continuing support and the contribution of past leaders, which I will forever treasure. Most especially to the untiring support of my wife, Mrs. Janet Batulon who always stay besides me every step of the way. I truly believed that "Behind a husband's success is a wife".