Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I

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Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary 270 Gaisano, Henry ( , ShiWeipeng, 1920–2004) Entrepreneur, philanthropist, Philippines G aisano is a name quite well known in the southern parts of the Philippines. In Visayas and Mindanao, the Gaisano brothers and the Gaisano brand are acknowledged pioneers of the shopping mall business. Today, the businesses are operated entirely by second-generation Gaisanos who understand their fortune in having one another and working together to attain smooth and coordinated growth and success for every Gaisano. Born on 21 May 1920, Henry Gaisano was the foremost member of the clan,the third son of Jose Sy Leng Kee, who was a Chinese from Long Hu Ya Kou, Jinjiang in Fujian, China. Sy married Doña Modesta Gaisano with whom he had eleven children — five boys, David, Stephen, Henry,Victor, and John, and six girls, Pian Pian, Kam Kam, Eng Eng, YanYan, Ching Ching, andTengTeng. The Gaisano empire began with a small store in Cebu City whose operations were interrupted by World War II. Soon after the war, the brothers set up White Gold Store, a retail outlet that carried an increasing array of merchandise. Henry Gaisano was in charge of daily operations and finance. When White Gold Store succeeded, the brothers decided to construct a five-storey building to house White Gold Department Store. It was the first multistorey department store in Cebu City. White Gold became the “go-to” place of every Cebuano living in and around the city capital. It carried everything one would need — clothing, houseware, kitchenware, appliances, toys, groceries, and in 1962, even a fine Chinese restaurant at the top floor of the building. White Gold Department Store was the concrete realization of the teachings of the family matriarch, Modesta Gaisano, who throughout her life emphasized the importance of family unity.She drummed into their consciousness that “united, you brothers could move mountains”, and her children did work as one until the much larger number of second-generation Gaisanos were ready to take over. Big though the department store became, the brothers stayed hands-on managers. Key positions in the company were not given to outsiders in the early years. All work and responsibilities were shared among the brothers. They worked day and night, taking turns to work at night — doing the inventory, restocking shelves, balancing the books, and even cleaning the aisles. The line of satisfied customers who returned to White Gold again and again proved that their concept of a department store was on the mark; it was also the precursor of the shopping mall concept where everyone’s needs are in one place.This showed the foresight of the brothers.However, success did not come without trials. White Gold was burned down in 1974, but from the ruins, the brothers emerged stronger and more confident. Together, they reconstructed their business,even branching out to other provinces. This chain of establishments later emerged to G Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary 271 be the Gaisano malls known throughout the south.The brothers also entered into the real estate business, banking, and finance. Their collective efforts, coupled with their dedication and hard work, spelled magic. As Henry Gaisano often said, “the measure of your giving is the measure of your fortune” ( ).Althoughthefivebrothershandled the family businesses as a single family entity, it was Henry Gaisano who was renowned in the Chinese-Filipino community because of his ardent support of education. He believed that education was the only way to lift a person from poverty. With education, a person gains more self confidence, giving himself value, and recognizes his own value in the society. Hiding his identity behind the name “Cebu Anonymous ( )”, he gave annual recognition and cash rewards to outstanding Chinese schoolteachers and principals. For seventeen years, he gave away more than 23 million pesos to almost 1,400 outstanding Chinese language teachers — a selfless act of generosity which he concealed (his identity was revealed the day he passed away). As Cebu Anonymous, he also supported the Chong Hua Hospital of Cebu City and the ChineseFilipino volunteer fire brigade in Cebu. To him, maintaining anonymity in giving donations was the purest form of benevolence as it shows genuine concern for those in need and not a hankering for recognition. Out of love for their mother, the brothers set up the Modesta Gaisano Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarship grants to deserving students to go to university. It is one of the...