Cesar Buenaventura’s story

I call him CAB, short for Cesar A. Buenaventura. He is regarded as the grand old wise man of Philippine society having played, through the decades – and until now – invaluable roles in our country’s continuing journey.

The first Filipino CEO and chairman of Shell Group in the Philippines, CAB is a nonagenarian but he is far from retired and his memory is still very sharp. He is still very much active in business circles and on the golf course – nine holes usually, twice a week.

He is regarded as a Master Yoda of sorts to many listed companies including the sprawling Consunji and Razon business empires.

Equipped with an engineer’s mind; armed with decades of experience working for Shell all the way to becoming its first Filipino big boss and trained in crisis as a member of the Monetary Board during the turbulent Marcos Sr. era, CAB, no doubt, has witnessed the best and the worst of Philippine business and politics. 
Anyone at his age surely would have so many stories to tell but CAB’s story is unique because it is one that intersects with our country’s dizzying journey as a society.
The result is a gripping, moving and fascinating story that is as much about a man as it is about the Philippines, immortalized in CAB’s recently published memoirs, I have a Story to Tell.

Here, CAB puts on record not just his personal life but the many turning points he witnessed in our country’s history.

The book, edited by Manuel Quezon III, is an easy read, yet riveting and profound; funny yet poignant; gracious but frank.

I will tell you now that a column about CAB’s memoirs won’t do justice to his story but I write this anyway as a record of his record and, more importantly, in gratitude to the man for his service to this nation of 114 million.

There are countless interesting anecdotes in the book. It’s also a visual diary of the Philippines during World War II, including his growing up years with his siblings including the late great central bank governor Rafael “Paeng” Buenaventura.

I cannot squeeze in CAB’s whole story here but I will put the spotlight on some behind the scenes from those years that followed after the historic EDSA People Power as we commemorate today the