He who arranges his art and businesses

Whether realist or abstract, impressionist or expressionist, by a master or a newcomer, MVP views them one and the same: art is art.

MANILA, Philippines — At the topmost floor of the iconic and swanky office of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), Manuel V. Pangilinan or MVP would stare at a painting on the wall pondering if it should even be hanging there. He would look at it closely—the lines, the stroke, the texture — trying to get a vibe out of it. If it in any way feels out of place, it would find itself moved to another room.

In the room where I was about to interview MVP, paintings of mother and child lined up on the left side of the wall from the door. The first one to catch my attention was a charcoal piece of a mother, in a floral cloak, piggybacking her sleeping child. On the farthest end of the wall hung a sketch of a mother in traditional baro’t saya, piercing a stare at the viewer, as her child appears to be resting by her chest.

I turned to MVP’s executive assistant, a poet whom I have encountered in earlier literary functions. Why the preference for mother and child art? He gave me a nervous smile and a scratch to the head, suggesting he can only know so much about his boss. The closest I could piece together was that the world was celebrating International Women’s Month at the time.

After some time, the corporate tycoon entered the room all warmed up in a Kenzo hoodie jacket splattered with rare species of birds. I have covered MVP for about two years in the telco and transport beat, but that was the first and only time I saw him in casual wear. He scanned the room to discern our company, and once he finished he took his seat, skipping the usual pleasantries.

I jumped the gun immediately, amused by his seeming obsession over arranging art pieces. A tycoon as big as Pangilinan may find each minute of his day assigned to something, whether it’s closing a merger, drawing up a new product or service, or facing a crisis. And yet, here he is, clocking in an hour or two each week to move paintings around his office.

MVP’s simple answer was that he finds the work calming. He recalled that on one occasion, he stumbled upon a Manansala masterpiece that he