The Rise of Rene G. Romero

RENE G. Romero has a strong passion for everything. Either it is in his leisure as an off-roader, in his role as civic leader or as a businessman. He is one whom we call today as a game changer. Every role he had taken, he never considered failure as an option. Like a true Virgoan, he is a perfectionist, sincere and devoted in everything he does. He inherited most of those traits from his father, the late Amancio Isip Romero who before World War II was one of the few Filipinos hired by the Americans to work on a constructed airstrip in Barrio Lara in San Fernando town. Tang Mancio, as he was called by kin and friends, was a hardworking man and never complained working long hours just to achieve his job with perfection. As a reward, when he retired as a Clark employee, he was gifted by his bosses with an M-38 jeep and was given concessions to do repairs and maintenance of machineries, office items including ground maintenance. Out of these many concessions saw the birth of Romero-Margallo.

--oo0oo--

It was in this outfit located just off the perimeter fence of Clark Air Base where Rene was trained by his father. He was given assignments like cleaning and repairing typewriters and other machines commonly used by offices inside Clark. He literally and figuratively did all the dirty jobs to the delight not only of their company's clients, but his father as well. Tang Mancio -- who in his early married years to Dionisia Lacsina Galang, a pretty barrio lass from Minalin -- was elected a barrio lieutenant and later councilor and vice mayor of San Simon town. He got so engrossed in local politics that he placed on his son Rene the task of running the company. But Rene had other things in mind, and that was to put up a company, and not a small outfit like what his father established.

--oo0oo--

The history of Romac started with only six workers, and Rene was only a teenager and a 2nd year electrical engineering student at the then Assumption College in San Fernando. He approached the college president, Fr. Octavio Ramos, and asked that he be given the contract for cleaning the buildings in the campus. It started with the hallways, to the rooms and offices and then to all buildings and premises of the school because Fr. Ramos, faculty members and the students noticed the change, the spic and span look.

--oo0oo--

Romac is a contraction of Rene's surname and of his wife, the very pretty Agnes Macam. Rene and Agnes, during their youth, can pass off as German Moreno's teen stars. Both have the good looks and personality. Rene was the founder of the Navy Blues band. He was the group's leader and Mon David was vocalist and sometimes Rene's substitute as drummer. Rene played all types of musical instruments: trombone, percussion, trumpet, keyboard and guitar. He could have been in the movies but decided to pursue the dream of his youth, and that is to be a rich businessman.

--oo0oo--

It is a small wonder how Rene can do many things almost all at the same time. It is called today under a new business lingo -- multi-tasking. From a small start of six workers, today Romac has 7,600 employees with clients all over the country, from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The big slice of his annual revenue of P1 billion goes to wages and benefits of employees. And while he attended to the needs of his clients who are the who's who in today's Philippine business, the likes of San Miguel Corporation, Wyeth, Coca Cola,LGC, and several banking institutions, Rene can still find time getting to school for a masteral degree, being president of a business chamber, traveling abroad with Agnes and four kids and off roading.

--oo0oo--

His father, Tang Mancio, a good man whom I knew for years, must be smiling, looking from heaven, happy on the success of Rene. I remember when I used to have coffee with him and other friends like Jack Sunglao and Romy Yusi, he never stopped boasting about the capabilities of his favorite son.