Called electrostatic precapacitors, these devices capture and prevent dust and other particulates from going into the air. At P100 million with a total installed cost of P450 million, the investment was critical for an industry perceived —rightly or wrongly — as a major polluter.
Leading the initiative was Oscar J. Hilado, then president and chief executive officer of The PHINMA Group, who died last September 17, 2025 at age 87.
“As a major group in the cement industry, we have decided to take the lead environmentally,” said Hilado in a statement released at that time. “We have a standard within our group that is designed to go beyond compliance with government standards.”
Hilado would subsequently take this concern for the environment beyond PHINMA, serving as a trustee of The Philippine Business for the Environment or PBE. It was one of the many industry groups he was actively part of, alongside the likes of Washington Sycip, Corazon S. de la Paz, and Cesar EA. Virata.
Faith in the Filipino manager
“Faith in the Philippines and faith in the Filipino manager were the hallmarks of Oscar J. Hilado’s business leadership” wrote Jessica Zafra in the 2016 book “Winning: Management Lessons Outside the Classroom.”
“This faith was contagious and inspiring to his organization, the Philippine Investment and Management Consultants Inc. or PHINMA.”
A certified public accountant, Hilado earned a Commerce degree from the University of Saint La Salle in 1958 and an MBA from Harvard College. Known as OJH, he first joined PHINMA —founded by Ambassador Ramon V. del Rosario Sr., Filemon C. Rodriguez, and Ernesto O. Escaler — as Amb. del Rosario’s executive assistant.
Hilado rose to the top of PHINMA in 1994 as chair and chief executive officer. PHINMA, Zafra wrote, “dramatically expanded its assets, revenues, profits and market share under his leadership.”
Investing in people
An excellent recruiter, Hilado put together a management team from different backgrounds and disciplines, creating “an environment of ample managerial autonomy and professional collegiality that brought out the best in managers.”
To achieve this, Hilado made members of his management team as well as employees co-owners of the firm by instituting easy-payment Employee Stock Ownership Plans. He also ensured that the minimum pay in PHINMA companies was substantially higher than what the law requires —at one point even implementing increases ahead of the release of the labor department’s guidelines..
“We do not have to wait for the government to do what we think is right,” he once said.
He also supported the foreign training of staff in specialized courses, with scholarships as an integral part of his approach to continuing education. At the same time, he spearheaded a Human Resources Development Program that later evolved into an internal, company-sponsored training institute.
Awards and accolades
Hilado’s efforts would not go unnoticed. In 1992 he was named MAP Management Man of the year for 1991 by the Management Association of the Philippines. In 1996, President Fidel V. Ramos handed Hilado the Outstanding Countryside Investor of the Year Award, citing the economic impact of the investments of PHINMA’s Davao Union Cement in the Vis-Min region.
“In the early 1980s,” writes Zafra, “when the Davao area was a hotbed of Communist rebels and the residents were fleeing the place, when most businessmen were giving up on Mindanao, Hilado swam against the tide...pushed for the expansion of a modern cement plant in Davao.”
In 2006 he was recognized by the De La Salle Alumni Association (DLSAA) as one of its Distinguished Lasallian Awardees.
Corporate boards and non-profits
Outside of PHINMA, Hilado sat on the board of other major companies including San Miguel Corp., A. Soriano Corp., Philex Mining, Smart Communications, and the Asian Eye Institute. He was also involved in the Philippine Business for Education (PDEd) and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).
A staunch tennis aficionado, Hilado was a longtime supporter of the Philippine Tennis Academy (PTA) and the Union Cement/ITF Philippines Women’s Circuit I and II.
Tributes and memories
“Brother Oscar J Hilado, thank you for being a light—not only to the St. Joseph community, but to me personally,” wrote Therese Ledesma in a Facebook tribute following his death on Sept. 17, 2025 at the age of 87. “I am forever proud to be one of your scholars, blessed to have witnessed a heart so selfless.”
“Even after I graduated, you still reached out whenever you were in Bacolod. I will deeply miss our Viber chats, your cheerful selfies, the little notes that let me know you were ‘alive and kicking.’ It breaks my heart that you’re no longer with us.”
Features Reporter
