Manuel LopezThe year 2017 gave us a great reason to pause and reflect on life as we know it.

The death of our dear sister, Presy Lopez Psinakis, brought sorrow to our family. She was our only sister and, growing up, she was the most tenacious among us all. She would fight on principle and never give in, especially when she believed that she was in the right.

As an adult, she was very, very fine lady who soldiered on as a patriot. She fought martial law while in exile, together with her husband Steve. Then, instead of retiring from the parliament of the streets after the restoration of democracy in the Philippines, she would return time and again, joining rallies against corruption and supporting whistleblowers—even when she had to travel by wheelchair.

She also had the biggest of hearts, taking on the cause of indigent students through Phil-Asia Assistance Foundation Inc. (PAAFI). She would tirelessly solicit scholarships for public school students from our rather large family consisting of cousins, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, grandnephews and grandnieces, as well as from friends and our corporate family.

I miss my Manang Presy. But the life she lived and gave for others is truly an inspiration. She lived every moment with love—love for her country, for her family, for her causes, for her fellow human beings. She sought justice for the oppressed because she had so much compassion inside of her. She felt that those who could help, in any way at all, should. And she did just that.

Albeit our business units experienced a slowdown in bottom-line growth this year, revenues remain healthy and most units have remained profitable, turning in the expected numbers. For 2018, it will take all of us working together to address several risks that may adversely affect the sustainability of some of our business units going forward.

This is why I look to the New Year with much hope. I trust that those who can help, in any way at all, will do so. Let us share with those who have much less in life some of the bounties we enjoy.

I want to thank all of you, our kapamilya, for your contribution to the Group in 2017. May the life and work of people like my Manang Presy inspire us to continue doing our best work for God, country and fellowmen.

Sa ngalan ng aking maybahay na si Maritess, ng aming mga anak at mga apo, binabati ko kayo ng isang Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon.

MANUEL M. LOPEZ

Chairman, Lopez Holdings Corp.