Doing it the Gokong-way: RLC execs build on the Gokongwei legacy

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

August 7, 2026 | 12:00am

Notes on the beat

MANILA, Philippines — They are no Gokongweis, but they are leading property giant Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) the Gokong-way.

Tasked to lead RLC in its next chapter, these executives are taking a page from the Gokongwei family playbook in how they run the business.

Currently at the helm of the company is Mybelle Aragon-GoBio, who was appointed as president and CEO in 2025, becoming the first woman and non-family member to lead RLC.

While RLC’s growth strategy includes almost doubling profits by 2030, Aragon-GoBio said the Gokongweis have taught them that it’s not just about looking for or chasing profits.

“It’s really about how our projects contribute to progress, nation-building and how it really improves lives. And they make sure that we champion integrity,” she told The STAR.

“We always believe that growth and ambition on one side does not have to be in conflict with discipline and prudence. It’s that balance which I think is the biggest contribution or the guidance being given to us by the Gokongwei family that has really allowed us to grow sustainably and responsibly through the years,” she added.

RLC senior vice president and business unit general manager for Robinsons Offices Jericho Go said one of the key lessons that have been shared with them by tycoon Lance Gokongwei, coming from his father, the late taipan and Gokongwei Group founder John Gokongwei Jr., is that “the family is here to support the business and the business is not here to support the family.”

“That already sets the tone of what this company is all about – what nation-building is all about,” Go said.

Go recalled that when he joined the company back in 2019,  the very first thing Lance asked of him was what his mobile number was.

“In my mind, it’s because maybe if there would be instructions or if he needs something. But it’s actually the opposite. Can I have your number, so that I can give you my number, so that anytime, anything you need, I’m here to help. It’s the reverse,” Go said.

“So the principal, the owner themselves are very much involved in the operations to help because they have resources, they have access, they have connections and they just want to give us the best chance to perform at our best,” he added.

For seasoned business and hospitality leader Barun Jolly, who serves as RLC senior vice president and Robinsons Hotels and Resorts business unit general manager, it’s the Gokongwei family’s entrepreneurial spirit, stewardship and integrity that have served as their guiding principles.

“For me that’s been really these key things which we’ve learned and which we continue to display in how we think, operate and build at RLC,” Jolly said.

Ramon Rivero, chief strategist and business unit general manager of Robinsons Sports and Leisure, meanwhile, credits the Gokongweis for their unrelenting innovation.

RLC on its own is the first hotel group to bring essential value in a branded experience, while also having the first Filipino five-star hotel brand through Fili, and the first ultra luxury homegrown brand through NUSTAR.

“Remember the time when Cebu Pacific came in, they challenged and introduced what we call as low-cost carrier. They also put out the iconic C2, which was the first herbal tea in a bottled drink, which is different in its kind with the sweet taste. And then just recently,  they went into the fintech industry with GoTyme. I think the Gokongweis are really known for their innovation,” Rivero said.

One of the most prominent business families in the country, the Gokongwei clan is behind industry-leading companies like JG Summit, Cebu Pacific, Universal Robina Corp. and RLC, among others.

For Lance, president and CEO of JG Summit, future leaders in the group must have integrity, prudence, entrepreneurial spirit and the boldness to dream – the same values that his father had.

Also essential is the hunger to try to find solutions for customers and continue to pursue new opportunities for growth.

But instilling these values in the next generation is only part of the challenge.

“The business was founded by my dad and his siblings. In our generation, which is the second generation, there are 23 of us. Not all of us are in the business. And in the third generation there are 50 cousins. Maybe two or three of them are in the business,” Lance explained.

“Kids of the next generation, they have so many choices and their own aspirations. Many of them want to prove themselves outside their own independent capacity and it’s our job in the second generation to make it, I guess, attractive for them to join the business in the future,” he said.