Teresita Sy-Coson has never been one to flinch at a little turbulence. The eldest daughter of the late retail and property titan Henry Sy Sr. projected characteristic calm this week, even as political shockwaves rattled Manila’s business circles.
With the government engulfed in a sprawling corruption scandal over flood-control and infrastructure projects—an affair stretching into the hundreds of billions—Sy-Coson told an audience at an SM Investments event to tune out the din.
“Next year will not be so bad,” the SM Investments vice chair said, stressing the value of staying focused as the noise crescendos.
Her optimism, she hinted, is rooted in decades of surviving—and growing through—far worse.
But the timing of her pep talk was notable. Earlier on Wednesday, December 10, the Asian Development Bank trimmed its outlook for the Philippines, bucking its more upbeat revisions for much of developing Asia.
The lender now expects GDP to grow 5.0 percent this year and 5.3 percent in 2026, both weaker than previous projections. It flagged decelerating public infrastructure spending—linked directly to the still-unfolding project probes—as a key reason for the slowdown. Third-quarter growth sagged to 4.0 percent, pulling the year-to-date average down to 5.0 percent.
For the Sy family, though, resilience is practically a birthright. Henry Sy Sr. arrived from China with little more than grit, eventually building an empire that now spans malls, banking, and property. That hard-earned ethos, his children say, continues to guide them.
Hans Sy, chairman of SM Prime Holdings, echoed that sentiment recently, saying the family never considered leaving the Philippines even in the most tumultuous periods. Their conviction, he said, mirrors the enduring resilience of Filipinos themselves—an asset no forecast can downgrade.
