Online users praise Teresita Sy-Coson as she 'patiently waits' for luggage at NAIA Terminal 2
Award-winning writer and editor Jose "Butch" Dalisay Jr. shared a moment in which Teresita Sy-Coson—a member of the Sy family behind the conglomerate SM Group—"waits patiently" for her luggage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In a Facebook post on Sept. 29, Dalisay shared a photo of Coson with other passengers. She is wearing a black blazer, white shirt, and black pants, and is using her phone with the other passengers along the carousel where their luggage would come off.
"ATM (At the moment), at NAIA Terminal 2. It tells you something when one of Asia’s richest women waits patiently for her luggage to come off the carousel," Dalisay said.
He noted that the board of one of Coson's companies held a meeting in Iloilo over the weekend.
"[W]e met some of them taking a tour of the city, and we met them again at the Iloilo airport," Dalisay said, "but I saw none of the others at the carousel, with assistants presumably delivering their baggage to their cars."
Commenters praised Coson for her modesty.
"A very good example of simplicity and humility. Mabuhay po kayo," one user said.
"Feels good seeing this. And contrasts sharply with some others I have seen who behave like they are entitled," another user said.
"Good example!! Government officials must emulate her," another one said.
Journalist Jing Garcia, meanwhile, recalled seeing Coson at SM Megamall pushing the wheelchair of her dad, the late Henry Sy, "bodyguards are nowhere."
Another commenter, meanwhile, recalled working for Coson's family, saying "she was at their kitchen tutoring her daughter."
Coson is the vice chairperson of SM Group. She's also the chairperson of BDO Unibank, one of the country's leading banks.
Coson, as well as her siblings Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert, and Harley, were part of Forbes Magazine's 50 richest Filipinos list published last August, with a combined net worth of $13 billion (P745 billion).
Dalisay has written short stories, novels, poems, screenplays, essays, columns, and speeches. He has published over 30 books.
He has won 16 Palanca Awards, considered the highest literary accolade in the country.
A professor emeritus of English and creative writing at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Dalisay has given lectures at several universities abroad, including the University of Michigan, University of Auckland, University of Rome, London School of Economics, and University of California, San Diego.