Of Mall Fires, The Gaisano Clan, and the Third Generation Curse

When I saw on Facebook on January 5 that the Metro part of Ayala was on fire, my mind immediately brought me back to 1998 to 2001 when I was a student at the University of the Philippines Cebu. During long breaks between classes, lunch time, or after our Wednesday guidance session, my friends and I would cram ourselves into the Vitara or Civic of one of our friends and ride to Ayala. On days when our designated driver was not around, we would walk to Ayala and would always enter through the Metro. I must have gone through that part of the mall more than hundreds of times and to see it destroyed by fire was quite sad.

Metro Gaisano burning. (Photo credit to Mayor Tommy Osmeña's FB page)

One of my readers reminded me that though I have already written about the main line of the Gaisano's through an old article on Don Pedro Gotiaoco, I have not written about the Gaisano clan. I realized that as someone whose earliest memories of supermarkets were at their Gaisano South store in Leon Kilat and later in JS Gaisano in Ilustre in Davao City, it is high time that we explore the Gaisano family tree.

Other than warm memories of buying goya milk chocolate or Yan-Yan or Haw Flakes from their stores when I was young, I also remember several cases of fire destroying this and that store of the Gaisanos. 

One of my earliest memories was a fire eating up my favorite JS Gaisano in Davao in the 80s. I no longer remember when the new store was erected, but rebuild the family did.

In 1997 another fire hit the family, this time the White Gold Department store. I remember that this store was a favorite of my grandfather, and that one of my maternal aunts had her wedding reception in the White Gold House restaurant. Again, the family rebuilt and the store has now been relocated to a nearby place.

In December of 2011 the five-story Gaisano Capital South in Leon Kilat and Colon caught fire at around 12:40 a.m. Then in January of 2017 another fire hit one of their stores, this time the multi-million building Gaisano Capital  in Barangay Mintal, Tugbok District. In the same year, another fire also hit the Gaisano mall in Ormoc City, again starting before dawn.

Although there may be some who wish to find connections in these fires, my job is to discuss the genealogy of the Gaisanos, not the investigation into the fires that have devastated their stores over the years.

Family Curse?

The Gaisano dynasty started with a small, typical Filipina known as an active player in Cebu’s socio-economic activities during her time. She was a well-known philanthropist and was always supportive of the local government. As discussed in my previous article on the Go clan of Cebu, Doña Modesta Singson Gaisano was one of the children of Chinese immigrant Don Pedro Gotiaoco. 

One of the old stories about Don Pedro was that he left China because he had accidentally killed a relative. Some say that this accidental killing activated a curse that was later to haunt several lines of Don Pedro's descendants. Consider this: aside from various fires destroying various Gaisano department stores through the years, fires have also hit several Robinsons stores, prominent among these were the 2011 fire that hit Robinsons mall in midtown Cebu and in 2013 when another fire hit Robinsons Galleria located in Ortigas Center. This is an interesting connection because the founder of the Robinsons department stores, John Gokongwei, Sr., was a half-brother of Modesta S. Gaisano; both were the children of Don Pedro Gotiaoco.

The Third Generation Curse

Aside from the Gotiaoco curse, there is also another theory for all these fires. In a study conducted in Singapore, it was discovered that only 13 percent of family businesses in Singapore survive until the third generation; the same study has also been applied to Filipino family businesses which tended to have similar results as their Singaporean counterpart. These similarities in declining family businesses have led to the so-called three-generation curse, which states that the first generation creates the business, the second one maintains it, the third one fritters it away. 

Unfortunately for this so-called theory, the Gaisano fires happened before and after the third generation began to assume control of the business. For instance, the burning of White Gold and JS Gaisano in Davao happened when the sons of Modesta were still alive, thus it was still the second generation running the business. And the latest fires have happened during the watch of the third and some fourth generation members of the family. Besides, it is clear that the Third Generation curse is far from being applicable to the Gaisanos. The Gaisano family has expanded their supermarket empire into most major cities all over the Philippines. 

What started as just one supermarket has now grown into an empire. When Modesta S. Gaisano died 1985 her children took over her business and made it the empire that it is today.

The Gaisano Family

First, it is clear that the Gaisano name is a maternal name. Modesta Singson Gaisano married Jose Sy Leng Kee, Chinese from Long Hu Ya Kou, Jinjiang in Fujian. Their eleven children: five boys, David, Stephen, Henry, Victor, and John, and six girls, Pian Pian, Kam Kam, Eng Eng, Yan Yan, Ching Ching, and Teng Teng, all used Gaisano as a last name and Sy as a middle name. Although not a rule, many Chinese - Filipino families would use the existing more Filipino last name as a family name and the father's Chinese name as a middle one.

The family has maintained its Chinese identity by marrying into almost purely Chinese or Chinese-Filipino families. Even the fourth and fifth generations continue the practice of marrying within the Chinese community. However, here and there, some marry outside the community. For instance, Henry Sia Gaisano II, son of Edmund Gaisano, married Jhezarie Javier, former Bb. Pilipinas-International, while Valeri Gaisano, Henry II's sister, also married a non-Chinese, Glenn Sebastian.

Since the passing of Modesta S. Gaisano, the various chains of the Gaisano clan have evolved into the following: Gaisano Capital, owned by the Gaisano Capital Group that was started by Henry Sy Gaisano, Sr. and as of 2010 already has 15 branches all over the Visayas and Mindanao; Gaisano Country Malls, a chain of malls that was started by Stephen Gaisano, Jr., son of Stephen S. Gaisano, Sr.; Gaisano Malls that were started by David Sy Gaisano which also includes White Gold; Gaisano Grand Malls, founded by Benito S. Gaisano, son of Henry S. Gaisano, among others. Aside from malls and supermarkets, the family has also expanded into other businesses like banking.

And despite all the issues the family has had to deal with over the years, it cannot be denied that the Gaisanos have helped many throughout the years. For one, their hundreds of stores all over the country have given employment to many, and their generosity in giving scholarship funds to deserving students started 56 years ago continues to this very day. The Gaisano scholarship, which is one of the longest running scholarships in the Philippines, is a project of the Doña Modesta S. Gaisano Foundation established by the children of the Gaisano matriarch in honor of their mother. Every year, 30 outstanding graduates from the different schools and universities in Cebu are awarded P100,000 each as funding for their education.

Family curses, while not really logical, add some flavor to family histories. The Kennedys have their own family curse story which just adds more to the tragic events surrounding the deaths of its more charismatic members. Even the Gokongwei's, cousins of the Gaisanos, also have a strange family curse about a half-snake half human member of the family who lurks inside the walls of the Robinsons department stores and abducts female customers. No matter how much the family tries to dispel the rumors, these curses have a life of their own.

So, unlike the supposed victims of the Third Generation curse, it does appear that the family is going to go beyond the third generation; in fact, the fourth generation members have now started doing their fair share in running the business.

The Pedro Gotiaoco Family

(Go family tree. Click to enlarge)

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From a humble origin in the Fukien province of China, the enterprising young man Go Bon Tiao, known more commonly today as Don Pedro Singson Gotiaoco, went on to become known as one of the 19th-century Cebu wealthiest taipans. His story is not unlike those of many prominent Filipino-Chinese businessmen with their quite literally rags to riches story. But what sets Pedro Gotiaoco apart from the rest of his Chinese brethren is not only the continuation of the family wealth to the present generation, but also the diversification of the business enterprises in not one, two, or even just three families but in 5 financially entrenched families in the country today with their influence stretching in all corners of society. Truly, the rise to wealth of the Go family and their contribution to the economy of the Philippines is indeed a story worth telling.

Humble Origins

In an interview with Atty. Augusto Go, the President of the University of Cebu and the Honorary Consul of South Korea to Cebu, he depicts his grandfather Don Pedro Gotiaoco as a pioneering man who left his feudal homeland to search for the proverbial greener pastures here in Cebu City. Late nineteenth century China was still pretty much feudal, with the lords living prosperously while the peasants barely able to make ends meet. The Go family was one of those who had to toil the land for survival, and, added to this dismal poverty, Pedro Gotiaoco’s life was further burdened by his step-mother, who always managed to find fault in the young Chinese man. Thus, with all these happening, the young Gotiaoco decided to leave China and seek his fortune elsewhere.

But there was also a more pressing reason why he had to flee his hometown, and it was this reason, above all, that precipitated the young Gotiaoco’s escape from China. According to Atty. Go, who is the considered the best authority regarding the history of the family, Pedro Gotiaoco had accidentally shot a cousin and wanted to escape prosecution by running away. Indeed, if Pedro Gotiaoco had been arrested in Kei-tang, he would most probably have languished in jail and the Go dynasty of Cebu would never have been created. Thus, with barely anything to his name, Gotiaoco ventured the unknown and arrived in Cebu City during the late nineteenth century.

Start in Cebu

Like most of the Chinese population in the country, Pedro Gotiaoco started in the lowest wrung of the social ladder. The Chinese were already considered second-class citizens in late Spanish-colonial Philippines, and it must have indeed been difficult for a newcomer such as Gotiaoco to establish himself in the already crowded market of Cebu City. Displaying ingenuity and patience, Gotiaoco started from peddling oil and upgraded to selling rice which was consigned to him by a Vietnamese merchant. Upon the return of the Vietnamese, Gotiaoco informed the merchant that he was unable to sell all sacks of rice but, instead of getting mad, the Vietnamese instead gave the remaining sacks of rice to Gotiaoco as commission and even further consigned to him more sacks to be sold. This arrangement suited Gotiaoco, and, pretty soon, he was a trusted vendor for the Vietnamese merchant. At one point, Gotiaoco casually asked the merchant what made him trust Gotiaoco with his goods. The Vietnamese said that one night, as Gotiaoco was sleeping, he noticed that he had his hand on his heart, and, to the Vietnamese people, those who sleep with their hand upon their chest is an indication of honesty. Indeed, Pedro Gotiaoco remained an honest businessman, and pretty soon, with enough capital, he began to sell his own rice and, even when the selling of opium was legalized, he refused to sell it because of its addictive and negative effects. Thus was his business started in Cebu. He later called his products “JO”, in allusion to the hook-and-ring which he used to carry his sacks of rice when he still peddled.

Rags to Riches

Pretty soon, Pedro Gotiaoco decided to assimilate with mainstream Chinese-Filipino communities by being baptized in the Christian faith. According to American culture historian on the Philippines, Michael Cullinane, Don Pedro Gotiaoco was baptized with Don Mariano Singson, from the prominent Chinese mestizo family of the Parian, as a sponsor. Thus Don Pedro was also known as Don Pedro Singson Go Tiaoco, with his influential baptismal sponsor's name incorporated with his own, after the fashion of the times. A "padrino" was deemed a necessary protector for an immigrant like Don Pedro. The sponsor’s son, Don Segundo Singson, was later on the brother-in-law of the late Philippine president, Don Sergio Osmeña. Singson's second wife Eleuteria Chiong-Veloso was the sister of Osmeña's first, Estefania. A Singson lady also became a mistress of Pedro Gotiaoco and conceived his only daughter, Modesta.

Similarly, the ennobling title of “Don” soon became attached to Gotiaco’s name. Don Pedro Go Tiaoco, according Southwall magazine's Arts and Culture Editor Gavin Sanson Bagares, was a "Chino Cristiano" or Christianized Chinese who got his honorific title of "don" from some form of service to the Spanish Crown, most probably as a"teniente" or an adjutant of the Chinese "gremio" or tax ward. In the available list, he does not appear to have been a "capitan" or "gobernadorcillo" (a position equivalent to that of mayor today) of the said ward. The “co” on his adopted Hispanized surname also appears to indicate some form of influence; although the word "CO" is also a Chinese last surname, when it appears as part of a three-syllable Chinese-Filipino surname it then corresponds to a title or distinction given to affluent citizens, similar to the "DON/DONA" titles used by Spanish aristocratic mestizos. Says Hector Santos, an expert on indigenous Filipino/Chinese-Filipino names, “co was a title of respect given to someone like an elder, or an older brother. However, Co was also a valid name so that it would be hard to say whether the "Co" in the name was part of the original Chinese name or was an honorific. Generally speaking, if it is at the end it would have been an honorific.”

Progeny and Prodigy

It would seem that after becoming prosperous in the Philippines, Don Pedro Gotiaoco repeatedly returned to China and there married a woman whose name we know only today as “Disy” (or maybe Dee Sy). Go Disy was the mother of four children, three boys and a girl. The girl, however, died young. The three sons were Go Chiong Ut, Go Tian Uy, and Go Chiong An. It would also seem that Don Pedro also had other children outside marriage. The first and verifiable child was Doña Modesta Singson, whose mother was believed to have been a Chinese-Italiana mestiza who bore Don Pedro a daughter. When she was 13 years of age, Doña Modesta was taken by Don Pedro to China to be adopted by Disy, who was still grief-stricken over the death of her daughter and who was lonely as all three of her sons decided to seek their own fortune in the Philippines. The other alleged child of Don Pedro was Don Sergio Osmeña. Although Atty. Augusto Go categorically denies having proof that former President Osmeña is another Don Pedro son, it cannot be denied that Atty. Go’s father, Don Manuel Gotianuy, was very close to Don Sergio and they treated each other like brothers. Up to today, the parentage of Don Sergio Osmeña remains a controversy, with some historian claiming that he was a son of Don Pedro Gotiaoco, while others claiming that his father was another prominent Chino-Christiano.

Whatever the truth about Don Sergio, Don Pedro Gotiaoco and his brother Go Kiam Co (who later followed his brother to Cebu City) have left many descendants who are well-known in Philippine society. Prominent among these are Atty. Augusto Go, grandson of Don Pedro Gotiaoco and the President of the University of Cebu; John Gokongwei, Jr., a great-grandson of Don Pedro Gotiaoco and the owner of Cebu Pacific, Robinson’s Mall, JG Summit, and many more; and the Sy-Gaisano family, who operate chains of shopping malls all over Visayas and Mindanao. A grandson of the brother of Don Pedro is Andrew Gotianun, who owns FILINVEST Group and East West Bank.

Indeed, the family of Don Pedro Gotiaoco has gone a long way. From humble origins the enterprising and honest Don Pedro Gotiaoco ventured the unknown to become one of the pillars of the Chinese community in Cebu and has left men and women who are similarly respected in their own fields.

(C) TODD LUCERO SALES, 2012.

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This was originally published by this author in Southwall Magazine under the title "Chino Bravo".