New beginnings, continuities and endings

The start of 2026 feels like standing at a crossroads — new beginnings emerge, meaningful work continues, and inevitable endings remind us what truly matters. Life, in all its seasons, invites us to pause, reflect, and move forward with gratitude and purpose.

This year ushers in important leadership transitions. At the Philippine Bible Society (PBS), Laura Valledo, formerly deputy general secretary, assumed the role of General Secretary upon the retirement of Perry Cartera, who faithfully served PBS for 37 years. January, Philippine Bible Month, carries the theme “God’s Word Brings LIFE — Love, Integrity, Faith, and Engagement — to our Hearts and Homes.” A fitting reminder as we step into the year.

Also, congratulations to the new FINEX President, DES Financing Corp. CEO Carlo Lazatin. Continuing a family legacy of service, Carlo’s father, Ric Lazatin now serves as president of Tulay sa Pagunlad Inc. (TSPI) following the passing of former president Rene Cristobal.

With beginnings come endings. Over the past year we lost dear friends: Cesar Buenaventura, Gil Buenaventura, Oscar Hilado, Xavier Loinaz, Joe Facundo, Chito Sobrepeña, and recently, our beloved cousin Dr. Jaime Lapus.

Losing a loved one is difficult. Riva Galvez Tan, daughter of Dr. Jimmy Galvez Tan, founded Joyful Grieving, a memorial coordination service that helps families navigate loss with dignity and grace. We coordinate weddings and milestones — why not the memorial of our own lives? Her manual, Building a Lasting Legacy Before Your Inevitable Flight, reminds us to prepare and not wait for the last two minutes of life.

The Filipina CEO Circle (FCC) continues its mission with the 2^nd FCC CEO Next program, mentoring 19 future CEOs. This batch featured masterclasses with Doris Magsaysay Ho (with panelists Riza Mantaring, Sharon Daoyon and Carol Dominguez), Senator Grace Poe, Margot Torres of McDonald’s, Shell’s Lorelie Osial and Aboitiz InfraCapital’s Cosette Canilao .

For the January Masterclass, Accenture’s Ambe Tierro invited me to share my journey with the title “Legacy That Lasts: Reinventing and Thriving Through Multiple Career Stages.” She suggested I share my experiences from line management to board work, from finance and banking to writing and gardening — and the lessons along the way.

From my parents, I learned enduring principles: live within your means, expand your means, guard your integrity, commit to lifelong learning, nurture relationships, and pray without ceasing.

Graduate school at UCLA tested my confidence. I struggled to understand my professors’ accents and thought I had failed — surprise! I topped the Master’s comprehensive exams. I knew it was God’s grace, much like how Senator Bam Aquino described his own election victory. This opened doors at Bancom and Citibank.

At Citi, training took me immediately to a Penang credit seminar. As the youngest in our family, I have never traveled alone. When my two companions failed to show up for our connecting flight from Hong Kong, I faced a choice: wait and miss the training, or go alone. Responsibility overcame fear. I left — and made it on time. They arrived the next day and missed the opening day.

Lesson: Step out of your comfort zone. After that, traveling alone anywhere became easy.

Upon retiring from Citi, then Secretary of the Department of Finance (DoF) Jose Pardo handed me my appointment papers as Finance Undersecretary already signed by the President of the Philippines — so how could I say no? The DoF expanded my board experience as alternate of the Finance secretary in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. After DoF, I joined the Philippine National Bank board as director, eventually becoming its first chairwoman.

What pushed me towards writing was that at a Citibank party with non-bankers, the bankers talked only about work. A spouse lovingly called our attention. That made me realize I should widen my interests — and writing was a way to do that. I’ve been writing for some 30 years now.

Gardening began when Nanay planted talinum — which I almost threw away. Maur Lichauco, Ninoy Aquino’s eldest sister, told me it sustained many during the Japanese occupation. That started our book “Oops! Don’t Throw Those Weeds Away!” which led to my “Hardin ng Buhay” garden advocating “No Filipino should be Hungry.”

Some lessons in my journey:

• Always do your best. Ensure continuous learning.

• Guard your integrity. Practice ethics.

• Value network, health, family, and friends.

• Count your blessings.

• Trust God — the source of everything and ALL we need.

The future is so uncertain. Still, lets be confident of the future as our God is already there. Let’s all be bankers — someone who BANKS on God!

The views expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of her office as well as FINEX.

Flor G. Tarriela is a banking professional. She was the first Filipina vice-president of Citibank and was former undersecretary of Finance and chairman of PNB. She is currently a board advisor at PNB and LTG and director at Nickel Asia. She is a gardener and environmentalist and founded Flor’s Garden in Antipolo.