MANILA, Philippines - For me, SM taipan Henry Sy is not just an adviser, but an idol as well.

How can you argue with success when you see a man so successful? So, lahat ng sasabihin niya, pakikinggan mo. Idol yan, hindi lang adviser (Everything he?ll say, you have to listen to. He?s an idol, not just an adviser).

I met Mr. Sy in 1971 while we were doing shows in his Royal Hotel in Echague. Little did I know that this would be the start of not just a long-term business partnership, but of a long-standing friendship as well.

He would sometimes watch our singers perform in his hotel. In one of these instances, he approached me and suggested that I put on retail my music records in his department store inside the hotel. At this time, 1971 to ?72, my company, Vicor, which I set up in 1966, was the biggest independent recording company in the country.

Mr. Sy was the one who convinced me to go into retail at a time when we were not yet familiar with retail. And it was really a good idea. This was before the malls.

Going into retail

And when Mr. Sy put up his first SM Mall in North EDSA, Quezon City, he gave us a space where we put up Video City, a video retail store. At this time, Viva Films, which I put up in 1981, was already five years old. We were among the pioneer tenants in the first SM mall.

Then, he again suggested that we put our records in the department store of SM. ?I?ll give it to you exclusively,? he said. So we placed our wares in what they called the music section, and Mr. Sy was glad to hear music being played inside the mall. ?Maganda pala,? (It?s nice) he would say. And we were having good sales as well.

We were at that time also staging special event shows in a restaurant named Circus Circus. We would have Vina Morales perform there on Sunday at noontime for the kids, and at night we would have Regine Velasquez, Sharon Cuneta and Kuh Ledesma. They served food with live entertainment. That was part of Mr. Sy?s concept of wholesome entertainment.

Then, one day, he said, Let?s not be exclusive anymore. Let?s bring in the other record companies so that everyone will be in SM. So, all of the recording companies started doing retail as well in SM.

Later on, Mr. Sy approached me again and told me he wanted to put up movie cinemas, but he didn?t know how to start. He said having a movie theater, in addition to the department store and the supermarket, would help bring in people. He asked me whom to contact and how he would get the movies, and what the sharing scheme was like. Viva was then one of the country?s biggest movie producers, so I was able to help him.

I helped at first, but he was the one who eventually helped movie makers, producers and distributors like myself. Everybody in the movie industry benefited when SM put up its cinemas. Film distribution?that?s his biggest contribution to the movie industry. And because he had 12 screens at the time, films enjoyed a longer playing time and higher gross revenues. Because of longer show times, the industry?s earnings increased even more.

Before SM, people used to watch movies in stand-alone, single screen cinemas. Today, we have cineplexes with multiple screens. With this, Mr. Sy knew he could eventually dominate ticket sales. From zero in 1986, SM malls now control 50 percent of all theater receipts in the Philippines. The movie industry grew because of him and his son Hans, who is in charge of SM?s cinemas.

Today, SM?s 31 malls have a total of 194 screens and 125,941 cinema seats. Aside from movies, SM malls remain the biggest markets in terms of music. That?s his vision. When he?s expanding by putting up more SMs, he is putting up music sections and cinemas.

Fun and enjoyment

Viva Group has also contributed greatly to the growth of Philippine cinemas, having produced over 700 movies. We have brought lots of fun and enjoyment to a lot of people over the last 27 years through our films.

That is, aside from our success with a lot of stars like Sharon Cuneta, Aga Muhlach, Robin Padilla, Vilma Santos, Dina Bonnevie, Cesar Montano and Bong Revilla, and directors like Joel Lamangan, Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal. Basically, it was creating jobs within the movie industry.

Movie quality also improved with better cinemas. Kailangan isabay mo ang quality ng pelikula with the venue in which they are being shown. Now there exist Dolby sound and THX. Hanggang nag-iimprove ang cinemas, gumaganda din ang produkto.

Rightfully so, Henry Sy was honored by the Metro Manila Film Festival for his contribution to the growth of Philippine cinema.

All these concepts were made possible by Mr. Sy?s affinity for the entertainment business. He definitely likes entertainment.

It?s also laudable how SM, through the cinema group headed by Hans, protects legitimate businesses against piracy. They?re very consistent about that. SM is probably the only ?pirate-free? mall. And it?s the only mall which has been like that from the very start.

And, have you ever wondered how the popularity of bold movies is now limited to certain areas? It is because SM, as a matter of policy, does not show R-18 or adult movies?not just bold movies, but also those with violent content.

Mr. Sy is for family-friendly entertainment. Lewd and sexy shows, and even some critically acclaimed ?for adults? movies, cannot be shown in SM. For example, SM didn?t show the R-18 rated ?Da Vinci Code? even if it meant loss revenue.

SM further upped the ante in entertainment venues by building SMX in their Mall of Asia (MOA) complex. Now, we?re also doing shows there. He also has IMAX, which the other malls dared not go into because of its high-capital requirements.

Next among Mr. Sy?s plans is a coliseum at MOA. It will seat 18,000 people and will perhaps become the best in Southeast Asia. With these, SM Malls have truly become a destination place.

While brick-and-mortar entertainment venues are getting more and more sophisticated, technology has created other distribution channels as well.

Keeping pace

In its early years, Viva created the glossy look of the 80s and popularized youth-oriented movies like ?Bagets? and the use of theme songs in the movies. These days, Viva has to keep pace with more avenues for distribution. Before, we made movies for theaters only. Now there is video, satellite TV, the Internet. There is the downside of piracy, but, still, revenues have increased overall because of the various outlets available today.

The demands of a broader audience, whose tastes and preferences are changing as well, are what the second generation of Viva executives?led by my eldest son, Vincent Del Rosario, who have practically taken the reins of the Group?s operations?is taking on.

Vincent basically grew up with the business. Being the eldest, he was involved in the business early, straight out of high school?that is, since 1986. Of my four children, three are actually involved in the business. The other one is still in school.

Viva is a provider of both local and foreign films. We had ?Titanic,? ?Star Wars? and others. We handled for a long time five of eight major Hollywood studios. Now we do independent films like ?Forbidden Kingdom? aside from the local productions. We really have a big movie portfolio and we deal a lot with the SM Cinemas.

The Viva Group is probably the only one who continues to be very active up to this day, after 42 years, in music, films, video, concerts, television and artist management. And Henry Sy and his SM malls have helped make all these possible.

I remain close to Henry Sy. I still see him and still talk to him. Often I visit him at home. He would sometimes request me to accompany him to the malls. He is, basically, my valued adviser. A lot of my success, I owe to Mr. Sy.

Mr. Sy tells me to focus on my work, and to concentrate on my core competence. He also tells me, ?You should save money. Don?t rapidly expand, make sure first that available resources could support it. ?Wag mo madaliin (Don?t be in a hurry).

And, as always, I follow my idol?s advice.