Doris Magsaysay Ho Becomes First Woman to Win RVR Nation Building Award

Doris Magsaysay Ho has received the Ramon V. Del Rosario Nation Building award in Manila, making her the first woman to win the business honour since its creation in 2010.

Ho leads the Magsaysay Group of Companies, a Philippine shipping, human resources, and logistics group operating in a sector where Filipino seafarers account for more than 25 percent of the global maritime workforce.

Workforce Equity in Transport and Logistics

Women represent only 6 percent of the Philippine seafaring workforce, according to data from UP-CIFAL Philippines, with most concentrated in passenger catering and hospitality rather than technical posts. Under Ho, Magsaysay secured EDGE Assess certification for gender equity after lifting female representation in junior management roles to 45 percent.

Her group also set up internal support systems for crew members. The company operates Fundamayan for family emergency aid and MATTERS, a dedicated program handling healthcare, financial literacy, and career planning for Filipino crews deployed globally.

Training Capacity and Regional Board Leadership

To secure skilled labour for international routes, Magsaysay partnered with Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines in 2018 to establish the MOL Magsaysay Maritime Academy, a facility built to train up to 1,000 cadets annually.

For supply chain operators across Southeast Asia, crewing and vessel management remain critical bottlenecks as global fleets push for higher compliance and skilled technical crews. Previous recipients of the award include SM Group founder Henry Sy Sr., Jollibee Foods founder Tony Tan-Caktiong, and Ayala Corporation chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

The award is administered by the PHINMA Group, De La Salle University, the Asian Institute of Management, and Junior Chamber International Manila, with candidate evaluations conducted annually.