Many entrepreneurs spend years preparing before launching a business. Ezequiel Robles did not have that luxury.
At age 17, the future Sta. Lucia founder found himself confronting a situation that would test both his resilience and sense of responsibility. Only two years after the establishment of Santa Lucia Realty in 1972, tragedy struck both families behind the company.
“Actually yung company namin nagsimula talaga kami as a family corporation between Robles and Santos,” Robles recalled. “Yung nagsimula niyan yung parents namin ni Enteng, sila ang unang incorporator ng Santa Lucia Realty noong 1972.”
In 1974, Robles’ father, who was the principal force behind the business, passed away. During the same year, the mother of his future business partner, Vicente “Enteng” Santos, also died. The young company suddenly lost the people responsible for guiding it.
For many family businesses, such a setback could have ended the story before it truly began. Instead, it forced the next generation to grow up quickly.
“Kaya ako ang nag-restart,” Robles said.
The challenge was especially daunting because most of the family members were still young. Robles remembers looking at his situation and realizing that waiting for someone else to solve the problem was not an option.
“Ang naging problema ko noon, kasi panay bata kami. Ako ay mga 17 years old pa lang. Kaya nag-isip ako, ano mangyayari sa amin? Walo kapatid ko, may mga pinsan pa ako. Ano gagawin ko kung hindi ako kikilos?”
Looking back, that question may have been the most important business lesson he ever learned. Successful entrepreneurs are often portrayed as visionaries who identify opportunities before everyone else. In reality, many begin simply because circumstances leave them no alternative. Responsibility arrives first. Confidence comes later.
Rather than retreating from the challenge, Robles immersed himself in learning the business.
“Talagang pinag-aralan ko kung paano actually yung real estate.”
At the time, he was also a working student taking commerce and accounting classes.
“Working student ako. Kinuha ko sa college eh, commerce, accounting. So gabi ako nag-aaral, umaga sa office.”
The younger members of the Robles and Santos families performed virtually every task required to keep the business operating. According to Santos, their work extended well beyond office hours.
“Pagdating namin after the school, we go directly to the subdivision kasi sa gabi, kailangan mo diligin yung kalsada before you make a concrete.”
Family members rotated responsibilities and often handled work normally assigned to employees or contractors.
“Hati kami ng trabaho,” Santos recalled. “Kaya kami naging checker din at saka utility. We swept the roads.”
The experience exposed them to every aspect of the business. They supervised construction, monitored workers, collected payments, and dealt directly with customers. Santos remembers personally visiting buyers to collect installments, only to be greeted by complaints about penalties and overdue accounts.
“I remember na bibigay sa akin yung resibo. Dadaan pa ako sa may Espanya, sisingilin ko yung isang buyer,” he said. “‘Wag mo ako lalagyan ng interest, di ba hindi ka nakapunta dito?’ Kasi lagi ako pinagagalitan ng buyer.”
While difficult at the time, those experiences gave the young entrepreneurs a practical education that no classroom could replicate. They learned construction by working on construction sites, collections by visiting customers, and management by solving problems as they arose.
The story also offers an important reminder for aspiring entrepreneurs. Many people wait until they feel fully prepared before taking action. Robles faced the opposite situation. He was forced to act before he felt ready.
The company that would eventually become one of the country’s largest property developers survived because a teenager looked at a difficult situation and decided that doing nothing was not an option.
For Robles, the lesson was simple: responsibility sometimes arrives before preparation. When it does, waiting rarely helps. The only way forward is to start moving.
