On January 30, 2026, beneath the grand chandeliers of the Okada Manila Grand Ballroom, history turned a page for JCI Manila. In a hall filled with past presidents, dignitaries, partners, and members spanning generations, the chapter of the 78th presidency officially began.
What follows is the full transcript of President Edison Ke’s inaugural speech, delivered during the Induction and Turnover Ceremonies, a defining moment that set the tone for a year anchored on conviction, service, and the unwavering belief in JCI Manila’s members:
Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat.
With all protocols observed.
Allow me to begin where leadership truly begins.
To my parents, dearest wife and to my children.
Maraming salamat sa walang sawang pag-unawa at suporta. This journey would not be possible without you.For this year, I may be away more than usual. But the impact we will create here will echo far beyond this lifetime. And in the end, it will all be worth it.
Someday, I hope you will meet people and proudly say I have led the historic JCI Manila, helped communities, and inspired young leaders to believe in themselves.
I will always do my best to make you proud.
To the National Board, my Masarig batchmates, and everyone here from JCI Philippines.
Thank you for the brotherhood, the trust, and the journey we continue to share. It is an honor to walk this path with you. Thank you for being a constant inspiration as we choose to Lead Beyond.
To our brothers and sisters from our sister chapters, thank you for your leadership, your partnership, and your continued belief in what we can build together.
We move forward stronger because we do not walk alone.
And before I speak about the future, allow me to honor the year that brought us here.
To 2025 President Jan Adrian “AP” Padiernos, and the 2025 Board of Directors
You showed us what a truly Built Different year looks like.
You led a JCI Manila that embraced everyone, regardless of who they were, and transformed both strengths and weaknesses into something meaningful.
It was a year that changed many of us.
From now on, clarity of purpose and intention will always be part of our system.
The Built Different legacy is not only found in projects or community work. It lives in how we were changed, and in who we are today.
Over the years, JCI Manila has told one continuous story.
In 2014, we learned to Build as One, understanding that unity is the foundation of everything we do.
In 2015, we challenged ourselves to Be Better, raising the standard of who we are as members and as leaders.
By 2016, we embraced Brotherhood Beyond Borders, recognizing that our bonds and responsibilities extend far beyond ourselves.
In 2017, we were encouraged to Aim Higher, refusing to settle for what was comfortable or familiar.
In 2018, we returned to the heart of leadership through Servant Leadership and Beyond, reminding ourselves that true leadership begins with service.
In 2019, we affirmed that Every Brother Counts, valuing inclusion, voice, and belonging.
In 2020, amidst uncertainty, we chose to Rise Together, proving that strength is found in solidarity.
In 2021, we committed to Lead as One, aligning purpose, direction, and action.
In 2022, we were called to Rebuild the Future, reshaping systems, trust, and belief.
In 2023, we dared to Go BIG, to Build, Innovate, and Grow beyond our limits.
In 2024, we sought to Elevate, lifting not just our projects, but our people.
In 2025, we proved that we were Built Different, embracing diversity, intention, and depth.
And in 2026, we choose to Lead Beyond: beyond expectations, beyond limits, and beyond generations.
Because JCI Manila has never been about one year alone.
It has always been about becoming more, together.
JCI Manila stands strong today, but our story did not begin in comfort.
Manila emerged from World War II as the most devastated capital city in Asia, often compared to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in scale of loss and destruction. And yet, from the ashes of war, purpose took root.
In 1947, JCI found meaning in this city.
Now in its 78th year, JCI Manila is a chapter of more than 600 active members, built on award-winning legacy projects, creating real impact in our communities. We carry our identity as a premier, globally recognized chapter, but more importantly, we carry a culture rooted in purpose.
In many ways, we have become an epicenter of the Jaycee movement. Not only in the Philippines, but across Asia. A place where ideas converge, leaders connect, and purpose finds direction.
As a host chapter of World Congress 2026, we carry a responsibility bigger than ourselves. With hundreds of projects across all directorates, bold fundraising efforts, and thousands of local and international delegates expected… JCI Manila is ready to set the standard.
But beyond scale and recognition, our true measure of success is impact.
Through high-impact projects in health, livelihood, and education, we aim to touch over one million lives, proving that JCI Manila’s influence does not end within our membership, but reaches deep into the heart of society.
So to our brothers and sisters across the JCI global network, we say this.
Welcome home.
Welcome to your motherhouse in this part of the world.
Only after that do I introduce myself.
I stand before you as the 78th President of JCI Manila.
I believe in merit-based leadership.
Leadership that is earned, not given.
Leadership built on service, consistency, and accountability.
I believe in member-first development and member-first action. Because leadership that forgets its people eventually loses its purpose.
These beliefs are not just words to me.
They are the values that shaped my journey.
They are the principles that brought me here today.
And these same principles are the leadership that will guide this historic JCI Manila forward.
I am here because I believe in our members deeply.
I am here because I am willing to give my time, my energy, my comfort, and my strength for JCI Manila.
I am Edison Ke. Buong puso kong pinaninindigan ang JCI Manila.
I want to say this clearly: This chapter has given me more than I could ever repay.
JCI Manila gave me direction when I needed it.
It gave me purpose when I was still figuring things out.
And most importantly, it gave me people, brothers who challenged me, supported me, and believed in me long before I stood here tonight.
I also had the privilege of leading alongside my brother, Eric.
Leading with your brother is a very special experience. You learn quickly about trust, accountability, and honesty, because nothing keeps you grounded like someone who has known you your whole life.
It taught me something deeply important. Leadership is never a solo act. It is built on shared belief, mutual respect, and the willingness to carry responsibility together.
I have seen this chapter from many sides, through wins and losses, through agreement and disagreement, through moments when leadership felt easy and moments when it was uncomfortable.
What I learned is this. Leadership without purpose divides, but leadership guided by values creates dialogue. And real leadership is not about placing yourself above others, but about standing accountable to them.
I am here today not because everything was certain, but because at key moments, I chose to be brave.
People often ask me how I ended up here. And my answer has always been the same. I am here only because I chose to be brave. Not because I was fearless, but because I learned that courage is choosing to move forward even when you are unsure.
That courage is not something I want to keep to myself. As your President, it is something I want to share with every member of JCI Manila. Because courage, when grounded in humility, becomes leadership.
Standing here tonight, I feel two things very clearly, gratitude and humility.
I have always believed that for us to become better leaders, we must always come from a standpoint of humility. When we are humble, we listen more. We learn faster. And we understand that leadership is not about knowing everything. It is about being open enough to grow.
Humility does not make us smaller.
It allows us to become better, together.
Brothers, we all live different lives.
We know that emptiness in one aspect of life can pull down the entire personal ecosystem. Life is not a series of isolated roles. It is a system.
When one part is neglected, everything else eventually feels heavier.
Here in JCI Manila, we live multidimensional lives. Our lives are rich, layered, and complex. They cannot be summarized in a single title or a single achievement. We carry many roles, and all of them matter.
We cannot stop being a husband just because we are busy being a father.
We cannot forget our family because we are focused on work.
And we cannot abandon our responsibilities to our community just because life feels overwhelming.
Hindi tayo ganun.
This is where Lead Beyond becomes real.
To Lead Beyond means choosing to live fully.
Beyond the expected.
Beyond the limits of the present.
And beyond the generation.
Beyond the expected means we refuse to do the minimum. We show up prepared, engaged, and committed, not because we have to, but because we care.
Beyond the limits of the present means we do not allow current constraints to define our future. We innovate. We collaborate. We imagine what is possible, even when the work ahead is difficult.
And beyond generations means honoring those who built this chapter, while building legacies that future generations can proudly inherit. We honor what was built by building further.
To lead beyond is not simply to lead louder, faster, or higher.
It is to lead deeper.
There is a principle I personally hold close.
It is one of my guiding beliefs, and it has shaped how I try to live and lead. I was reminded of it once again during the inauguration of President Connie of the Hong Kong Jayceettes.
Across Asia, long before leadership became a title, there was a simple idea that formed leaders:
修身、齐家、治国、平天下.
To our brothers and sisters from Malaysia, Singapore, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Macau, and to all our Mandarin-speaking friends in the room, this Confucian principle will sound familiar.
And for those hearing it for the first time, it carries a timeless truth.
修身 — leadership begins with the self.
齐家 — it is tested in how we care for our families.
治国 — it is practiced in how we serve our organizations and communities.
平天下 — and it finds its highest purpose in how we contribute to peace and progress in the world.
Lead Beyond is about alignment.
When the self is grounded, the family becomes strong.
When families are strong, communities begin to thrive.
And when communities thrive, the world moves forward.
This is how leadership is lived.
We practice leadership by listening before speaking.
We practice brotherhood by showing up even when it is inconvenient.
We practice excellence by doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
We notice when a brother is tired, not only when he succeeds.
We make space for growth without crushing joy.
We challenge one another, and we stand with one another.
When leadership is lived this way, it does not stay inside the room.
It follows us wherever we go.
This is the kind of leadership I believe in.
This is the kind of leadership I hope we live by.
And this is the kind of leadership we share with the world.
This is the culture we choose to build. And that is exactly what Lead Beyond calls us to do.
For many of us, hosting the JCI World Congress in Manila is not just another event.
It is a homecoming.
The last time the JCI World Congress was held in the Philippines was in 1998.
And many of you here tonight were not even born yet.
Some of us carry the memory of that Congress.
Many of us carry only the story.
And now, after nearly three decades, history has found its way back to us.
This 2026, the world returns to our shores. Not just to attend a congress, but to witness who we have become as a chapter, as a country, and as a community of leaders.
For us, as Filipinos, this is a moment of trust.
The global JCI family trusts us to open our doors, to carry the standard, and to show what Filipino leadership looks like when it is rooted in service and heart.
And tonight, I want to ask you a question. The same question I ask whenever I am given the chance to speak.
When was the last time you truly went all in on something?
Not halfway.
Not comfortably.
Not when it was convenient.
But all in…
Because if there is one year we choose to GO ALL IN… that one year we give our full hearts, our full effort, and our full belief, IT IS THIS YEAR.
This is our moment.
This is our responsibility.
I urge you all. Do not come to the World Congress alone.
Bring your entire chapter.
Bring the members who are still unsure.
Bring the ones who need to see what global leadership can truly look like.
Bring the future leaders waiting to believe.
Let us fill that room not only with people, but also with belief, with pride, and with purpose.
This is our turn to welcome the world.
This is our chance to honor the past, rise in the present, and inspire the future.
And we will do it, together as we Lead Beyond.
Maraming salamat, at mabuhay po kayong lahat.
Mabuhay ang JCI Manila.
Mabuhay ang JCI!
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