Cocolife CEO Honored by SEDA Law for Contributions to Philippine Economy

MANILA, Philippines — The Salazar Enrile Defensor & De Mata Law Offices (SEDA Law) recently conferred the Silver Coin Award on Lawyer Jose Martin A. Loon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cocolife, the country’s largest Filipino-owned stock life insurance company. SEDA Law’s Silver Coin Award was presented to several outstanding leaders in the business and government sectors in recognition of their efforts to help uplift the lives of ordinary Filipinos in ceremonies marking the firm’s 25th anniversary celebration. SEDA Law founding partner, Lawyer Jose Vicente Salazar, cited Loon “for his peerless leadership in the pursuit of the aspiration to provide quality life to countless ordinary Filipinos by creating access to affordable and meaningful insurance protection which provided them with essential financial protection and which safeguards their families during times of crisis, ensures stability, and brings them peace of mind.” Salazar added: “In so doing, he empowered countless Filipino households to build a secure and hopeful future with dignity and resilience.” Elected Cocolife’s youngest President and CEO at age 32, Loon led the company to its highest net income in more than four decades for two consecutive years amid the pandemic. Salazar also lauded Loon’s “sterling sense of corporate social responsibility as he directed Cocolife to honor COVID-related claims even where pandemics were excluded from policies, covering nearly a billion pesos in benefits for tens of thousands of Filipino families”. “SEDA Law is honored to partner with the CEO of a highly-respected Filipino company which recognizes the primacy of human welfare and well-being over profit,” Salazar said. Cocolife also earned its first international honors as Most Outstanding Life Insurance Company and Most Outstanding Healthcare Provider in the Philippines under Loon’s leadership. Loon has been named Young CEO of the Year by Global Business Review Magazine and a Circle of Excellence awardee for Young Leader of the Year at the Asia CEO Awards. He later received further recognition as Best CEO of the Year and Most Prominent Leader in the insurance industry. A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, the University of the Philippines College of Law—where he belonged to the Order of the Purple Feather honor society—and Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M.), Loon was the youngest member of the Consultative Committee to Review the 1987 Constitution. According to Salazar, the firm’s Silver Coin Tribute recognized “visionary business and government leaders who have dedicated their talent, resources and enterprises into building economic lifelines, creating jobs, safeguarding remittances, and opening doors of opportunity.” “These are leaders who have have turned dreams into reality for struggling families, brought light to far-flung homes and communities, healed the vulnerable, and kindled brighter futures across the nation”, Salazar explained. He said SEDA LAW chose this tribute because “for 25 years, we have stood beside these remarkable leaders as partners in their journeys”. “We have witnessed firsthand their tireless sacrifices, ethical leadership, and genuine compassion that transformed challenges into triumphs for countless Filipino families”, Salazar pointed out. “In honoring them, we celebrate not just success, but their profound humanity and quiet heroism that built a stronger, more prosperous Philippine,” he concluded.