Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation

Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation owns the Manila Bulletin, the second oldest existing newspaper in the country. With its main line of business being newspaper and magazine publishing, the corporation has declared PhP748,361,352 million (around US$850,893) revenue for 2022 that largely came from advertising and circulation
Initially, the Manila Bulletin was published by Carson C. Taylor and H.G Farris in 1900 as a shipping journal called “Daily Bulletin.” There have been several iterations of the newspaper’s name until 1986 when it branded itself as Manila Bulletin.
Taylor incorporated the publishing house on June 12, 1912, calling it Bulletin Publishing Company. In 1957, Swiss-Filipino BGen. Hans M. Menzi acquired the publishing company, which was re-incorporated as Bulletin Publishing Corporation on Sept. 12, 1959. Twenty-five years later (1982), businessman-philanthropist Dr. Emilio T. Yap acquired the company from Menzi. Its corporate name was amended to its present title of Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation in 1989.
A year later (1990), it achieved the feat of becoming the first newspaper company listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange. From 1984, Emilio served as chairman of the board until his death in 2014. His son, Basilio C. Yap, took over as chairman and continues in this capacity to this day.
At least 78.09% of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation is owned by the Yap family through their companies U.S Automotive Co., Inc. with 54.20% and USAUTOCO Inc. 23.34%. Several members of the Yap family, including the Chairman Basilio C. Yap and President Emilio C. Yap III, also own small percentages of shares directly. Meanwhile, the third biggest shareholder is the Menzi Trust Fund, Inc. with 8.42%, which was established to manage the assets and investments left behind by Menzi.
Although the majority of its shares are owned by the members and companies of the Yap family, 21.83% is publicly-owned.
Over the years, Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation has seen its media portfolio grow with Tempo and Balita, the English and Filipino tabloid, respectively; English-language special interest magazines from agriculture to sports and motoring, lifestyle and travel, and animals, and magazines published in the vernacular.
The vernacular magazines, along with Balita, were added with the company’s acquisition of Liwayway Publishing, Inc. in 2005 for 5 million pesos.
Mother Company
U.S. Automotive Co., Inc.
Business Form
Private
Legal Form
Stock Corporation
Individual Owner
Menzi Trust Fund, Inc.
Menzi Trust Fund, Inc. is a trust company that oversees the assets and investments of the late Manila Bulletin publisher/owner Hans Menzi and its Foundation. According to its general information sheet, it is a foundation with the primary purpose to “to promote, carry on, conduct and encourage the advancement and development of education, scientific research and training . . . Scholarships.” It also owns stocks in BDO (00.01%).
PCD Nominee Corporation
The Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation did not disclose the holder/s of the 5.11% shares entered into the PCD Nominee Corporation, which is a financial holding company with the legal title to immobilized shares lodged in the Philippine Central Depository, Inc. system and operates as a subsidiary of Philippine Central Depository.
Other Print Outlets
Manila Bulletin (3.9%)
Tempo (0.68%)
Liwayway magazine
Bannawag magazine
Animal Scene magazine
Agriculture magazine
Wedding Essentials magazine
Philippine Panorama magazine
Other Online Outlets
Mb.com.ph (11.51%)
Mbcn.com.ph
Balita.net.ph
Tempo.com.ph
Liwayway.ph
Bannawag.ph
Agriculture.com.ph
Goingplaces.ph
Animalscene.ph
General Information
Founding Year
1900
Affiliated Interests Founder
was a teacher from Illinois, U.S. He was a soldier under the First Colorado U.S. Volunteers during the Spanish-American war (1898) and the Philippine-American war (1899 to 1902).
was the first editor of Manila Bulletin. No further information available about him.
Employees
292 (as of May 15, 2023)
Contact
Manila Bulletin Building, Muralla corner Recoletos Streets., Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Telephone No.: (02) 8527-8121
mb.com.ph
Tax/ ID Number
000-746-558
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
13,167,030.6144 US$ / 748,361,352 PhP (as of 2022)
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
1,193,609.349,71 US$ / 67,839,981 PhP (as of 2022)
Advertising (in % of total funding)
6,678,932.68351 US$ / 379,603,818 PhP (as of 2022)
Management
Executive Board
is chairman of the board of directors of Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. He is concurrently the chairman of the board of U.S. Automotive Co., Inc., USAUTOCO, Inc. and its subsidiaries Manila Hotel, Manila Prince Hotel Corporation, Centro Escolar University, Manila Hotel Corporation, Philtrust Realty Corporation, Cocusphil Development Corporation and U.N. Properties Development Corporation. The chairman emeritus of the Board of Philtrust Bank, chairman and president of Seabreeze Enterprises, Inc., Vice Chairman of Euro - Med Laboratories Philippines, Inc., and director of MH F&B Ideas, Inc. and TMH Transport Limousine Services, Inc.
is the president of Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. He is the first grandson of the company’s late chairman and his namesake Emilio T. Yap and the nephew of the incumbent chairman Basilio C. Yap. He holds various positions in the Yap family’s conglomerate: as vice chairman/president of the Bulletin’s ultimate parent company US Automotive Co., Inc., and its subsidiaries USAUTOCO, Inc., Manila Prince Hotel Corporation, Cocusphil Development Corporation. He also serves as a board director of Centro Escolar University and vice chairman of Philtrust Bank and Manila Hotel.
currently sits as executive vice president, is a member of the board of directors and is the compliance officer of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. He has held these multiple positions since 2016, and was also named publisher in May 2021.
The businessman-educator served under three Philippine presidents — Corazon Aquino (1986 - 1992), Joseph Estrada (1998 - 2001), and Benigno Aquino III (2010 - 2016). He held several positions during the first Aquino administration (head of the Presidential Management Staff, deputy executive secretary, and undersecretary of the Departments of Transportation and Agrarian Reform.) He was again appointed as transportation undersecretary during the Estrada administration. Coloma later served as communications secretary and presidential spokesperson during the second Aquino presidency.
As an educator, he served as dean for executive education, and program director for development management at the Asian Institute Management, and as the sixth president of the University of Makati from 1996 to 1999. A member of the Rotary Philippines, Coloma serves as editor-in-chief of the organization’s monthly magazine.
a retired police chief superintendent and former regional police director, is the vice president for administration of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. He joined the company in 2014.
Non-Executive Board
an independent director at the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation since July 2017, was a legislative representative of the Pangasinan 4th district from 2010 to 2016. She is the chairperson of the INA Foundation, Inc., director of Sampaguita Pictures, Inc., and independent director of Philtrust Bank.
who served as the 20th chief justice of the Philippine Supreme Court from 1998 to 2005, has been serving as an independent director and one of three vice chairpersons of Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation since March 2011. He has held various positions in government, notably as a commissioner of the 1986 Constitutional Commission which drafted the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines and chairperson of the Commission on Elections from 1988 to 1990. At present, he is a board director at Philtrust Bank and independent director at the Megawide Construction Corporation. He is the chairman of Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee Memorial Foundation, Inc. Heart of Francis Foundation Inc., and Kompass Credit and Financing Corporation. A trustee of Knights of Columbus of the Philippines Foundation, Inc.; Knights of Columbus Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ Charities, Inc.; and University of San Carlos (Cebu). The supreme commander emeritus and a member of the Council of Elders of the Knights of Rizal. He is also a member of the Association of Retired Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, serving as its president from 2010 to June 2020.
who was elected as vice chairman and independent director of Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation in July 2011, was a senator from 1987 to 1998. He has occupied various positions in government such as budget secretary from 1986 to 1987, finance secretary for nearly six months from January to June 2001, executive secretary from June 2001 to August 2004, and foreign affairs secretary from 2004 to 2011. In December 2022, Romulo was replaced by former associate justice Dante Tiñga as chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines, which he occupied since 2017.
an independent director of Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation since September 2020, is a former member of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) from 2014 to 2020. He has served various positions in the BSP such as deputy governor and general counsel from 2010 to 2013 and general counsel from 2000 to 2010. He is currently a private sector representative in the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation since 2021, and as a senior counsel at Divina Law Office since 2020.
Supervisory Board
Missing Data
Further Information
Meta Data
Figures for the revenue, operating profit and funding by advertising are from the 2022 annual report of the Manila Bulletin.
The list of shareholders of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation is obtained from its Nov. 14, 2023 quarterly report submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange. The shares owned by the Yap family only comprise those owned by its members and companies.
Conversion rate on Oct. 17, 2023: PhP56.836 per US$1.