Rupert Paul “RP” C. Manhit has developed different kinds of business opportunities. He started off his career as a Corporate Sales Executive of Standard Chartered Bank. After three years of experience, he setup his own third party sales service company. Due to his company’s noticeable sales performance in its first client HSBC, AIG-Philam convinced his company to move and be one of their sales partners. It is at AIG-Philam that his company became the number one third party sales company for the year 2006-2009.

RP recently finished his post graduate Diploma in Corporate Finance from the Ateneo de Manila Graduate School of Business. He is concurrently the Deputy Managing Director for Accounts and Business Development of The STRATBASE Group and Managing Director of STRATBASE Equity Ventures.

At the Stratbase Group, RP plays a key role in the Group's strategic initiatives and day to day operations. He develops and implements strategic campaigns around complex regulatory issues and provides strategic public affairs advice to Stratbase Group clients. His considerable networks and high level relationships in both the private and public sector benefits the Clients as he provides them with insider advice on how specific public policy is created, shaped and decided.

STRATBASE Equity Ventures (SEV) is the Investment Advising arm of the STRATBASE Group. SEV specializes in Mergers and Acquistions and Business to Business (B2B) matching of foreign and local companies. SEV also helps new startup companies in the Philippines establish their shop in the country and make sure they are endorsed properly to government agencies, private industry organizations, private companies and individuals.

RP is often seen as one of the young members of the Philippine business delegation during Foreign Trade and Investment Roadshows. He is also active in Trade and Security Dialogues between the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines. RP is an advocate of promoting new partnerships and investment between foreign and Philippine companies.

Aside from his duties in STRATBASE, he is also the Executive Director of Philippine Trade Foundation Inc., which is an alliance of the top 60 business leaders of the Philippines.

Orlando O. Oxales is currently a co-convenor of consumer advocate group “Citizen Watch” and a co-convenor of environmental CSO “Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship”, a network of multi-sectoral advocates for developmental environment policies for the responsible practices for industries. He has had 25 years of experience as a communications professional and serves as a consultant in both the government and private sector. His multi-sectoral experience offers a multi-dimensional perspective in the context of advocating developmental thinking that sees beyond the political noise.

Trained as a Speech Communications major in the University of the Philippines. He started his career in television and eventually became an assistant director and producer for public affairs and various productions in PTV 4.

In 1999, he was appointed to the Department of Education as the Director for Technical Services. As a pioneering IT champion of the Department, he steered the Education Department’s computerization program and the nationwide roll-out of the award-winning Partners-In-Learning Program in partnership with Microsoft. In 2000, he received a scholarship from the Asian Institute of Management’s Senior Management Program for the Department of Education.

Orly is one of the founders of the Character Building Foundation Inc. (CBFI), an ongoing advocacy for Filipino character formation which later on launched the Gawin and Tama (GAT) Movement, a non-sectarian, non-political movement that seeks to promote values such as integrity, honesty, and hard work in society.

When Orly joined Stratbase in 2007, he headed Stratbase Research Institute (SRI) and served as the project manager of the Stratbase Electron, a cloud based, communications and management system now used as the core Management and Information System of the Philippine Red Cross.

Under the SRI, in 2013, he helped conceptualize and convene two organizations; Democracy Watch.ph, a non-profit NGO that is active in Philippine electoral reforms and anti-corruption advocacies.

He is the lead in the mining, health and ICT sectors, and handles the public affairs and communications activities of Stratbase and its clients.

Orly is the Stratbase Group's PR and strategic communication expert. He specializes in communication initiatives and tactics and in crafting narratives as well as message development to frame and shape policy debates. He has a deep understanding of issue based advocacy campaigns and plays a key role in executing media strategy in multiple communication campaigns platforms.

“Open Thoughts” is his column in the Manila Standard.