When we first set foot in the area in 1993, no one lived on the beach except for pigs. We were the first to build a native house on the front beach, which we used as a vacation home for many years. We also installed infrastructure to bring electricity from the national road to the shore, enabling locals to connect to the supply.

Throughout the years, we have built close relationships with the community, from financing young locals for higher education to offering interest-free loans for various endeavors. More recently, we replaced our native house and built Villa Umi Panglao Resort.

The owner, Dr Jacques Chaoulli, has been endorsed by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines, as a world renowned medical doctor. He has been praised by the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives for his past actions in Canada and in the USA in favor of patients. He is currently acting for the human rights of Filipinos, as exposed under “Corporate Social Responsibility”.