NO SITTING DUCK: ‘Pato’ displays management savvy with ToL success

For eight straight days in late-April until the first of May, Patrick “Pato” Gregorio had to pick himself up from bed to be at the starting point of every leg of the eight-stage Tour of Luzon (ToL), the fabled cycling event of yesteryears he helped recently get revived.

Gregorio, whose Duckworld Ph joined hands with Manny Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MTPC) in holding the ToL, was at every leg of the 24 April to 1 May road race.

When the Paoay leg got going, Gregorio was right there alongside the event’s stakeholders, including Arrey Perez, chief of MPTC and the inner circle of Philcycling, the national sports association headed by Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

Two days before the event formally hit the road, Gregorio, 57, was in Paoay in Ilocos Norte presiding over the last-minute preparations for a successful staging of the event.

Unbeknownst to many, the ToL was only finalized early this year and the lack of preparations was a daunting task even to seasoned organizers like Gregorio, whose expertise is also on tourism, not just sports.

The biggest threat to the ToL was finding major backers.

While Pangilinan’s group had expressed support to the project, Gregorio could not help but feel a bit intimidated given the magnitude of the race.

“Afraid? Yes! Three weeks before April 23. We needed the solid backing of MVP (Pangilinan). We got that,” said Gregorio when asked whether there was an instance during the run-up if he felt that the ToL would not turn out well.

Gregorio, a Ten Outstanding Young Man awardee in 2003 who now manages The Manor and Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay being the head of Landco Lifestyle Ventures, stressed that some sponsors had to realign their budgets so they could lend a hand to the ToL, something that proved pivotal in the end.

“We were hopeful, we were excited. We were actually anxious until we saw the love for the Filipinos for the sport (of cycling).”

Gregorio had some sort of an epiphany since he was not familiar with the interest in cycling.

“Our reach went from zero to close to 100 million in 10 days,” said Gregorio, referring to the ToL’s reach and extent.

“Cycling is a very popular sport in the Philippines.”

That observation was precise.

From Paoay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, herds of people came to see the two-leg races.

In Vigan, the red carpet was rolled out by the city to welcome more than 100 pedal pushers from 17 teams, including four from overseas.

Vigan, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was a terrific host to the massive ToL delegation as it revved up for the last five stages.

The cycling festival — dubbed The Great Revival — then traveled to La Union and onwards to Clark Field and in Lingayen in Pangasinan before the final push to Baguio City.

“The response to the return of the Tour was overwhelming,” Gregorio, a former Philippine Basketball Association chairman, said.

Take it from Gregorio because he was there every step of the way.

He was very hands-on and he was among the excited fans who eagerly awaited the arrival of the competitors from hours and hours of back-breaking pedaling along the flat roads and the steep and winding climbs towards the finish.

Under the searing sun, Gregorio would take part in the event’s programs and would participate in the traditional post-race awarding.

And that’s the reason why he realized that cycling has a lot to offer.

In fact, Gregorio lured fellow University of the Philippines graduate, the current Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, to attend the awarding program in the City of Pines during the last day of competitions.

Smitten by what he saw, Remulla guaranteed Gregorio and the race bigwigs that he would lend a hand to the staging of the 2026 races.

“Secretary Remulla believes cycling is sports diplomacy at its best. With this support, we can make that happen in the future,” said Gregorio, referring to the proposal of the Cavite-bred official to invite more foreign bets.

But Gregorio swears it was Pangilinan’s role and intervention that spelled the big difference.

“His vision,” said Gregorio, noting Pangilinan’s burning desire to help the Filipino cyclist achieve their dreams.

With the hangover of the 2025 races still being felt, Gregorio is looking forward to next year’s edition of the ToL.

“Longer (races) and tougher and (there would be) new destinations,” he said.

With that in mind, Gregorio said “my wish is for the Tour to never fade away again.”

Before Gregorio and the MVP Group came along, the Tour was dead in the water.

“Our professional cyclists need all the support and that includes financial support by way of corporate sponsors.”

With his outfit Duckworld passing a big test in holding the first Tour in six years, Gregorio is supremely optimistic that the future looks rosy.

“Duckworld is an enabler. We are excited and we will make it happen,” he said.

With his vast experience and solid connections, putting on another smash hit won’t be a problem.

Just make sure that the country’s heavyweight backer will be right there.

Given Gregorio’s savvy, that shouldn’t be a problem.