Protacio T. Tacandong

Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer

ABOUT PROTACIO

Cocoy is a founder of the Firm. He spent numerous years as an SGV’s Partner-in-Charge of the Mindanao and Visayas branches and concurrently, as Chief Finance and Administrative Officer. He provided audit and advisory services to different companies engaged in agri-business, utilities, financial institutions, real estate & construction, manufacturing, cooperatives, port services, educational institutions, and others. He was also Chairman of the Operational Excellence Committee and a member of the Operations, Management and People First Committees of SGV.

Cocoy was actively involved in the business development of Mindanao by serving key positions in various trade and business associations, such as being president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, member of the Rotary Club of Davao, the Mindanao Business Council and the Philippine Business for Social Progress. He also served as national president of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) from 2008 to 2009, and as an independent director representing the private sector of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation from 2011 to 2017.

Cocoy graduated from the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, majoring in Accounting. He holds a Master of Management degree from the Asian Institute of Management and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Business Management and Administration by Thames International University, Paris, France, in October 2024.

He was conferred the SGV’s SyCip Award, the 1995 Most Outstanding Carolinian in Financial Management Award, the Ernst & Young Chairman’s Values Award for the Far East Area, the 2005 PICPA Most Outstanding CPA in Public Practice, the 2012 Professional Regulation Commission’s Outstanding Professional of the Year in the Field of Accountancy, the 2014 PICPA Accountancy Hall of Fame Award, the 2016 LEADavao Award for Professional Services, the 2018 Distinguished Alumnus of the University of San Carlos, and the 2019 Parangal San Mateo Award by the PICPA Foundation, Inc.

His dedication and commitment to the accounting profession have been recognized with the prestigious Accountancy Centenary Award of Excellence bestowed upon him in March 2023 during the 100th-anniversary celebration of the accounting profession in the Philippines. Most recently, in March 2025, he was awarded the Datu Bago Award—the highest honor conferred by the City of Davao—for upholding ethical business practices and fostering financial transparency that strengthened Davao’s economic landscape.