JCV & Associates Named SME Company of the Year at the 17th Asia CEO Awards

JCV & Associates (JCVA) was named Grand Winner of SME Company of the Year at the 17th Asia CEO Awards, held on October 13, 2026, at the Marriott Manila Grand Ballroom. This award also recognizes the team of more than 300 engineers, architects, and specialists. Since 2014, they have managed over 670 projects for companies across the Philippines, from office fit-outs and store rollouts to factories and warehouses. Along the way, JCVA has recorded 130 million safe man-hours on its project sites. That record reflects its care for every worker who helps build them.

Third Time’s the Charm

For JCVA, this year’s win is the result of a steady commitment to high-quality work. The firm’s journey at the Asia CEO Awards began in 2024, when its founder, Engr. Jason C. Valderrama, was named to the Circle of Excellence for Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2025, JCVA joined the SME Company of the Year category for the first time and was named to its Circle of Excellence.

Each recognition affirmed that JCVA was on the right path, and the team used it as motivation to raise its own standards further. Over those years, JCVA grew its people, strengthened its systems, and widened what it could do for clients. In 2026, its third year at the awards, that consistency earned JCVA the Grand Winner award for SME Company of the Year.

How Are Asia CEO Awards Winners Chosen?

Winning at the Asia CEO Awards takes more than a good story. Every nomination, including JCVA’s, is checked by PwC before it reaches a board of judges made up of respected leaders from business, government, and industry. This year, the organizers say more than 700 nominations came in across 15 categories. JCVA’s nomination rested on its record over the past year.

The Record Behind the Win

In the twelve months before the awards, JCVA took on 90 new clients across seven sectors. Many existing clients also came back for their next fit-out, expansion, or rollout. For the first time, JCVA’s work was split evenly between new and returning clients. By mid-2026, its teams were managing 253 projects.

For Engr. Jason C. Valderrama, JCVA’s founder, the award belongs to the people behind those numbers.

“This recognition belongs to our people and the clients who have trusted us with their investments. When I founded JCVA in 2014, I believed we could build a Filipino construction consultancy capable of standing alongside international firms. Seeing that belief grow into a business that creates opportunities for our professionals and delivers for our clients is what makes this award meaningful to me and to the team”.

– Engr. Jason C. Valderrama, Founder and CEO, JCV & Associates

Built on Quality, Safety, and Transparency

The past year was also one of strengthening the systems behind every JCVA project. The firm was recertified for ISO 9001:2015 for quality management and ISO 45001:2018 for occupational health and safety. It also achieved ISO 14001:2015 certification for environmental management, making JCVA a triple ISO-certified firm. These are the international standards that govern how JCVA plans, checks, and delivers its work, how it keeps people safe on site, and how it manages its impact on the environment.

Transparency also comes in the form of ensuring clients see the same information JCVA’s teams work from. Agile, a project tracking and reporting platform built in-house by JCVA’s engineers, keeps cost, schedule, and milestones in one place. Vault, its cloud-based document repository, ensures everyone works from current documents. Through OpenSpace AI, clients can follow construction progress remotely in real time.

Engr. Robinson Abella Salenga II, who heads JCVA’s commercial and engineering services, sees these systems as an expression of integrity.

“Integrity is not just a principle—it is a professional responsibility. It means defensible estimates, fair contracts, and transparent reporting, even when the facts are difficult. Our duty is not simply to tell clients what they want to hear, but to give them the facts, sound professional judgment, and advice they can trust. That is the standard we must uphold in every project.”

– Engr. Robinson Abella Salenga II, Head, Commercial and Engineering Services, JCV & Associates

Supporting Sustainable Building in the Philippines

More Philippine companies are setting sustainability targets, and their buildings are a large part of meeting them. In October 2025, JCVA incorporated JCVA Terra Inc., a green building consultancy that helps owners pursue LEED, WELL, EDGE, BERDE, and Fitwel certification. Because JCVA Terra works within the same group that manages construction, sustainability goals can be carried from design through to handover.

JCVA applies the same thinking to its own operations. Its Quezon City headquarters holds a 4 Stars rating under the IMMUNE Building Standard for healthy buildings. Its ISO 14001:2015 certification guides how the firm manages its environmental impact across its operations. 

Caring for the environment is part of JCVA’s wider sustainability commitment and its way of helping care for the country. As part of this commitment, JCVA donated 2,000 Narra seedlings to La Mesa Ecopark to support urban reforestation in Metro Manila.

Ar. Butch Dariel Cruz Nera, who leads JCVA Terra, sees the award as a sign of how far sustainable building has come in the country.

“A few years ago, green certification was something only a handful of Philippine projects pursued. Today, we work with owners of warehouses, offices, schools, and data centers who see it as part of building well. Being part of this recognition in JCVA Terra’s first year tells us that sustainable building in the Philippines is moving in the right direction.”

– Ar. Butch Dariel Cruz Nera, Sustainability Managing Director, JCVA Terra

Mentoring the Next Generation of Engineers and Architects

At JCVA, practicing excellence is something its people learn from each other on real projects, and the firm extends that mentoring to students before they enter the profession.

Through Formworx Jr., its internship program, more than 100 students from universities across the country have worked alongside JCVA teams on live projects. They enter the profession already familiar with how projects are planned, managed, and delivered. JCVA supports UP Diliman civil engineering students through their board exam review, and in 2025 JCVA funded 10 thesis grants for research in construction and project management. The firm also built the Student Lounge and Student Wellbeing (S-WELL) Room at the UP Institute of Civil Engineering, and contributed to the Student Lounge at the UP School of Economics.

The same commitment applies to JCVA’s own people. As a Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)-accredited Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provider, JCVA trains its engineers and architects in-house. Its Leadership Development Program grows its future leaders from within.

What Comes Next for JCVA?

The standards JCVA has built at home are now reaching clients abroad. In mid-2026, the firm began delivering quantity surveying, BIM, project planning, and sustainability services to clients outside the Philippines. Its first engagement is the renovation of a tertiary hospital in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

For Engr. Valderrama, the award marks a new beginning rather than a finish line.

“Our clients have businesses to run and hard-earned investments to protect. Our job is to bring the expertise, discipline and accountability that keep their projects moving, their budgets under control and their risks managed. We want them to sleep soundly knowing someone is looking after their interests. As JCVA grows, that responsibility remains at the heart of what we do.”

– Engr. Jason C. Valderrama, Founder and CEO, JCV & Associates

As JCVA begins its next chapter, the recognition stands as a reminder of what Filipino expertise can achieve when it is built on integrity, care for people, and a commitment to doing the work well.