The Ampoón Basal
Punong Ginoong Robert Anthony “Rocky” Contreras Andal Brito is The Ampoón Basal of Banwa Mait, a direct descendant of the Maginoo of Mindoro (Mait). He is half Bisaya through his late father, who hailed from Ajuy, Iloilo. In his role, he serves as a modern custodian of ancestral legacy, championing the preservation, revitalization, and transmission of the cultural memory, traditions, and heritage of Banwa Mait. He leads the international partnerships and cultural initiatives of Banwa Mait and oversees regional economic development programs inspired by the values and historical identity of the Maginoo. His advocacies also include Philippine territorial security, youth empowerment and education, the Catholic tradition, interfaith dialogue, inclusivity and leveraging the Filipino historical experience for cultural diplomacy. In fulfilling these responsibilities, he works closely with The Ampoón II, providing steadfast support in matters of heritage stewardship and community leadership. His duties as The Ampoón Basal serve as a period of formal preparation, an apprenticeship in statecraft, cultural guardianship, and ancestral responsibility, intended to ready him to succeed as the next Ampoón when the time comes.
Ampoón Basal Rocky started his professional career in Wall Street as an energy and gold trader on the trading floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In addition to trading, he wrote geopolitical and macroeconomic analysis briefs on the energy markets and OPEC member states. Switching industries, he then segued to technology consulting at Oracle. Since then, he has successfully led and completed complex multi-billion peso digital transformation projects for some of the most recognized multinational corporations in the world.
A dedicated advocate of Filipino culture and heritage, Ampoón Basal Rocky has conducted speaking engagements at the US Library of Congress in Washington DC, Cultural Center of the Philippines, and conferences on cultural diplomacy in New York City and major metropolitan cultural hubs. He has also collaborated on cultural programs, projects and non-profit initiatives with major multinational corporations, government institutions, civic groups and grassroots organizations, such as the Philippine Embassy and Vatican Nunciature in Washington DC, Municipality of Bulalacao, Province of Oriental Mindoro, Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah, Suraanom Pajajaran (Indonesia), US-Philippines Society, Oracle, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Pinto International and Junior Chamber International.
Ampoón Basal Rocky received his bachelor of arts degree in analytic philosophy from Rutgers University-New Brunswick where he studied philosophy of mind with the late Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Robert Bolton, and theological and modern philosophy with the late Dr. Mark Colby. At Rutgers, he was an undergraduate council representative and president of the Philoclean Society, a collegiate literary society whose honorary members included US President James Buchanan, Thomas Edison and Mark Twain. Ampoón Basal Rocky undertook his graduate studies at Cornell University, earning a Master of Science in Business Analytics while completing an independent focus in artificial intelligence. During his time at Cornell, he was an SC Johnson Graduate School of Management Merit Scholar, Class President, and was selected as a Fellow at Cornell Emerging Markets Institute. As an alumnus, he is a member of Cornell Club of the Philippines.
