Ford Philippines names Skills Olympics winners, sends technician champion to Bangkok

Ford Philippines has named the winners of its 2026 Ford Skills Olympics, with technician champion Christian Paul Barroga of Ford Ilocos Norte set to represent the country at an international competition in Bangkok this November.

Barroga won the Service Technician category, ahead of Kenneth Dimatulac of Ford Sta. Rosa and Jerick Valencia of Ford Global City, who finished second and third, respectively.

Emilio Hermida of Ford Subic topped the Service Advisor category, followed by Jeffrey Cruz of Ford Manila Bay in second place and Sean Kelvin Guangco of Ford Cebu in third.

The annual competition drew 452 technicians and 154 service advisors from Ford’s nationwide network of 50 dealerships. Seven representatives from different dealer groups advanced to the national competition.

This year’s Skills Olympics was held for the first time at the new Ford Learning Center, where participants demonstrated their technical knowledge, diagnostic skills, repair procedures and customer service capabilities.

The competition also assessed service consultation, communication and decision-making skills that are essential to handling customer concerns.

Barroga will compete against champions from other Ford markets at the Ford International Markets Group (IMG) Skills Olympics in Bangkok in November.

“The Ford Skills Olympics is an important Ford program as it helps us benchmark our capabilities, share best practices, identify opportunities for development, and inspire one another to raise the bar,” said Ford Philippines managing director Pedro Simoes.

He said the competition encourages dealership personnel to maintain high service standards in their daily work.

The Skills Olympics supports the Ford Family Guarantee program, which seeks to improve the ownership experience through quality dealership services.

Ford said its Learning Center also provides continuing training for technicians, service advisors, sales consultants and dealer customer representatives to keep their skills updated as vehicle technology and customer needs evolve.