By Bianca Gempesaw
“Keep it simple.” It’s the message our Group CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz opened the year with—paired with a clear call to pause, focus, and be deliberate about what we take on, and just as importantly, what we don’t.
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s this: complexity doesn’t arrive all at once. It accumulates quietly, one extra report, one duplicated approval, one workaround layered on top of another. Over time, those small additions make work heavier and decisions harder. Clarity becomes harder to find.
In 2026, focus and discipline will matter. And simplifying how we work is no longer just an aspiration—it’s a necessity.
Simplification Champions gathered for the Super Ditch Program Year-End Sweep.
What Super Ditch Set Out to Do
Long before simplification became this year’s rallying call, Super Ditch was already asking the same question. Since 2022, it has challenged teams to make deliberate choices about what to keep and what to let go.
At its core, the program was never about cutting corners, but about responsibility and examining the processes and rules we live with every day and deciding what still adds value. More than a program, Super Ditch creates space for team members to surface friction—and challenges leaders to act on it.
As our Group CEO wrote in his New Year message, “Prudence isn’t about shrinking—it’s about choosing. Knowing what truly matters, and having the discipline to let go of what doesn’t.”
He was clear: this isn’t about stopping work. It’s about simplifying what comes in, so teams can execute better on what’s already on the table.
The 2025 Results: Progress with Caveats
By the 2025 numbers, engagement was evident:
- 11 outdated processes and platforms ditched
- 4 ideas with active intervention
- 12 CSUs accountable and engaged
Super Ditch Program’s The Big Ditch Drop, a gamified weeklong engagement activity.
What the numbers showed wasn’t growth, but a pattern: momentum often peaked around major activations, reminding us that simplification still happens in bursts rather than as a daily habit.
As AEV Chief Strategy Officer and Transformation Head John Rubio has emphasized, simplification only works when leaders create the conditions for it: by listening to what teams across departments experience on the ground, and backing decisions that remove friction.
The Real Value: Practical Innovation
Some of the most telling outcomes weren’t dramatic transformations, but quiet wins:
- Retiring outdated mailing lists and clarifying ownership
- Simplifying workflows with clear leads and backups
- Finding cost-effective alternatives for overhead costs
Over time, the simplification mindset behind Super Ditch has spread beyond the program itself. Aboitiz Construction’s Simplifix, CitySavings Bank’s own Super Ditch Program, and UnionBank’s High Reliability Organization storytelling reflect the same intent—applied differently, but anchored in a shared belief that clarity and discipline drive better outcomes.
Why This Matters More in 2026
Super Ditch has shown that simplification isn’t a one-time exercise. It’s discipline.
2026 raises the bar:
- Surface friction earlier
- Ask “What can we stop doing?” more often.
Three years in, Super Ditch is no longer just a program. It’s a capability we’re still learning to use. The invitation is simple: notice the friction—and decide what to do about it.
