BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE MINDANAO ECONOMY

Late post


The recently concluded Mindanao Business Conference (MinBizCon) held last Sept. 12-14, 2010 at Cagayan de Oro City had a huge turn-out of businessmen and women from all over Mindanao. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Board headed by President Francis Chua, Atty Mike Varela, Sergio Ortiz Luis, Donald Dee and Ed Lacson; together with the new Cabinet Secretaries came in full force to support Mindanao. Edwin Capili, the current Vice President for PCCI Mindanao ably chaired the whole event showcasing his own brand of leadership in enabling Mindanao to sustain its vibrant economy. My congratulations to Edwin together with the current Regional Governors of PCCI Mindanao.

This is an indication that PCCI Mindanao is still the only business organization that can truly boast of a real business constituency representing all the regions of Mindanao and thus is the only real voice of business.

At the end of every MinBizCon; it has been a tradition to present a set of Mindanao resolutions which was a result of a series of round table discussions and consultations all over Mindanao. These are the important points which we think government must prioritize in order to boost businesses in Mindanao.

The success of businesses and investments is largely dependent on the policy environment of both the national and local government. Businessmen may have the capital to invest but if the environment is not conducive for doing so; then you will have very little economic movement.

The most important resolution that was brought forward was the immediate formulation of a comprehensive energy plan for Mindanao to address the energy crisis. This will call for various measures that will not only provide alternative sources of power; but also address the growing concerns on the rising cost of electricity and reforms in the energy sector.

In hindsight, I am glad to know that the new Mindanao Authority Chair Lou Antonino had made this her priority agenda. This will really affect our desire in Davao to be the call center and Business Process Outsourcing center (BPO) in Mindanao. The lifeblood of BPO is a steady supply of power and skilled manpower.

Our Mindanao will always remain an agriculture based economy and so there is a need to prioritize this sector by addressing the perennial concerns on lack of access to financing and technical support and more investments in post harvest facilities. It seems that the support given to the agriculture has not been sufficient enough despite the huge budget allocation. With all the talks about the re-alignment of budget in agriculture for other purposes; it is not a wonder why we always have the same concerns year in and year out. I hope that the new leadership will be able to fill in this glut the soonest.

Mining has always been a controversial issue that will always spark a debate. But the Mindanao business community is fully supportive of responsible mining and this can only be attained through the strengthening of multi sectoral partnerships in the area where there is an investment in mining. There is a call to clarify the role of government in the protection of environment and management of natural resources and also to streamline the processes and procedures in getting permits and other needed clearances.

A resolution to further develop an integrated transport logistics from shipping to road network for the efficient movement of the Mindanao’s product from one island to the other was also presented.

We continue our advocacy for the capacity building of the micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSME’s) since they are still the backbone of the economic momentum of businesses in the countryside. There are many smaller provinces and cities in Mindanao that do not have a single multi- national or big corporations doing business in their areas; so economy is really locally funded from the small businesses. The Magna Carta for MSME’s has not yet been fully implemented until today, particularly on its provisions of credit allocations by lending institutions.

Education has always been a significant part of the Mindanao business agenda, The call is for the development of a comprehensive approach to human resource through quality literacy and cognitive and practical skills integrated with ethical and social resources for a competitive workforce. The technical vocational sector is also asked to integrate Information, communication technology (ICT) and English courses in their curriculum to meet the current and future demands of the BPO businesses in Mindanao.

Tourism is one of Mindanao’s key drivers and so there is a need to maximize the potential of Mindanao tourism industry through implementation of needed infrastructure and encourage stronger community engagement in the promotion of tourism.

In one unified voice, we are all calling for a renewed focus on peace and order as key to Mindanao development. The GRP-MILF negotiations must be continued towards achieving lasting peace in the island.

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I arrived in the Davao International airport yesterday straight from Nagoya from attending the APEC Women Entrepreneurship Summit and I was confronted with the arrogance of one of the Customs people. There was this lady customs officer without a name plate and was not wearing any uniform who was so rude and kept on asking irrelevant and intimidationg questions as if everyone was a suspect of mis-declaring what was inside their luggages. I really pity the overseas workers and the Japanese tourists who were ahead of me. This came as a surprise to me because this was the first time that I had my baggages cleared in the Davao Custom. I am used to getting down in Manila everytime I am out of the country which is almost every month. The Custom personnel in Manila whether at the PAL terminal or at the Terminal 1 NAIA old airport are all so very courteous. This is a great stumbling block to our efforts to develop tourism here in our city and I hope the the Customs Directors will look into this.



(Joji Ilagan Bian is a strong and respected advocate for the development of the region. She is Chair of Joji Ilagan Foundation ( www.jojiilagancareercenter.com) ; President , Phil. Call Centers Alliance and Mindanao Tech Voc Schools Association; Mindanao Rep, Export Development Council. Email comments jojibian2@yahoo.com)