Unusual Channel
What Iloilo needs
(Thanks to a friend who wrote this. Very interesting article and speaks so much of where Iloilo is and where it will be in the future. Are we still in the Jurassic (meaning primitive, old, stone age; ice age -- what not!) mode or are we spinning fast in twilight zone figuring out where to go? Go figure! But never too late to say “we will survive at whatever cost… at whose expense?” Whatever! Again, thanks to Jonas Magallon; there it’s out! Read on.)
As I recline my seat on the plane back to New York I can’t help but think,” Are Ilonggos ready for prime time?” It’s been 22 months since my last visit. I made a beeline again last month to visit my parents and friends. My trip was rather quick for 6 days but enough to view a snapshot of all the progress. I was amazed to see new hotels, buildings, infrastructure including the newly completed airport. I was impressed most of the access road to the new Airport facility in the boundaries of Santa Barbara and Cabatuan. I was totally lost; as I can’t find the landmarks of the old farmland I used to visit. The progress is imminent but are the people ready for it?
Iloilo is basically agricultural in nature. Discounting the growth of new housing development in the rice lands of Pavia and Mandurriao, my assumption is that it still ranks number 1 in rice production. With lahar-filled ricefield in Central Luzon; a peace and order issue in Cotabato, it’s easy to assume that claim as Numero Uno. However we are now facing a new age of Globalization. The new millennium presents a new world order. A new challenge to meet the demands of the future, modernization and getting away from Stone Age. In more ways than one we still adapt into a lot of primitive practices that we can’t leave behind. There’s a lot of dinosaur among us who are caught in the crossroad of these cultural make over. I hope they could blend smoothly with change.
Healthy societies provide its citizenry with secure, productive and fulfilling life. It makes sure that everyone’s basic needs are met .The option for future generations should not be impaired. It should provide balance and equilibrium between its wealth and its people. Prosperity and progress start with a deep foundation wherein the community makes the best use of all its assets and resources. Control and management of productive chattels is highly essential element to success. This intrinsic responsibility falls in the hand of our public servants and the citizenry that are cognizant and possesses a symbiotic relationship with their chosen leaders.
With this segue, have you voted smartly last May 14? Have you chosen a leader that has the vision for the future, a leader who has the compassion to serve the needs of the poor and the needy? Is he a leader who has the bold initiative to introduce reform and lay the building blocks to meet the challenge of the future? Is he a leader who protects the interest of the ground, its natural resources, and the welfare of the next generation? Leaders who fully understand the shifting balance of progress and its trade offs. Or you have voted with your feet again and sold your political rights over a case of beer and a free dinner? If you did, shame on you. There is no excuse for your feeble ignorance. You may have several burps and a good laugh out of it but this irresponsible notion might bounce back and haunt you in the long run.
Globalization means getting into the global market wherein the world has become one community connected into a virtual domain. We need someone who could lead us into this new frontier, someone who could introduce our localities into the global market. Our province is full of economic potentials. I still have to see canning factory with our robust harvest of fish along our waters and shorelines. However, we still surrender our catches to the Japanese ship waiting in the middle of our seas buying it for a giveaway price. Agri-business should be totally developed with modern technology and innovative products. The hillside of Bucari in Leon to the mountains of Lambunao, could be developed into modern farming community producing variety of vegetable, fruits and coffee. We have done well with our mangoes but we need more of these export quality products to generate revenue stream in foreign soil.
A lot of friends were asking me if we could now land directly from international flight to the new Airport. I could only take it with a big laugh. We don’t have the traffic and volume. The market needs to be developed. These processes could only be achieved with collaboration of our national and local leaders as well as ventured capitalist and businessmen. Now that we have an international gateway completed we have to do our part to be ingenious to open our door nationally and overseas. Not even our main export of skilled workers could warrant daily or even tri-weekly flights to and from any Metropolitan city in Asia, Europe, Oceania and the Americas. It has to be augmented by Tourism, Businesses and employment opportunities. This won’t be an easy task as some places have fallen into the trap of global cannibalism when foreign corporation lords over the third world countries making hostage of their community in exchange of economic growth.
Years back I read this ad in Fortune Magazine from Philippine Government that goes “To attract companies like yours, we have felled mountains, razed jungles, filled swamps, moved rivers, relocated towns…. all to make it easier for your business to be done here.” It sounds like a sweet invitation. But how many proponents have turned their backs in conceptual phase of a project because the developmental funds, a.k.a. grease money, gets bloated from the start. Power Brokers, Wheel Dealers, Politicians, Public and Government Officials all outdoing each other in queue for mullah in exchange of favors and promises. We are not rolling over a red carpet for them. We are scaring them out. My role as an E-Commerce Business Consultant is to bring our business to the doorstep of the customer. Business Partnership is built in Trust. You have to make the terms and conditions favorable for Foreign Investors and Businesses to come.
Properly understood, development is a principle by which people increased their human, institutional, and technical capacities to produce goods and services needed to achieve sustainable improvement in their quality of life using resources available to them. Many of these processes are People Centered Development not only because the direct beneficiaries are people but also they formulated it. In many respect this is what happened to Japan, Korea and Taiwan. They started with small farms, cottage industries and technologies that lead to perfection and eventually made it to global market as highly competitive product. It all started to cater local consumption but in due course evolved into international market. Perfection does not come by accident but by efficient management and competitiveness.
I am not an advocate of industrialization but this is how we could make it in the map of Metropolitan Centers. I was astounded how foreign investors have plucked Cebu. I met several expatriates on my way back telling me that they moved their engineering and research to Cebu. Years ago on one of my Consulting Calls I was summoned to Corporate Headquarters of Timex Watch in Connecticut and little did I know that it was manufactured in Cebu. I have talked to local politicians if they have a master plan for commercial and economic zoning along the newly constructed Airport and they said “No”. It’s about time to look into this avenue. Iloilo is centrally located in the Center of the Philippine Archipelago and could be used as very Strategic Hub or distribution point in Pacific basin. We could attract electronic, drug companies to set up Electronic Warehousing if we present a favorable, friendly and hospitable terms for them.
This of course must be planned carefully not to compromise our ecosystem and productive domain. We should also be aware of potential Health Hazard brought by progress. A case Study in Harvard University made mention of Japanese Operated Copper smelting plant in Leyte (PASAR), which produces High Grade Copper Cathodes for shipment to Japan. This operation opened up a lot of job and boost local economy. However, Gas and Water emission from the plant contain high concentration of boron, arsenic, heavy metal, and sulfur compounds that contaminated local water supplies, reduced fishing and rice yields damaged forest and increased the occurrence of upper –respiratory diseases. This trade off is not healthy to our society and must not be allowed to happen.
I hope you have chosen smartly last month. These groups of public servants that you installed in their elective offices will represent you. I wish that they know and understand the predicaments of progress and economic prosperity. They should safeguard the welfare of the people above and beyond monetary bribe, gifts and free rides. This is a customary practice and Standard Operating Procedure on how business is conducted in any developing country. Big Corporation makes a lucrative offer with a lot of hidden agendas. If somebody wants to fatten his War Chest for the next campaign, he is an easy prey. Money is hot and it offers convenience. I have heard a lot of horror story and unhappy campers who feel cheated and betrayed in the recently concluded electoral process. Most of them are pedigreed professionals, retirees, proven community leaders who bank on their track records and integrity to be elected. All of them wish to serve their community and share their talents and management skills to ameliorate the welfare of their citizen. They have kindness, sincerity, self-sacrifice and goodness in their heart.
True enough, for obvious reasons they were beaten by candidates whose only qualifications are their youth, names, beauty, naivety, popularity, political machinery, and the mastery of the art of getting elected. What ever it takes, they know how to do it. Either that or you let it happened. My only wish is that these elected candidates know their responsibilities to their conscience, God, people, community and country. I hope and pray that they will be worthy of their honorable task to serve and care of the well being of the people and the environment. The choice was yours. I hope you cast it wisely.
Now take a backseat and watch their show.
(Sounds good, huh? Did he just speak the truth? Oh well, that question goes for all guilty, so if you are not why be bothered by it? For your comments please email me at rbuy1028@gmail.com.)
“Education is a long journey for people who refuse to grow.”