|
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
ESPINOZA: Business commits funds for poverty reduction
By Fred C. Espinoza
PLANNING BODY. Local government units (LGU) in Central Visayas who yearn for the services of a development planning body of their own would do well to reflect on the advantages being enjoyed by the province of Cebu due to the establishment of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC).
We learned that CIPC has reinforced its investment promotions capability by forging an alliance with the Japan Overseas Development Corp. (JODC) under the auspices of the Japanese Government.
As a result of this linkage, JODC has commissioned J. Nomura Research Institute (NRI) to provide technical assistance toward “capability building for CIPC in promoting investments from Japan.”
Nomura, which is one of the most prestigious think tanks in Asia, started its study last May, with study phases in both Cebu and Japan, according to CIPC managing director Joel Mari Yu.
“In fact, they have just returned from Japan where they conducted primary surveys to solicit feedback from Japanese companies regarding their experiences and future plans in overseas locations, including the Philippines and Cebu,” he said.
Because the results of the study are too important not to be shared, the Nomura Study Team, headed by Naoji Kumagai, has consented to “our request for them to formally present their findings to a select audience of Cebuano personages in government and private sector who are committed to ensuring Cebu’s continued economic growth, the CIPC head said. The presentation was held yesterday at the Acacia and Narra Function Rooms of the Cebu Country Club.
SECOND SONA. On the national level, the President’s reference for building a strong republic in her second State-of –the Nation Address (Sona) is timely in a sense that recent developments indicate a resurgence of business support to the government’s effort to reduce poverty in the country.
Most of the people we’ve talked to have dismissed the so-called looming political stalemate in the Senate as mere passing fancy, citing the possibility that some senators in the minority may opt for an administration-led Senate as a matter of principle.
The first to make the move was Sen. Robert Jaworkski yesterday who came out into the open and declared his support for the administration, for which he was warmly welcomed by the President’s allies in the Upper House.
But what many cause-oriented groups may have ignored all these days is that during the 1st Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility hosted by Ramon del Rosario Sr. of the Asian Institute of Management Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, the business sector committed P1.3 billion in “fresh funds” to help the government’s direct poverty reduction initiatives over the next two years.
CORPORATE FOUNDATIONS. In a presentation made to President Arroyo a few weeks ago, Ma. Aurora Tolentino, chairperson of the League of Corporate Foundations, said the administration could count on the private sector for financial muscle in leading the war against poverty.
The commitment was made on behalf of the league’s more than 50 member–foundations and business associations, which were represented in the first Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility.
In the last five years, Tolentino said, the local private sector had contributed a total of P7.6 billion for poverty reduction. The amount, she said, went primarily into basic human development services, livelihood or income generation and asset reform.
Nevertheless, former president Corazon Aquino, with reference to the dire social conditions that led thousands of urban poor to lay siege on Malacañang on Labor Day last year, said in her keynote speech that while poverty has grown to “alarming proportions, corporate giving in the country remains inadequate and leaves much room for improvement.
“Clearly, she said, corporate givers must begin thinking in terms of more proactive and sustainable social development involvement and not mere hand-outs and one-time donations,” the former President said.
ROLE OF BUSINESS. Vicky Garchitorena, managing director of the Ayala Corp. and president of the Ayala Foundation Inc., said business has an important role to play in spreading the benefits of development.
“First, our companies’ commitment to being global corporate citizens is about the way we run our business. In the Philippines, that includes basic issues like paying all the necessary taxes and duties, giving fair compensation to workers, engaging in sustainable business practices,” Garchitorena said.
These are some of the positive developments we can expect in the near term if the President can stabilize the administration’s legislative machinery in the Senate and focus her mind now on building a strong republic for the people through the institution of needed reforms in the fight against graft and corruption in the bureaucracy.
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
