Thursday, November 13, 2008 Local econ. council, study eyed
THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is planning to form an economic council and organize a study to support the growth of the business community in Cebu.
CCCI president Edward Gaisano revealed this during a press conference yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Club.
Gaisano said that the CCCI economic council, which is planned to be activated before the year ends, is a “timely” response to the present global financial crisis that was sparked by sub-prime mortgage defaults in the United States.
The council, he said, is expected to take a “proactive” role in the light of global issues, such as the tight credit situation amid talks of recession by setting the groundwork for the chamber’s economic advocacy, which is based on the vision of becoming the “engine for Cebu’s economic growth towards global competitiveness.”
Geronimo Sta. Ana, vice president and member of the board of trustees at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, will head the council.
CCCI also wants to spearhead a study that will take up various aspects and issues concerning Cebu, such as infrastructure and labor supply.
“We want to check how Cebu is doing, track down its uncompetitive aspects and discuss how to address them,” Gaisano said.
He added that CCCI is still “defining the parameters of the study” that is expected to start before the end of this year.
Apollo Enriquez, owner and president of A.S. Enriquez Engineering Consultancy-Cebu, will lead the study.
CCCI came up with plans for the economic council and the study on Cebu after bagging the best local chamber in the Asia Pacific award during the 3rd Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) last month.
CACCI is a regional association composed of the apex chambers or association of commerce and industry in Asia and the Western Region. It aims to serve as a forum for “examining, crystallizing and consolidating economic thinking of Asian and Western Pacific enterprises.”
Francis Monera, CCCI past president, said the local chamber has been chosen for its services to its members in the form of practical projects that also mobilize the community.
Among the chamber’s projects are the annual Cebu Business Month, Adopt-a-Police-Station and its partnership with the Department of Education for the Adopt-a-School project.
“We recognize that we operate in a global arena so we have to live up to global standards, promote Cebu to foreign shores, and build city-to-city relationships,” he said.
CCCI has more than 800 members, including small and medium enterprises, big corporations and sectoral associations.
It was also awarded as the most outstanding chamber in the Philippines by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry last year. (NRC)
