Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Ledesma: Uppers By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
DAVAO businessmen obviously are in no mood to join the political opposition doomsday scenario for 2007. In fact the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry are upbeat 2007 will be one of the best years for decades.
Chamber President Doming Duerme cites some bases why. He said that there will be increased government spending this year. He anchored his prognosis on the creation of the Mindanao Super Region.
While he did not go into details, I think Doming referred to the unprecedented revenue generated by the National Government last year following the implementation of the expanded VAT and the new discipline imposed on tax collecting agencies.
Following the rosy financial position of the government finance President Arroyo announced the creation of the super regions. Mindanao, if we were to believe Secretary Jesus Dureza, will have P10-billion more to spend than the usual allocation.
Depending on how soon and how fast can this government implement the various projects that had been on the pipeline, there will indeed be a lot of money circulating in Mindanao. I just hope that the national government will stop the anomalous policy of awarding contracts to firms based in Manila just because they have the so-called experience in undertaking multi-million-peso projects.
The bare fact is that all of the projects awarded by DPWH to Manila contractors are actually subcontracted to the locals. Implementation of various road projects like the Davao-General Santos road, Davao-Valencia highway, and Davao-Butuan Philippine-Japan span were all awarded to Manila-based construction companies.
All of these projects were delayed and all were subjected to new bidding after years of unconscionable delays when the winners did not perform. I know that all of them got some advances.
Despite their inability to perform, they still continue to be entertained by DPWH and worse, nobody went to jail despite the millions of pesos lost in this scam.
President Doming on the other hand specifically mentioned the various infrastructure projects that Davao City is presently undertaking. The City government under the leadership of Mayor Rody Duterte had started off with the synchronized traffic signaling system and soon after that and will commence with another gargantuan drainage project. This year too will see the massive construction of barangay roads and bridges in the city. All told, by quick estimates, we are talking here of about P1-billion circulating in Davao City.
Davao Region will see some dramatic entry of foreign and domestic capitals in the local mining industry. This will truly perk up the economy of the region starting this year.
The agriculture export industry will continue to flourish led by the robust productivity of the banana export sector. Fresh cavendish bananas will grow tremendously this year with newly opened areas starting to reach maximum productivity. In tandem, banana chips from the endemic cardava variety, have shown acceptability in the export market with improve processing quality and packaging. Vegetable growers and fruit producers will continue to cash-in with the cost reduction of freight by about 30 percent owing to the opening of the new nautical highway, which cut travel time from Mindanao to Luzon by over 10 hours.
Business process outsourcing will be a new niche for Davao business. I agree with the Chamber report that a large number of our graduates had been recruited by IT operators in Visayas and Luzon because they find our human resources more trainable and efficient.
This year will see about five big IT centers in Davao City, which will cater to medical transcription and call center services to various establishments overseas. The information highway they got in Manila and Cebu are available here. Problem was, our local capitalist had been timid in putting their eggs on this venture to the point that we had been overtaken by the more aggressive entrepreneurs in those parts. No worry, some of our businessmen have awakened from their lethargy we are seeing a perceptible placements of investments in these ventures. Hopefully we will be able to recall our boys and girls from Cebu and Manila.
We have our own share of OFWs who are investing their hard-earned money on local real estate, which is experiencing a real boom here according to President Duerme. Which reminds me. If the DDS operatives are still around, why don't they hunt those shady operators who sold non-existent lots somewhere in Matina to a number of trusting OFWs? My gush, those glib tongue salesmen can sell even Davao Gulf and Bankerohan bridge! For one reason or another there are naïve and gullible buyers who fork out blood money to buy those invisible real estates!
Davao Chamber President Doming Duerme sees more tourist arrivals in Davao in 2007. He knows this prospect from where he sits as Vice President of Philippine Airlines in Mindanao. He tells us that there will be a new route to be opened early this year. He is referring to Davao-Macau-Seoul (Korea) route and hopefully the opening of a direct link between Nagoya and Davao also this year. He also mentioned a new term: "medical tourism." This one is good for local hospitals and the foreign airline industry for they will be flying in patients from Palau and nearby countries for treatment here. But yes, I agree that there will be more Koreans who will be escaping not only the harsh winter in their land but also to play golf and gulp and, if my guess is right, to try their luck in casinos and savor the variety of exquisite food that await them here. Soon we will be saying more "anyong hasimnida" (it's a Korean greeting that sounds the way I spelled it) than "good morning."
The Chamber guys however are wary about the P125 wage hike. I talked to some of them and they are really worried they may have to trim down on their personnel or close shop not too profitable outlets. Some sectors dismiss the employers concern about this issue by saying that it was eons ago that we had had a legislated wage increase. Well, take it from me. My first salary was P45 per month. My publisher confessed to me the other day that his was P25. When I was working with DXDC-TV 13 our salary was P300. I got booted out during martial law. Next job I got after six months being jobless was P600 per month, then the next one was five figures. No matter how small the take, I somehow let the loose ends met. The most depressing time was the six-month hiatus when I had no job because no one wants to touch me with a ten-foot pole because I was terminated from my job during the martial law era. But no regrets. I have learned how to prepare for the worst. So, for those employees who think they can bleed their firm to death with the P125 increase, all they have to do is just think of other alternatives. Remember, not all firms are like the communication giants who are raking in a lot of profits. Am sure, laborers know how their employers are faring. When the push shall have come to a shove, be ready to consider the next alternative. Otherwise, you can join the professional street demonstrators. They offer the catharsis but not the cash though.
