Friday, July 04, 2008 Ledesma: Bad business climate in city? By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
WHOEVER says its bad to do business in Davao City is as blind as the famous swordsman Sato Ichi of the Japanese movie. I do not know where and how the International Finance Corporation obtained its statistics but I suspect its must have been hoodwinked by a survey firm, which is more into the agenda of political persuasion than what is obtaining on the ground.
On the other hand if you believe Bobby Teo, the business consultant of City Hall, that IFC only talked to three business establishments as bases for its rating there is no second thought that the rest of its evaluation was done through idle table survey and black magic.
Of course the business bureau still lacks technical resources required in this digital era. Processing of documents can be hellish and I can say this without reservation. Documents are lost along the way and you feel like you get the blame for the delay. But this sluggishness in government bureaucracy can be cured by sending employees in deep slumber to the boondocks of Paquibato.
Paying taxes and fees can really be harrowing. If it is that efficient then we should not be seeing people queuing waiting for clerks to finish texting, yakking, eating and hopping from one table to another. Maybe it is about time for the city business bureaus to include its collection arms to move part of its operations to SM where it is more comfortable to transact business but connect the computer terminals to the database at city hall.
I have not heard of any under-the-table negotiations in the business bureau. You will likely see some heads literally rolling if anybody does that in City Hall.
The best argument against this warped IFC report is the number of business firms relocating and locating in Davao City. IFC obviously is blind and ignorant over the fact that this year alone billions of pesos of investments in condominiums and high and low end housing projects has been poured in the city.
Very soon Robinson's in partnership with Anflocor will break ground for a mall in J. P. Laurel. In case you don't know, SM bought out a vast golf and country club real estate somewhere in Lanang for yet another mall.
Davao City's water authority and power suppliers are edgy and are now looking for added capacities because the growth of population and businesses in the city are on high gear. IFC's growth barometer is as defective as whoever are the nitwits manning their miniscule office here.
Adarna of Queensland feigning ignorance of the law and local ordinance will not get him out of hot water. But national and local authorities past and present have been remiss in enforcing the laws too. Adarna is even in a tight fix because of his statue of David, which scandalized some prude members of the City Council.
For that indiscretion the multi-million-peso walkway that he developed along the coastline of Time's Beach is now facing the possibility of being taken to pieces. Which of course will give rise to another headache for the city. As City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said the moment the reclamation authority will dismantle Adarna's improvement, they have to take similar action on the rest of those who encroached into the coastline.
The rape of Times Beach started back during the time of Elias Lopez and was compounded during the administration of Luis Santos when Congress passed the so-called urban land reform edict.
That law practically gave license to squatters - rich and poor - to occupy every inch of public land in the city. We now have to pay for the errors of the past, which I the case of Davao City, is laid on the lap of Duterte.
In fairness to Adarna, he invested a lot to improve on the area which he reclaimed which was a virtual garbage dumping site in the past. But his nagging problem is that he will not be able to wiggle out of this problem if he will not grease his way out of this they way he did when he oiled his way in to start with his motel business then.
If I were him, he might just as well donate that controversial portion to the City government as a promenade and park for the city's senior citizens. These graying citizens will not even mind David in the nude and very soon the prude in the City Council can only wish we will have more of those masterpieces replicas around us.
