NORMALCY in investments.
Or at least in the promotion of investment destinations like Clark. We see this shaping up once again in Philippine foreign posts.
Consul General Elmer Cato of New York, while busy with handling Asian hate crimes where some Filipinos are also victims, wastes no time in making a pitch for the Philippines.
Particularly for the freeports of Clark, Subic and Bataan.
In a recent virtual kapihan with the Capampangan in Media Inc. (Cami), Cato was asked by this writer what he does for economic diplomacy. And we can only be proud and thankful that Clark has always been part of the investment promotions being conducted by the Philippine Center in New York.
He said that a recent webinar series organized by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Philippine Trade Center (DTI post in New York) had discussed and delved on American interests on investment destinations in the Philippines.
Cato invited former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is now the presidential adviser on Clark and Subic. She was represented by CDC President Manny Gaerlan in the recent online forum.
The global pandemic, notwithstanding, the New York Consulate squeezed in investment promotions work for Clark and other parts of the country.
It is important that such activity be sustained even in the face of global economic slowdown. That is exactly what is on the plate of Cato right now, being a long-time supporter of Clark.
In my former capacity as Comms manager of CDC, I have hosted a delegation of foreign investors he has sent to take a look at Clark on few occasions. One group, consisting of airline and travel executives, even had the imprimatur of the Ministry of Transportation in Iraq. One must remember that Cato once volunteered (not merely assigned by his bosses in DFA) to be assigned in war-torn Baghdad where he and other diplomats had bullets and bombs for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
***
Making a pitch for Clark is not always that easy. Doing so will find you facing lots of questions that seek to elicit assurances on economic and political stability. There are even questions that deal on minute details like rates of utilities and manpower –all sorts that should ensure prospective investors on ease of doing business.
I should know as I’ve experience that myself in my previous visits to Consulates in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. At no costs to CDC, they were performed during personal trips and journalistic tasks as I’ve thought of shooting second bird with one stone. And it is not easy with all those heavy brochures I also needed to pack and bring to consulates on commute.
One of the last shots I fired was sometime in May 2017 where I had to meet with the highly respectable Philippine Star Columnist Federico “Dik” Pascual. The meeting was planned and made at the office of then New York Consul General. With no less than former ConGen Tess David-De Vega (now PH Ambassador to Germany) and top investment promotions man Nick Bautista present, we discussed then preparations of the Philippines in hosting the Asean meeting of heads of state.
A lot of other issues and concerns were also raised like the contributions of Clark in national and local economies. Separately, I also had to meet with the Tourism Officer assigned in New York for the showing of Clark’s promotional video on wide screens of the Consulate that is viewed by thousands on foot while walking along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
By the way, in my trips to New York, I can only be thankful to Sammy Sanchez (an uncle of ConGen Cato) and PH Center executive Jun Manlapaz (originally of Porac town) for making my visits memorable and convenient.
***
PPC PHOTO EXHIBIT. You can still catch the on-going photo exhibit of the Pampanga Press Club (PPC) at SM City Clark until Friday, June 4. It is open to the public and free admission. Visitors may want to sign in the guest book and just follow health protocols – face masks, face shields, and follow the directional arrows from entrance to exit of the exhibit area.
Why stage a photo exhibit? This is the contribution of the 72-year-old Club to helping promote and permeate an atmosphere of optimism and hope. Media practice as an industry was also affected by the pandemic and that is no reason for us to just sit in the corner and agonize. As the other sectors of society, we all need to fight and manage this scourge and bounce back.
Thank you to our principal partners -- Pagcor, SM Supermalls and Canon Philippines for making this possible.