BUSINESSES in Lapu-Lapu City will soon be represented following the move to create a Lapu-Lapu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
But Melanie Ng, area vice president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)-Visayas, said they will have to delist the old Lapu-Lapu Chamber first to accommodate the new one. The city once had a business chamber, but it is no longer active.
“Currently, we have received a lot of interest from corporations or companies that are based or doing business in Lapu-Lapu that would like to join the chamber. They saw how being a member of the chamber can help advocate for programs like the ease of doing business, especially since there are a lot of investments coming into Lapu-Lapu,” Ng said.
At least 30 companies led by the Aboitiz Group expressed interest in joining the upcoming chamber. The Aboitiz Group, through the Aboitiz Infra Capital, is the private operator of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. The group also owns Mactan Economic Zone II.
“They saw the opportunity and the need for a chamber in Lapu-Lapu. If we work together, all the business chambers, as PCCI One Visayas, our voice will be much stronger,” said Ng.
Ng said that she had already informed the board of directors of PCCI about this intention. She said that the regional governor of PCCI-Central Visayas will need to write a letter to PCCI, requesting the delisting of the old Lapu-Lapu Chamber.
Earlier this month, during the Cebu Tourism Forum, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan expressed his desire for a dedicated business chamber for the city, citing the city’s continuous growth and development.
“We have a lot of businesses, we have a lot of investors so it’s high time that we will have our own... it is a very big help to us if we have the chamber,” he said.
Among the three highly urbanized cities in Cebu Province, Lapu-Lapu City is the only one without a formal business chamber.
Other cities in Cebu, such as Talisay, already have their own business chambers. Additionally, Cordova, Bantayan, Toledo and Naga each have established their respective business chambers.
Chan hopes the Lapu-Lapu business chamber will be established this year with the endorsement of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as a provincial-level chamber.
When a business chamber is recognized by the PCCI, the organization will have access to all of these programs and advocacies, among others.
Ng said among PCCI’s key advocacies are the cost and ease of doing business. She said businesses want to see improvements in this area, amid the changing landscape in business and growing competition.
Lapu-Lapu City is home to the globally acclaimed Mactan-Cebu International Airport as well as branded properties like Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa Cebu, Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu, Aruga Resort and Residences Mactan Cebu, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa and JPark Island Resort and Waterpark Mactan, Cebu, among others.
It is also home to manufacturing and exporting companies operating inside the Mactan Economic Zone. According to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, there are six ecozones in Lapu-Lapu City hosting 324 locator companies, contributing P90.675 billion in investments, US$2.322 billion in exports in 2023, and 67,358 direct jobs. / KOC