Biz leaders: Losing CIPC not a good idea

“NOW is not the time to lose an organization that has been very helpful in promoting Cebu.”

Gordon Alan “Dondi” Joseph, Cebu Business Club president, gave this reaction yesterday to the possibility of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) shutting down its operations amid the recent resignations of five members of its board of trustees.

“CIPC has done a great job for the entire Cebu. It would be a loss to Cebu if they closed their doors. With many cities competing with Cebu, including Iloilo and Davao, more than ever do we need an effective CIPC,” Joseph said.

The CIPC is the marketing arm of the reclamation project of Cebu City’s South Road Properties (SRP).

Other business group leaders agree.

Lito Maderazo, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president, said that since its creation, the CIPC has been very effective in promoting and getting foreign direct investments that has helped the local economy.

“If it stops operations there should be another body that will assume its role and do as effective a job as what the CIPC has done,” Maderazo said.

Jun Saa, Cebu Education Development Foundation for Information Technology (CEDF-IT) executive director, said that they had been working with CIPC for a long time and the organization had helped a lot in terms of getting more investors to come and invest in Cebu.

“In the past, they go out to get manufacturing companies to come and they were effective. When manufacturing slowed down, they went out again to Manila and promoted Cebu to the outsourcing companies in Manila which are now also here and has stayed here for a long time now. They are very effective and it will be a great loss for us,” said Saa.

The country’s investment grade status and Cebu being a top preferred investment destination outside of Manila would not be enough to convince investors to really put in their money here, Saa said.

“We will need people like them (CIPC) who know what to do to convince investors that Cebu is really the best place for their investments,” said Saa.

Political Crossfire

In June 30, five Board of Trustees of the CIPC including its chairman Geronimo Sta. Ana, vice chairman Augusto Go, Sabino Dapat, Enrique Benedicto and Roger Lim tendered their resignations. CIPC had not yet received their annual fund assistance from the Cebu city government sparking allegations that the nongovernment organization is in trouble.

“Naipit ang CIPC sa politika sa Cebu (CIPC is caught between Cebu City politics),” CIPC managing director Joel Mari Yu explained why until now the city government has not released their P5.4 million subsidy.

Yu said that the council had already made an endorsement for the release of the subsidy funds but it was still at the Mayor’s office.

“The Mayor (Michael Rama) is not acting on it. He doesn’t want this, so the endorsement is just sitting on his table,” he said.

Potential

Yu said that they are looking at maintaining or even surpassing the same level of investments in Cebu this year with that of last year in the outsourcing industry alone.

“Last year we had 17 new companies that opened offices here. We are still looking at the same level and about 12,000 to 15,000 additional jobs for Cebu this year,” said Yu.

Yu assured that the current situation won’t stop them from promoting Cebu.

“We will continue and hang on. You have to know that the mandate of CIPC was really to get more foreign direct investors, the SRP (South Road Properties) was just an additional job that then Mayor Tomas Osmeña asked for help from CIPC,” he said.

Alternative

Should CIPC cease operations, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Philip N. Tan said that the individual City Investments Board should then take over what CIPC has been doing for their respective cities.

“Just like what Mandaue City is doing now, private sectors have a representative in the City’s Investment Board and they also tap MCCI to help draft the Investment Code,” said Tan.

He however said that as much as possible, Cebu should keep CIPC./Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap