The Capitol in Action Podcast
In case you haven’t noticed, I have set up a link to the podcast edition of “The Capitol in Action,” the weekly radio program I am hosting over Aksyon Radyo Iloilo <http://www.aksyonradyoiloilo.net/>. This will enable Ilonggos all over the world to keep track of issues and news concerning the Iloilo Provincial Government with the convenience of mp3 downloads. You can find the link under the category “Podcasts” on the sidebar at the right side of this page. Or you can click on the link below to go there directly:
<http://www.gcast.com/u/boymejorada/main/>
You can subscribe to the podcast on your Yahoo toolbar. Just follow the instructions on the podcast home page.
BusinessWeek lists Iloilo as ‘ideal BPO location’
The influential international magazine, “BusinessWeek,” has included Iloilo City in its list of ideal locations for business process outsourcing (BPO) businesses around the world.
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107048/Where-Your-Job-Could-Be-Outsourced
Pushing for Iloilo as special economic zone
I had a chat with city councilor Lex Tupas on FaceBook last night and learned about the city legislature’s concern about the capital being left out in the proposed Senate Bill filed by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago to establish a special economic zone and free port in the Province of Iloilo.
According to Lex, the council adopted a resolution in yesterday’s regular session pushing for the inclusion of Iloilo City in the coverage of the SEZA-Free Port. I told him we already made that recommendation in a letter sent by Governor Niel Tupas Sr. to Senator Santiago two weeks ago as our input to the committee hearing conducted by Senator Mar Roxas.
Indeed, a special economic zone and free port cannot leave out Iloilo City. This is the center of trade and commerce. it is where our internatonal port facilities are situated. As proposed, the SEZA will include the city, Leqanes, Zarraga, Dumangas, Pavia and Sta. Barbara.
Senator Miriam’s bill deserves everybody’s support. It should cut through partisan lines. Raul Gonzalez, Art Defensor, Ferj Biron and Judy Syjuco, on the one hand, should work together with the Tupases to make this happen. I would add that all the congressmen in Panay should work as one to push for it.
This might come a little late, but as the saying goes, better late than never.
Miriam eyes Iloilo as special economic zone
Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago is pushing for the establishment of a special economic zone and free port in the whole Province of Iloilo to attract big investments here and accelerate its economic growth.
This plan is contained in Senate Bill No. 3169 that the Ilongga senator filed before the Upper Chamber of Congress recently and seeks to bring her home province on a level playing field with the likes of Subic, Clark, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao by making it a special economic zone and free port.
Governor Niel Tupas, Sr. expressed full support for the legislative initiative, saying that unless Iloilo can offer the same advantages and benefits that Subic and Clark does, big manufacturers will find little incentive to bring huge capital to the province.
In a letter to Senator Santiago, Tupas said this could push the province to greater heights of glory and reclaim its old title as the “Queen City of the South”. Iloilo was already the second busiest port in the country — next only to Manila — at the turn of the 20th century because of natural advantages that it enjoys.
Iloilo’s well-protected harbor makes an ideal shipping center, and its establishment as a free port will make the idea more plausible. I’ve always advocated developing that stretch of coastline from the present International Port in Loboc to the municipal port in Naluoyan, Dumangas, with the land along the coastal road as container yards and warehouse facilitiies.
With a proposed bridge that would connect Iloilo with Guimaras, the concept becomes more attractive, as we can combine a special economic zone with a tourism zone that can rival Subic.
The Senate committees on economic affairs, ways and means, local government units, and finance temporarily chaired by another Ilonggo senator, Mar Roxas, tackled the senate bill yesterday morning. With his support, the bill is likely to be fast tracked in Congress and approved before 2010.
Center for professional development opens in Iloilo
A group of educators from the West Visayas State University have formed a consortium to provide top-quality professional skills training for Ilonggos of all ages.
The Howell Center for Professional Development was inaugurated on Thursday evening, April 2, just across Gate 1 of the Central Philippine University, with initial course offerings on foreign languages, IELTS, public speaking and the basics of public governance. Professor Sharon Quimpo, who has done a splendid job as director of the WVSULanguage School until her resignation last month, is the executive director.
The center hopes to fill the gap in helping professionals, both in the private and public sectors, to sharpen certain competencies, notably in communications, to enhance their career advancement.
As I remarked during the inaugural program, college graduates can be considered as “rough diamonds” when they complete their university education, and the training center will help them “spot polish” the skills they need to move ahead in the career ladder.
Among the consultants who will handle courses at the center are Dr. Myrna Rico-Lopez and Prof. Majella Palacios.
The center is owned and managed by spouses Muhammed Ismael Howell.
The owners of the Howell Center for Professional Development, Mr. and Mrs. Muhammed Ismael Howell, welcoming guests.
Iloilo’s next battleground: Water
The Board of Directors of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) is reportedly set to resist the threatened take-over of the water utility firm by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) under its new chairman, Prospero “Butch” Pichay.
The MIWD has been given 30 days by Pichay to “shape up or ship out” after he discovered evidence of gross mismanagement of the water district, particularly with its failure to stop the huge volume of leakages resulting to losses in revenue and inability to improve the flow of potable water to the city’s households.
Pichay was incensed three weeks ago when he handed a check for P2 million as grant from LWUA to help the water utility built a line connection to a relocation site, only to discover upon examining the MIWD’s books of accounts that it had nearly P200 million as retained earnings in the bank.
“With so much money, why wasn’t the MIWD taking concrete steps to solve the company’s problems and improve services?” asked a fuming Pichay.
Indeed, it’s very hard to explain why a company awash with cash can’t do anything about its myriad of problems. What makes it uglier is that this is the home water district of erstwhile LWUA administrator Larry Jamora. During the seven years that Jamora was LWUA chief, why was he unable to do anything to resolve these problems?
Pride is apparently egging the MIWD board of directors to resist Pichay’s initiatives.
But Pichay doesn’t care about wounded pride. What’s important to him is the improvement of the water supply services to Iloilo city and the municipalities being serviced by MIWD.
“I will not even allow politics to come into the picture,” Pichay told me last Friday when we met at his office in the LWUA headquarters.
With this refusal of MIWD to let LWUA to step into the picture, it would appear that water will become the next battleground in Iloilo City.
Lighting a candle in the dark
This is a synopsis of the speech I delivered last Saturday, September 20, 2008, during the ceremonial groundbreaking program to signal the start of the construction work for the 2×82-mW clean coal technology power plant in Barangay ingore, Lapaz, Iloilo City by the Global Business Power Corp., a subsidiary of the MetroBank group:
This is a dream fulfilled for Ilonggos who have been pushing for a stable source of cheap power for the city and province of Iloilo, and the entire island of Panay as well. After several false starts, this project is finally at the starting line, its engines revving, and just waiting for the green light to fulfill its mission for our people. The project was originally conceived as far back as five years ago, and we watched with bated breath as plans were changed every now and then, the proposed sites also shifting, filled with anxiety as to whether it will push through or not.
It was an agonizing wait because we realized that the power supply in the whole island of Panay was falling short of demand, and we needed to plug the gap soon. The urgency of this need was always foremost in the mind of Governor Niel Tupas, Sr. who saw early on that the economy of the province depended on the availability of stable and cheap power. In fact, the first question that potential investors coming to visit him asked was, “What is the outlook of the power situation?” For Governor Tupas, this question underscored the vital importance of power to attracting investments to Iloilo.
Thus, Governor Tupas is extremely happy that this project is finally getting off the ground. Honestly, we view this event with a tinge of envy, because Governor Tupas had been pushing for its implementation in one of the candidate sites in the province of Iloilo. He wanted to leave a legacy of having built the first clean coal technology power plant in the province that would propel its economy to greater heights. Chairman Francis Sebastian mentioned that the governor treated him and Chairman Tony Abacan to the famous Lapaz batchoy, in the hope that this would lock the project to Iloilo. But Governor Tupas doesn’t really mind that the project ultimately went to the city. He will just send Mayor Trenas a bill for the batchoy.
This project will also send a loud and unmistakable signal to investors around the world that Iloilo is the right place to locate their businesses. This P18-billion investment to be funneled by the MetroBank group for the project is a strong vote of confidence that will surely be noticed in the corporate boardrooms around the globe. For this, we are thankful to the MetroBank group for staying on course, for keeping its focus on the project, despite the tubulence that it encountered in bringing this investment to Iloilo.
Iloilo province may have lost one huge investment, but this is still a giant leap forward for the economy of the province as well as the entire island of Panay. While this project is situated in the city, its cheap power will still reach the farthest reaches of the island, and we are certain to reap untold benefits for our people.
In behalf of Governor Tupas, I am happy to extend the congratulations of the whole province of Iloilo to the Global Business Power Corp. as it embarks on this project that will assure a brighter future for our people.
The soul of a champion
Olympics silver medalist Mary Jane Estimar showing her medal to Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel "Boy" Mejorada.
Mary Jane Estimar was working as a manicurist when she discovered wushu sanshou as a sport. As a child, she’s always loved sports — basketball and volleyball were among her favorites. But she was never one who got into martial arts until she stumbled into the gym of Arnold Tinagan. When she learned the basics, she decided this was going to be her sport.
Showing the discipline and dedication that make a champion, Mary jane worked hard to sharpen her fighting skills by training almost every day. In a matter of four years, Mary Jane worked her way up the competition ladder until finally, she landed a place in the Philippine Olympic team for wushu sanshou as a special event. Even though her sport was classified only as a special event, and the medals won’t be counted in the official tally for the Beijing Olympics, Mary Jane never let up in her training.
Early this year, she joined the team for the final phase of the training in China, where she and her team mates were exposed to the rigorous methods of training. “We trained several hours each day using techniques we’ve never tried before,” Mary Jane told me on Friday, September 5, 2008, when she paid a courtesy call to the Office of the Governor. “It was exhausting and bruising but we persevered.”
Mary Jane gained confidence with her fighting skills as she sparred with champion fighters in different parts of China where the sport originated. “I found that a Filipina could match them in fighting skill and technique,” she said. She knew that she would achieve a good performance in the Beijing Olympics, and her focus intensified as the big event approached.
Just then, in the month of May, the sad news about the death of her father in Dulonan, Arevalo reached her in China. The youngest in the family, she was also the bread winner, and she was caught in a dilemma: should she take a break from her training to attend her father’s funeral? She also needed to raise the money for the burial expenses.
Mary Jane is a good daughter, and that part of her told her she should go home. But she also realized that she had a higher obligation to the nation. The country was thirsting for a medal, and even if her sport was categorized as a special event, it fell upon her shoulders to bring home a medal to give honor and glory to the Philippine flag.
She decided to stick to the final phase of the training, but made sure all the expenses for the funeral were taken care of. After that brief period of mourning, Mary Jane continued with her training. She turned that sadness into a burning passion for a higher glory. “I told myself that I will fight for my country, and for my father,” she said. In his death, he became an inspiration to a doting daughter.
This motivating influence of her father is what drove Mary Jane to summon great endurance and strength as she faced her opponents in the Beijing Olympics. She won in the first round, but injured her ankles. Still, she persevered and won in the second round. This time, her left shoulder was hurt. By the time she reached the finals and fight for the gold medal, Mary Jane was almost limping. Every movement was painful.
Surrender, however, had no place in Mary Jane’s vocabulary. Pitted against a taller, healthier Chinese opponent, she continued to fight even though her feet had become useless because of the extreme pain. “I could only punch, but not kick,” she said.
When her Chinese coach saw the futility of the situation, he threw in the towel. Mary Jane cried in frustration, even though she had earned the silver medal for our country. She wanted to get the gold in honor of her father. Unknown to her, the entire nation had already exulted over her silver medal finish. It was enough to give luster to a poor over all performance for the Philippines in the Olympics.
Mary Jane displayed the soul of a champion, and a great part of that could be attributed to her being an Ilongga.
Iloilo should be proud of her.
