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AMIDST a series of bad publicity, Cebu’s cities recoiled with a
measure of shame. Starting with the reports of various scams
attending the preparations for the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean) summit last year, their collective image came almost
to rock-bottom. The mayors of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu cities, who put
their signatures on the documents, suffered suspension.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City shrewdly eluded
being dragged into the multi-million peso scam by not signing the
supporting documents of the supposedly overpriced decorative
lampposts. The two mayors had approved a lamppost that cost over P90
thousand which was said to cost only P40 thousand each. Mayor Ted
Ouano of Mandaue City and Mayor Arturo Radaza of Lapu-Lapu City had
to face suspension during the runup to the 2007 elections.
Recently, however, findings by study groups
about doing business in some 21 cities in the Philippines showed
interesting results. The study, called “Doing Business in the
Philippines 2008,” undertaken by foreign and domestic interests,
showed that the cities can develop themselves in spite of alleged
misbehavior of their leaders. It appears it is not a question of
leadership, but of management.
Cebu’s satellite cities of Mandaue and
Lapu-Lapu did not appear much in the prospect of development having
figured in the Asean summit scams. Note that during the months of
hectic preparations in the runup to the international gathering,
money poured in from the national and provincial coffers, not only
to build the Cebu International Convention Center, but also to
repair infrastructures such as roads and bridges, and to spruce up
the environs where the delegates were expected to visit or pass on
the way to hotels.
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM), in
partnership with the governments of Canada and Australia, together
with the World Bank’s International Finance Corp., with the
Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments,
undertook a study on “Doing Business in the Philippines 2008.”
The results indicated the scandals did not affect all the economic
development of the two cities.
The AIM study looked into the area of starting a
business, dealing with licenses and registering property. In the
first area, of the country’s 21 cities assessed, Lapu-Lapu came
out on the top. It was noted that in the matter of cost to start a
business, the city appeared to have the lowest, “way ahead of
second-ranked Tanauan City, and even higher than the best city in
Malaysia.” It placed Lapu-Lapu 79th of 178 cities worldwide.
It is a matter of business interest that the
result of the study that highlighted economic development in the
three adjoining cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, occurred not
in an atmosphere conducive to economic development, if we go by the
headline stories that came out months before the international
survey was made. While the stories then did not report on the
cities’ business condition, it did on their leaders.
People may not believe the good fortunes that
befell the three cities that won recognition in the survey, but its
results indicated leadership as a measure of effective management.
The point at issue, unfortunately, is not the behavior and level of
integrity of the leadership, but managerial capability and dynamism.
However, the fact that Lapu-Lapu came in second
to Taguig City as the best area to start a business somehow placed
at issue the charges about Radaza’s and Ouano’s involvement in
the street lamp scandal, and Radaza’s case about the overpriced
computer units for the city schools. The AIM-led study indicated
Radaza as having initiated a “sound business climate” in his
city, attracting big investors.
Three weeks ago, I had the occasion to visit
Mactan Island, and toured the various resorts and corporate
investments in the area. I did not realize that some of the
nation’s taipans are heavily investing there. SM’s Henry Sy,
Cebu Pacific’s John Gokongwei, and Philippine Airlines and PNB’s
Lucio Tan, have reportedly made their respective multi-million
investments in the historic island where its lone city bears the
name of our national history’s first hero, Lapu-Lapu. In the
licensing procedure, it came in second in a three-way tie with
Caloocan and Cebu City.
gmr@sunstar.com.ph
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