LAGAWE, IFUGAO – – At the recently-concluded Induction of Officers and Board of Directors of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)-Ifugao Chapter held at the Atrium of the Provincial Capitol Building Complex in Lagawe, entrepreneur Jasmin Deleso of Lagawe took over the presidency of the organization. She succeeded Godfrey Dominong.
The changing of the guards, so to speak, is truly significant for a number of reasons. For one, if the term of the president expires and no one replaces him or her there is obviously a vacuum of leadership. A crisis ensues. Yet, the induction ceremony was only attended by a sparse crowd of about 50 or so members and guests. None of the highly-placed officials the chapter invited in the provincial and municipal levels, including national line agencies, were in attendance. Governor Jerry Dalipog and Vice Governor Glenn Prudenciano opted to attend an Executive-Legislative meeting in Banaue. Instead, they sent their representatives.
Also, Therence Batulon, an articulate business leader, assumed the position of vice president.
Deleso, Batulon and the other officers and board directors are serving a term of two years.
This year’s oath-taking rites of the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter was largely participated in by members of the business sector in the capital town of Lagawe.
“This is the start of our partnership with the provincial government and many others in the private sector,” Deleso said.
“We shall continuously stand in the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter’s advocacy in supporting the noteworthy goals of the national government to ensure the improvement of the living conditions of the people,” she told the ZigZag Weekly.
Both the president and vice president of the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter are young and passionate in answering the call to lead their moribund chapter in the coming months. Both influenced improvements in many aspects of trade and commerce in this part of the province. As such, not a few are expecting them to register tangible achievements for the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter, thus, exercise a profound influence in Ifugao’s public opinion.
Recent past showed PCCI-Ifugao Chapter’s who-really-cares participation at the annual “Gotad” festival through a small booth attracted little attention and a failed Christmas Bazaar it sponsored at Lagawe Central School.
This is bound to happen if leaders are merely satisfied with activities usually associated with a “social club.”
Now, Ms. Deleso and company should painstakingly find out how small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) are important to Filipinos.
They should look for ways to improve the income of SME owners, most especially in far-flung barangays.
They should also show strong interest in strengthening the effort to educate the men and women of SMEs of the role of digital trade technology as well as the impact of the ASEAN integration market program.
The importance of local competitiveness in driving national growth should be continuously emphasize. One cannot underestimate the significance of boosting the competitiveness of a business firm in order to provide a more enabling business environment, more so for SMEs.
Wherefore, the support of the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter for the modernization of SMEs is needed. The PCCI-Ifugao Chapter should reinforce the participation of SMEs in provincial value and supply chains with the support of technology and innovation. This will allow them to increase their competitiveness and productivity, ultimately benefitting the entire province through greater employment and trade.
Capping of the program was the overview of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Provincial Director Valentin Baguidudol who asserted that the PCCI itself has proven to be among the country’s economic game changers for so many years. He vowed that the DTI-Ifugao Office, under his stewardship, will continue to provide support for strong growth in the years to come in Ifugao’s 11 towns. The PCCI is one of the largest and most respected business organizations in the Philippines. Alegria Limjoco and George Barcelon are the president and chairman, respectively, of the PCCI.
In the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the integrity and leadership of DTI Provincial Director Valentin Baguidudol is unassailable. He is well-known as a knowledgeable and approachable person who is ready to help those in the business sector, if request is meritorious.
Baguidudol gave a unique spin of the province’s economic journey in the past, present and the years ahead.
This is vital because this should be the underlying concern of the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter, not parades, trade fairs and other petty activities.
Agriculture is the most important industry in Ifugao. Yet, the agricultural sector had a very imperceptible growth for so many years.
Agriculture, despite being the dominant sector, is the least productive for decades. Preferential attention should be given for provision of jobs and addressing widespread poverty, especially in distant villages. Poverty contributes to poor health of farmers and beneficiaries, and poor health anchors large farming populations to poverty.
Moreover, they should endeavor for entrepreneurs to be able to get business licenses and other permits from the government in just a short span of time. Business Permit and Licensing Offices in Ifugao should be given badly-needed face lift with the provision of a new, integrated software system and better computer hardware. By having access to business-friendly environment, business owners could then satisfy themselves that transactions are faster thus, ensuring more efficiency in processing their papers, without the added cost, red tape and corruption.
To ensure Ifugao folks in underserved villages have a stable source of income and a better quality of life is a challenge to Ms. Deleso and other chapter officers. They should aggressively promote entrepreneurship through projects on a year-round basis.
Why is there underdevelopment in Ifugao despite the fact that the provincial and municipal governments have truckloads of papers supposedly outlining “development plans”? For short, poor Ifugao folks didn’t feel the so-called “growth” of the Ifugao economy. What do you expect from the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter officers in the aftermath of “engaging” politicians who are only good in making promises, but demonstrably inept in fulfilling them?
This is another salient reason why a new mindset of refocusing the direction of the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter was long-sought by the public. It needs a proactive approach to assisting both the national government and provincial government in keeping a steady economic growth and at increasing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities while significantly reducing poverty.
This should be the mainstream activity of the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter if it truly wants to assert its relevance. The national government and the provincial government can’t curb poverty incidence without the engagement by each part of society. The PCCI-Ifugao Chapter could be tapped help out. These days, social groups, nongovernment organizations and people’s organizations are more aware of the importance of integrating a social dimension to their growth strategies. The PCCI-Ifugao Chapter is not exempted.
If past officers of social groups as this one were as conscientious as PCCI officers in the national level, many expect them to keep reminding officers of their duties and responsibilities of developing human capital as a legacy to be treasured by present and future generations. In this case, the job is not much in the act of giving brochures to the public during Gotad-sponsored trade fairs, but perhaps involves the fulfillment and satisfaction of a genuine commitment to place social and economic progress central to their agenda, beyond recognition measured exclusively in terms of financial stature in life. It is time for the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter, under the leadership of a non-political and vibrant businesswoman, to take a qualitative leap from playing second fiddle or supporting role during business seminars or the likes by being moderators or emcees to more relevant and respectable ones, focusing instead on the role as resource speakers on services, information and innovation. It is time to “level up” and come out with “out-of-the-box” strategies to promote quality growth in Ifugao. There is simply no room for parochial and simplistic view of social and economic issues. The newly-minted officers have to fully appreciate the interrelatedness of the wide-ranging issues faced by Philippine society.
With Ms. Deleso at the helm, momentum to move the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter forward has been set. She has to strengthen the PCCI’s traditions to pioneer ideas and solutions to help more and more cash-starved Ifugao entrepreneurs get the assistance they deserve. Henceforth, expectations are high for other officers to deliver the goods to bring about the fullest potential in the business owner. They are Pedro Bunoy Jr., secretary; Betty Imayaho, treasurer; Ronald Godoy, auditor; as well as Salvador Doroja and Norma Tungngod, public relations officers. Board Directors are George Dean Baywong, Karen Joy Kalaw and Mariflor Capuyan. Such attitude is necessary, especially when you have officers of diverse backgrounds.
The just-concluded induction event is a tool for new hope and challenge that the PCCI-Ifugao Chapter should be able to tell and retell Ifugao folks that indeed this chapter is a driven advocate of trade and investments to sustain and encourage human development.** By Anthony A. Araos
