Davide to Speak, Explore PPP in Int’l Forum in Japan

Governor Hilario Davide III is set to speak at the 10th International Forum on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Tokyo, Japan on August 1.

He will present Cebu’s proposed programs for partnerships with foreign private investors. The list includes disaster risk reduction, district hospitals, land use of provincial properties, and Mega Cebu Vision 2050.

Davide will be part of a select group that includes former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, Geoffrey Hamilton of the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe and Japanese leader who will also present their respective PPPs.

Needs matching

He said that PPP is all about matching what Cebu needs with what a prospective foreign investor likewise need.

Efforts of Davide towards PPP are on upgrading of district hospitals, creation of a center for disaster research and a more rationalized use of province-owned properties.

What is envisioned for Cebu, said Cebu Investment Promotions Office (CIPO) chief Benjamin Joseph Yap, is a scenario similar to that of Japan that has a long coastline, is made up of several districts and is also disaster prone like Cebu.

To recall, the governor invited Japanese researchers from Toyo University so Cebu can learn from them how to deal with issues like disasters.

Davide will also attend another big event, the International Conference for I4J on August 25 in Manila.

In this forum, Davide will present Cebu’s I4J initiatives, which is in coordination with the European community, funded by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung group.

Investor-friendly

I4J is about creation of integrity mechanisms and procedures designed to make doing business in Cebu easy for investors. The province is one of the nine project areas in three provinces in the country chosen for the I4J project of the European community. Tuburan is also one of the project areas.

The CIPO is coming up with the draft policy in time for Davide’s presentation. One of such policy proposed is the green lane for investors under which the investor type is determined, what the next step should be in case of single proprietorship or other type, some pre-screening, submission of documents to the appropriate government agency, and within the day the documents can be released.

This is also streamlining procedures as part of good governance that the Province was recently awarded for by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

CIPO is proposing coordination with the appropriate agencies like the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Trade and Industry, and DILG under I4J.

Yap added that personnel will have to undergo training for the I4J program.

Equally important programs under CIPO are the Local Governance Support Program for Economic Development, Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED) and Cebu Midwest, all in line with Davide’s thrust for transparency in governance.

According to Yap, as long as it’s for Cebu, it doesn’t matter where the investment goes.

Eco-tourism circuits

For Davide, he wants municipalities to experience development under LGSP-LED where seven Yolanda hit municipalities are targeted for new eco-tourism circuits.

These seven are to be clustered in three: Bogo City, San Remigio, and Medellin for Cluster 1, Malapascua and Daan Bantayan for Cluster 2; Bantayan Island, Sta Fe and Madridejos under Cluster 3.

Local investment and promotions officers will be trained in coordination with tourism and planning officers. It will now be their task to propose projects for their municipalities and to match these with possible foreign investors.

In the Cebu Midwest project, it is tapping the eco-tourism and cultural potential of seven other municipalities, namely Aloguinsan, Pinamungahan, Toledo, Balamban, Asturias, Tuburan, and Tabuelan.

These municipalities, said Yap, already have existing cultural and eco-tourism sites. They happen to be facing Tañon Strait that is considered the biggest protected marine area in the country.

Site assessment in these municipalities began with Aloguinsan last month and targeted to be completed by December this year. (Jaylefeye Abapo/covered on-site interview CIPO’s B. Yap)

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