Unleashing potential

CEBU CITY – Cebu continues to boom, but like Metro Manila, it is seeing its growth momentum slowed down by one particular inadequacy: infrastructure.

Arriving here on Saturday for the second of three presidential debates, it took me about an hour to reach the hotel adjacent to the University of the Philippines-Cebu from Mactan International Airport. It was before 4 p.m., not yet rush hour, but traffic was already crawling – a normal pace these days, according to the van driver.

Several top Cebu-based businessmen have told me that they need more roads, more flyovers connecting the airport to various points, and better mass transportation including light rail and commuter trains to ease the worsening traffic. Maybe Ceboom can do this quicker than Metro Manila, without the usual accompanying corruption scandal or flip-flopping from one department secretary to the next.

Cebu is in fact suffering from Metro Manila’s weak infrastructure. Many Manila-bound flights from Mactan, I was told, are delayed in departure by about an hour because of congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

A Cebu-based industrialist who flies regularly to Manila told me that perhaps special budget flights could be introduced, with travelers paying less for flights that land at Clark International Airport instead of the NAIA. Carriers can provide shuttles for passengers who must proceed to Manila.

My flight from the NAIA was delayed by half an hour – not too bad, considering that last year I had to wait two hours for my overseas-bound flight to leave Manila, strapped to my seat with no in-flight entertainment or toilet break since the plane was on take-off mode.

Whoever wins in May must put infrastructure high on the agenda.

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Inadequate infrastructure has always been among the principal complaints of investors. Sure, there have been improvements. But our neighbors have improved much faster than us, and we’re all competing for the same investments and travelers.

Next year marks 50 years since the Philippines and four of its neighbors founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. How much have we all progressed since then?

When I was a toddler my family lived for about a year in Cebu, and our house was near the old airport. The neighborhood was still rural enough for our household to keep not just two dogs but also goats. I have a photo with my mother holding on to me standing on the hood of our car, with a light plane sitting nearby.

The airport has changed a lot since then. But considering the commercial activity and air traffic in Cebu province, its international gateway should be even more impressive. Its expansion, unfortunately, has been snagged and is now waiting for a new Philippine president.

After nearly six years of the Aquino administration, I asked the senior advisor of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, John Forbes, to give me his assessment of the nation under P-Noy’s watch. AmCham is part of the Joint Foreign Chambers, which is behind the “Arangkada” report containing detailed suggestions to make the economy accelerate twice as fast. Last January, Forbes warned that traffic gridlocks could render Metro Manila “uninhabitable” in four years.

His assessment:

“I have found the two Aquino administrations exceptional in that they were based on popular desire for better governance, following predecessors who were known to be corrupt. Each brought better governance and renewed international confidence and investment. Corruption at the national level has been much reduced, social and physical infrastructure spending has multiplied, significant policy reforms have been legislated, economic growth has reached the highest level in half a century, and confidence in the Philippines as an important regional state and economy is stronger.”

“Yet the straight path should be broadened to be more inclusive, for example, by policies to grow the agribusiness and mineral sectors. Despite recent increases, the rate of infrastructure modernization remains too modest. The bureaucracy remains more burdensome than supportive of business, and quality jobs are insufficient for a fast-growing and young population. The next president should build on the foundation of the outgoing administration and capitalize on the opportunities that were missed to fully arangkada.”

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Apart from improving infrastructure, Cebu must impose noise pollution laws. The most unpleasant part of my visit was the accommodation. At the Harolds Hotel, where the media teams in the debate were billeted because of the proximity to the venue, I was kept awake until past 3 a.m. by pounding electronic dance music from the street where a political rally was being held in a residential neighborhood.

I don’t know if even bulletproof glass windows could have kept out the noise, but it ruined the otherwise fine hotel service. If the city wants more tourists, it should enforce zoning ordinances for such events. Sound insulation standards must also be imposed on hotels. I’ll give even a five-star hotel a no-star rating if I can’t sleep in peace from noise. The no-star hotel where I stayed in Afghanistan some years ago, with no air-conditioning or foam mattress, was better; I slept soundly.

People have different tastes in music and not everyone wants to be bombarded at past midnight with pounding techno rap that can scramble your brain and bust your eardrums.

Several foreign diplomats and investors have in fact complained to me about loud music in many dining areas and public places in the Philippines. It can cheapen even the most elegant interiors and turn off patrons. I wanted to flee and catch the last flight out of Cebu on Saturday night because of that techno cacophony, but I still had a presidential debate to attend the next day.

Those planning to visit Cebu need not worry; the mega city now has an abundance of hotels, with more coming up in the reclamation areas. There seems to be reclamation everywhere, raising the concern of environment advocates, but also creating new hubs for leisure and entertainment, business and other activities.

Development can be accelerated if the government can provide a more enabling environment, such as better infrastructure and a drastic reduction in red tape.

“The Filipino people possess tremendous potential just beginning to be unleashed,” Forbes told me.

Let’s hope the next administration can unleash that potential.