Wanted: A new set of rules for the SFI!

For our special presentation on our talk show “Straight from the Sky” tonight, we feature the changing of the guard in Aboitiz Power and the Visayan Electric when our good friend, Anton Mari Perdices, previously the president and COO of Visayan Electric, has now assumed the position of Jim Aboitiz as senior vice president and COO of Aboitiz Power Distribution Utilities. Jim Aboitiz will assume as executive vice president and COO of Aboitiz Power. This is due to the fact that our good friend, Erramon “Montxu” Aboitiz finally retired last December 31.

These corporate changes include the position of Engr. Raul Lucero who was the vice president for engineering of the Aboitiz Power Distribution Utilities and has now taken the position as president and COO of Visayan Electric, the position that Anton Perdices held for years. And Mark Valencia who becomes chief technology officer of Aboitiz Power. Notice that today the top executives of Aboitiz Power Corp. don’t have the Aboitiz family name. This is the year 2020 for you.

So watch these corporate moves in the Aboitiz Headquarters in Banilad Road on SkyCable’s channel 53 at 8 p.m. with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9 p.m. Monday and at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday.

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Let me give my ten cents worth about The FREEMAN’s editorial last Saturday entitled “What’s going on with the SFI?” It read, “Just straight from the controversy to give exclusive rights to the broadcasting of Sinulog activities at the Cebu City Sports Center, it seems the Sinulog Foundation Inc. finds itself mired in another one. This after it was found that SFI told a Cebu-based processed food company that they cannot sell their products during the Sinulog activities or along the Grand Parade route.

“Fortunately, Cebu City mayor Edgardo Labella was quick to step in and say that local producers can sell food during the Sinulog activities as well as the Grand Parade route as long as they comply with the requirements set by the city. Even if SFI was able to enter into this contract with an exclusive food provider, how would they have been able to enforce it? Are they really willing to post guards or people to watch every meter of the Grand Parade route ready to pounce on any vendor selling other food products? Not to mention the message they will give if they turn the Sinulog into an “exclusive” celebration. If only one network is allowed to broadcast the activities in the sports center, if only one company is allowed to sell food, does that mean only the huge networks, companies, and the like can profit from Sinulog?”

First of all, allow me to defend the SFI for looking into new ways to secure their funding for the activities that cost a lot of money. Sinulog has already reached 40 years in its celebration. As far as the exclusivity for TV is concerned. Please look into the exclusive pay-per-view of the fights of Sen. Manny Pacquiao, which the entire Filipino nation wants to look into, that the national crime average during the fight drops to zero, which means millions of Filipinos want to watch his fights. Yet other networks cannot get their own advertisers to view the fight as this is paid exclusively by a single network. Hey, we are talking about millions of Filipino viewers, but no one complains even it is the exclusive right of the network that paid for the fight. I rest my case, especially that the idea came from the SFI and they shouldn’t be chastised for finding ways to look for money!

At this point, I believe that it is high time for the SFI and Cebu City to sit down in a no-holds-barred meeting and come up with a new set of rules on what the SFI can or cannot do. Next year’s Sinulog is still a year away, but this is going to be significant in the sense that it will be the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines. Whatever will be decided will be printed as the SFI’s rules and regardless of who heads the SFI, they would simply follow the new rules laid out for the SFI so there would be less controversy in the near future because everyone gets to know the new rules.