Cebu province still the wealthiest

There is good news, among the many bad ones nowadays, and that is the latest statistics on the ten richest provinces in our country. Our dear Cebu is on top. Isn't it nice that our province is able to maintain this record for the longest time that I can remember? Well, among the cities, none else could beat Makati, and our dear Cebu City is number four. Not bad, although we could have done better if we all did our homework well. 

Yes, we could have done better if there were less politics and more business, less bickering and more cooperation, less talk and more honest hard work. If our leaders were visionary and truly patriotic, which means less “pa-pogi” projection, less pushing for popular applause and more hard decisions, no matter who gets hurt, if it is for the better in the long run. If we have political leaders who think, decide and act like Angela Merkel, that great German chancellor who made Germany the best-managed economy in the EU community.  Our city, our province, maybe our country should be led by one of her caliber, a strong person who thinks global and works on the local issues and addresses them with no nonsense decisiveness and a sense of urgency, too.

And so, among the provinces, Cebu is on top with assets of a whopping  P203.9 billion, with a far second placer, Batangas with P20.793B, and Rizal, P20.275B, followed by Davao de Oro (P20.099B) because of its mountains of gold. In case you don't know, this was the ComVal or Compostela Valley renamed Davao de Oro because it has more legitimate claim to real gold than Cagayan de Oro. Fourth placer is Bukidnon (P18.294B), which is ironic because it has one of the highest poverty incidences. That means that the wealth here is in the hands of giant agri businesses like Del Monte and Dole and the Zubiris and other landed clans. Next is Surigao del Norte (P17.684B) because of the many mining companies, most which are in the hands of mining moguls. Then follows Negros Occidental (P15.901B). Surprisingly, No. 8 is Leyte (P13.54B) and No. 9 is Palawan (P13.036B) before it was broken to three provinces. Tenth placer is Iloilo (P13.034B). Many Ilonggos could not believe that they were beaten by the Warays.

Among the cities, Makati is a runaway topnotcher with assets of P233.78 B, followed by distant second Quezon City (P96.423B) and Pasig (P45.639B) with its massive Ortigas complex, seat of San Miguel, Meralco and Century Pacific. Fourth placer is our dear Queen City of the South, Cebu City (P34.711B). Some Cebuanos do not understand how come the province of Cebu is much, much richer than the capital city. Well, I used to be clueless, too, until I figured out that the province of Cebu has component cities like Talisay, Naga, Carcar, Toledo, Danao, and Bogo. It has Class A municipalities like Balamban, Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Argao, Dalaguete, San Fernando, Minglanilla and Consolacion.  It has a total of 44 municipalities. Cebu City, like Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, are chartered cities and they are stand alones.

The fifth richest city is (surprise) Mandaue City with assets of P32.157B. If Cebu does not shape up, it will soon be overtaken by Mandaue, the home of San Miguel Corporation, Coca Cola Uratex and many other companies of fame and fortune. Mandaue is followed by Taguig (P29.065B) the home of Global City Fort Bonifacio, which was contested by Makati and the small town of Pateros. Taguig is the kingdom of the Cayetanos. Husband Alan Peter is congressman of the second district, while Lani, the wife, is the congressman of the first district. Brother Lino, the film director, is lord mayor, and Ate Pia is senator. The Senate is transferring to the Global City like the Supreme Court and UP, and many others. It is now the politically correct address, where senators and congressmen allegedly tuck in their girlfriends and boyfriends in expensive condos.

In case you're interested, the country's richest town is Cainta, Rizal (P4.933B), richer than the combined assets of the provinces of Siquijor, Camiguin, Batanes, Tawitawi, Basilan, Sulu and Dinagat Island. It is followed by Limay, Bataan (P4.065B), Silang, Cavite (P3.842B), Mariveles, Bataan (P3.076B), Sual, Pangasinan (P2.989B), Caluya, Antique (P2.904B), Binangonan, Rizal (P2.336B), Tanay, Rizal (P2.209B), Calaca, Batangas (P2.12B) and Carmona, Cavite (P2.075B).

There are many surprises. I wonder what happened to Pangasinan and Davao del Sur among the provinces and to Cagayan de Oro and Davao among the cities.