Philippines pride

For many, Cebu City or the Queen City of the South brings to mind our Spanish colonial past.

And why not? To this day, we can still see the statue of the Santo Nino, which is regarded as the oldest religious relic in the Philippines and which was presented by Ferdinand Magellan to Queen Juana (wife of King Humabon) inside the Basilica of Santo Niño.

We also have in the city Magellan’s Cross, which commemorates the Portuguese conquistador who planted a wooden cross upon converting the original inhabitants to Christianity. Then there is the Lapu-Lapu Monument, Fort San Pedro which is the smallest Spanish outpost in the Philippines during the colonial era, Colon Street which is the oldest street in the Philippines – named after Christopher Columbus, and many more.

Cebu province, of course, is a favorite among local and foreign tourists alike due to its beautiful and interesting destinations that include Oslob, Bantayan Island, Malapascua Island, Cebu Taoist Temple, and my personal favorite, Taboan Public Market where one can buy Cebu longganisa, danggit, dried squid and other dried seafood, which everybody knows are astronomically priced here in Metro Manila.

Equally worth mentioning is Cebu’s famous lechon and during my last trip to the province, I sampled some of these – from Rico’s, Zubuchon, CnT, and those from Carcar, said to be the best of the best.

In 2019, Cebu City took the global spotlight once again after it was named as one of the new creative cities by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization or UNESCO. It was hailed as a creative city of design, joining 65 other cities as a member of the global initiative that highlights creative and cultural developments.

Cebu City became the second city in the Philippines to be named as such after Baguio earned the recognition in 2017.

The UNESCO Creative Cities network, which is composed of around 246 members, features cities that base their development strategies on creativity, including music, arts and folk crafts, design, cinema, literature, digital arts and gastronomy.

Cebu deserves this accolade, especially since it is known globally for its world-class designs and designers from fashion, furniture, jewelry and more.

The UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.

The cities which currently make up this network work together towards a common objective, and that is placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.

For Gil Z.C. Carungay, focal point/private sector bid lead, for the Cebu UNESCO City of Design, the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) operated by GMR-Megawide was instrumental in Cebu achieving the status of UNESCO City of Design.

MCIA has been cited as important contributor to Cebu’s “overall dynamism by vastly increasing the network of cities that directly connect to Cebu to the world in an efficient, convenient, sustainable and design-forward manner.

He noted that MCIA’s numerous multiple international awards have also brought immense pride, inspiration, and empowerment to the Cebuano community here and abroad.

Just last year, it defeated Singapore’s Jewel Changi, touted as the best airport in the world, at the World Architecture Festival. MCIA Terminal 2 won the “Completed Buildings-Transport” category, besting Singapore’s Jewel Changi Airport and other outstanding global projects.

Meanwhile, Cebu Association of Tour Guides president Mary Grace Melendres noted the innumerable opportunities that the MCIA has brought to their industry. She said that the solid partnership of Megawide and GMR has been an asset to Cebu, boosting local tourism and the regional economy.

Melendres added that MCIA’s excellent operation has provided jobs and livelihood to Cebuanos and business growth opportunities for local entrepreneurs.

Toledo joins MPIC

Congratulations to my friend Mike Toledo who has joined publicly listed Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) as managing director for government and public affairs. MPIC’s businesses include power, toll roads, water, logistics, healthcare, and light rail.

Mike is not only an excellent lawyer, business person, and PR practitioner, he is also a very good golfer and singer.

He was the managing director of the MVP Group of Companies media bureau, chief operating officer of Silangan Mindanao Mining Co., and senior vice president for public and regulatory affairs of Philex Mining Corp.

Prior to joining the MVP Group of Companies, Mike was president/CEO of the Manila office of international PR and advocacy firm Weber Shandwick, was a former press secretary and presidential spokesperson during the time of former president Estrada,and was the campaign spokesman and media bureau director of former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who ran for president in 2010.

Mike started his legal career at ACCRA Law and obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of the Philippines. He later earned his Master of Laws in Public International Law at the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science through a scholarship grant (Chevening) from the British government.  He was accepted at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston in 1993.

He has been named 2019 Most Distinguished Alumni Award for College of Arts and Sciences by the UP Manila Alumni Association, Distinguished Bedan for 2019 in Media and Communications by the San Beda University Alumni Association, conferred a Leadership award in 2018 by the UP Junior Marketing Association, and also named 2014 CEO Excel Awardee by the International Association of Business Communicators.

Mike was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the British government and the British Alumni Association and was appointed UK Education Ambassador to the Philippines.

His most recent appointments include the following: member of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Flight Plan 2028 Multi Sector Governance Council (MSGC), member of the National Police Commission Advisory Council for Transformation tasked with assisting the Philippine National Police in improving its public image and performance, member of the board of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Philippines, elected member of the executive council of the ASEAN Law Association of the Philippines, chairman of the standing committee on legal information at ALA Philippines, chairman of the Chevening Alumni Foundation of the Philippines, Inc., chair of the committee on PR and publicity and co-chair of the committee on business law reforms of the Philippine Bar Association, chairman of the sub-committee for natural resources development of Management Association of the Philippines, and member of the board of trustees of the UP Law Alumni Foundation. He currently writes a column in The Philippine STAR.

For comments, e-mail at [email protected]