Mitsubishi bringing back the glory

Three years, P2.8 billion, 7,200 square meters, and facing some of the toughest challenges during the same period, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. proudly unveiled the largest local metal automotive stamping facility in the country. As a result, Mitsubishi cars, specifically the Mirage models, will carry close to 40 or 50 percent locally manufactured parts, the plant will also create jobs for several hundred more Filipinos, provide a market for the local steel industry or traders, and signals the car manufacturers’ confidence in the stability of the Philippine automotive market.

The establishment of the plant, which has the capability of producing 35,000 bodies or shells, front doors, hoods etc., is also evidence of Mitsubishi Motors Corp’s support and commitment to the government’s CARS program or the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy that is spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry. People may not realize it, but the CARS program and the stamping plant is only the beginning of bringing back the glory days when the Philippines was a dominant player in automotive manufacturing in the region.

At the moment, the plant is set up for the Mitsubishi Mirage but it is highly probable that MMPC may one day produce body parts for other fast selling models such as the Expander that has three to four times the demand versus supply in Indonesia alone. The plant’s location also makes Sta. Rosa, Laguna the “Motor City,” “Autopolis” or the “Car Capital of the Philippines.” Let’s all pray that the government can pick-up the momentum and create an even more favorable atmosphere where foreign firms such as MMC can be assured of a stable and predictable business environment in terms of incentives, power, and labor relations.

We missed our chance once and this could be our second shot at bringing back the “glory days.” Let’s pray for it, Let’s Go for it!

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The condemnation and denial issued by the Kuwaiti Foreign Affairs Minister is nothing new! A week before the local media made a big deal about the Kuwait situation concerning our OFWs, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Kuwait already issued a rebuttal to the warning of President Rodrigo Duterte about recalling OFWs from Kuwait. As would be expected from a bureaucrat, the guy could only paint a picture of responsible governance and claim that foreign workers in Kuwait were treated with respect and fairness. 

In contrast to that pretty picture, we have one recently arrived cold frozen body of a Filipina, murdered and put in deep freeze for at least a year, a Kuwaiti landlord who allowed criminals to skip town and feigns ignorance or responsibility over the frozen remains. Add to that a series of alleged suicides involving OFWs last year. When I read the Foreign Minister’s denials along with the Malacañang palace statements on suicides, I was reminded of the movie about Nelson Mandela’s life, especially his incarceration on Robben Island where in the ending credits of the movie, they ran a long list of the political prisoners jailed during the years of Apartheid. The most intriguing were the many names that were followed with: Cause of death: Fell from the stairs! In Kuwait, it is hazardous to do house chores by the window because many Filipinas slip and fall to their death! 

Instead of diplomatic dialogue with people who have taken the media offensive against our President and our legitimate complaints, what the government has to do, is to take the issue to the next level and that in my mind is to “call a friend” or call our Minister friends in the ASEAN especially Indonesia, Malaysia etc. in order to form a collective stand concerning the rights and treatment of ASEAN citizens working in the Middle East or any other region or continent in the world. I have no doubt that Indonesian or Malaysian nationals have suffered a similar fate in the hands of callous and inhuman employers and this would be the common hurt that can unite us to fight back or take a stand. One country fighting back will just provide a vacuum or opportunity for another country to fill in. But if the ASEAN Ministers unite, they would be in a stronger position to make legitimate demands for the collective benefit of ASEAN nationals!

If Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano can manage to get everyone to take a stand against the maltreatment or abuse of ASEAN nationals, it will surely make ASEAN a force to reckon with. If the Middle East nations can get together and form an oil cartel or influence Islam globally, why can’t ASEAN nations influence the policies of migration and labor given that the ASEAN is a major source for talent, skills and labor. There is so much to gain by getting ASEAN Ministers to move together from one issue to another instead of one small country fighting oppression and abuse on its own. ASEAN: Power in Numbers.

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I really pity Secretary Wanda Teo because a source once told me that the DOT Secretary did not really entertain the idea of getting the position. Someone close to Teo was eyeing the job but President Duterte was allegedly uncomfortable about the “applicant.” So as a compromise, Ms. Wanda got the job since she was actually involved in Tourism. Unfortunately, Tourism in the Philippines is larger and more unwieldy than any of the country’s largest corporations! To make matters worse, judicial remedies in the country have deteriorated to the point that any criminal, publicity-seeking lawyer or critic can file a nuisance case as easy as getting OTCs or over the counter medicines!

What makes the job even harder now is that Tourism is no longer a minor concern for the administration or the public. Billions of pesos can be made or lost in the industry and for many investors it is their life savings, or lifeline at stake. The question is: Can Wanda Teo do the job? Does she still want the job? Or is someone seriously after her job? Secretary Teo will either have to put up or ship out because things are heating up in the industry.

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