Private sector pushes Mega Cebu masterplan

By Ehda M. Dagooc (The Freeman) Updated August 11, 2012 12:00 AM 

CEBU, Philippines - Not withstanding political boundaries and differences, the private sector in Cebu is leading towards pushing the 30-year masterplan “Mega Cebu”, putting the metropolis to the world map of top cities in the world.“The private sector is pushing very hard—speaking as one voice for the development of Metro Cebu,” said Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph, who is also an active player of the Metro Cebu Development Coordinating Board (MCDCB).

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The MCDCB was established last year, led by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation (RAFI) and six large private sector groups like CBC, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), among others, with plans and goals fully supported by IBM.
Joseph, who is also the private sector representative and chairman of the Integrated Development and Planning Committee of the MCDCB, said that ongoing works have been in place to start off with the master-plan.
Aside from the six large organizations that are actively part of the MCDCB, there are also 14 local government units (LGUs) that have committed to participate in this plan to start off the project that brings “urban renewal” while Metro Cebu is showing signs of “urban decay.”
The Mega Cebu project, involves an integrated masterplan that will make greater Cebu, from Car-Car in the South, to Danao in the north, a world-class metropolitan region.
Supported by IBM Philippines, through its Smart City campaign, this movement is seen to change Cebu’s landscape in the next 30 years, benchmarking the successful mega regions in Canada, like Vancouver which applied also applied this concept.
“Politics may change, but business stays the same,” said Joseph. Thus, there is a need for a strong collaborative efforts from the political leaders specifically from Mayors of the identified cities and municipalities.
According to Joseph, the group will also encourage the large civil society to strongly participate in this advocacy, thereby convincing politicians all across political parties to support in this project.
He said MCDCB believes that there are people in Cebu who are willing to put their hands in their pockets in name of pushing Cebu forward in the international map.
Strongly supported by IBM’s Smarter city initiative which treats the city as an ecosystem composed of multiple subsystems to manage transportation, healthcare, public safety, government services, energy, commerce, communications, and water resources, the project is expected to make Metro Cebu as one of the most livable cities in the world in the long term.
A smarter city enables information sharing and collaboration among different municipal governmental agencies and systems, so that resources are used rationally, decisions are made that best benefit city development and management, and emergencies and disasters are predicted and dealt with in the shortest possible time.
From 1995 to 2010 the population growth in Metro Cebu grew by 50 percent, from a total of 1.63 million population count in 1995, to 2.5 million living in the Metropolis in 2010. Basing on the current population growth rate, population count is seen to hit 4.27 million by 2030.
While Cebu has not been able to keep up with its growth over the years, with the absence of good collaborative masterplanning, MCDCB is moving forward to take good care of Cebu’s potential for growth.

Entrepreneurship ideas help governance: Gwen

By Mia A. Aznar

Thursday, August 9, 2012
FOR Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, entrepreneurship principles helped her achieve her goals in governance.
Speaking at the One Cebu Business and Sustainability Summit yesterday, Garcia said that when she first took the helm as governor of the province, she defined government as an enterprise, which demands efficiency, quality service and benefits the people.

Through the ethic of efficiency, Garcia said her government has achieved accomplishments in infrastructure, health and services, peace and order and tourism and allowed her administration to “triple” the Province’s assets to almost P30 billion and earning a seal of good housekeeping from the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Garcia said many of her programs are in partnership with the private sector, such as the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo with the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the the Obra Negosyo Eskwela with the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).
She said that the success of many things Cebu has done has led other provinces to learn from it.
Asked what she plans to do when she wins as senator, she said she will have to get elected first. However, she believes she can bring to the national stage the lessons she learned from local governance.
She said having a “grassroots understanding” of problems facing the local front can be used to become an effective leader in the country.
The One Cebu Business and Sustainability Summit is one of the activities of Mandaue Business Month, in partnership with the Cebu Provincial Government.
MCCI president Philip Tan events such as the summit are in line with the group’s goal to make Mandaue City an attractive destination for business and investment.
With the theme, “Staying Ahead of the Game,” Tan likened business to the Olympic Games, saying getting to the finish line is not the only goal but that winning also means doing what is right for the community and the planet.
Six other speakers followed Garcia at the summit, including ABS-CBN chairman and chief executive officer Eugenio Lopez III, Ateneo de Manila University Graduate School of Business professors Enrique Soriano and Daniel Barrenechea, Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph, Interbrand executive director Jonathan Bernstein and Lexis Branding chief executive officer Jacqueline Alexis Thng.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 10, 2012.

RLC to build Robinsons Galleria Cebu, its biggest outside Metro Manila

(The Philippine Star) Updated July 27, 2012 12:00 AM

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Manila, Philippines -  Robinsons Land Corporation is breaking ground this July 26 on the site of what will be its 38th and biggest mall outside of Metro Manila in the North Reclamation area of Cebu City, where the Gokongwei business empire first took root and flourished.
Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) is ramping up investments in Cebu, which is experiencing robust economic growth, a vibrant retail industry and a booming tourism sector”, said RLC president Frederick D. Go.
Robinsons Galleria Cebu will be a mixed-use development which will include the first Cebu branch of gohotel.ph as well as office spaces for business process outsourcing firms.
The seven story commercial building will rise on a 4.6 hectare lot along General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City and will have a gross floor area of about 156,000 square meters (sqm).
The hotel will have 153 rooms, the BPO offices will occupy three floors with over 9,000 sqm of leasable space, while the mall will have a gross leasable area of 56,000 sqm spread on four levels.
Robinsons   Galleria Cebu’s anchor tenants will include Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, True Value, Robinsons Appliances, Saizen, and Toys R’ Us. It will also have six cinemas, including two 3D theaters, with a total seating capacity of 1,800. The mall will have about 300 tenants offering a mix of international brands and popular local brands. Tenants will also include homegrown Cebuano retail shops, restaurants, amusement centers and new entertainment attractions.
Robinsons Galleria Cebu is seen to attract shoppers and tourists from nearby   government   offices,   consulates,   churches, hotels, shipping terminals, schools including the University of San Carlos and University of Visayas, and popular tourist destinations such as Magellan’ Cross and three museums.
The mall is slated for completion and opening in 2014. It will come after RLC opens five Robinsons Place malls in Butuan, Roxas City, Malolos, Malabon and Santiago, Isabela.
Go said the masterplan for the Gen. Maxilom property also includes the construction of high-rise residential condominiums which will benefit from the proximity of the mall and BPO offices.
Robinsons Land also owns and operates various properties in Cebu which cuts across RLC’s various business units.
Robinsons Galleria-Cebu will be RLC’s third mall in Cebu after Robinsons Fuente, and Robinsons Cybergate Cebu, which is a mixed use mall and office development also in the Fuente Osmeña area.
 Robinsons Land currently operates the newly renovated and improved Summit Circle Hotel in Fuente Osmeña Circle. The Group will soon have three hotels in Cebu, including the Summit Shores Resort hotel which will be part of the upscale Amisa residential development on Mactan Island. 
The firm is also building the Azalea Residences, a residential development in Gorordo Avenue. Other RLC residential properties are Blue Coast and Aspen Heights which are under the Robinsons Communities and Robinsons Homes brands, respectively.

Robinsons Galleria breaks ground in Cebu

By Ehda Dagooc (The Freeman) Updated July 27, 2012 12:00 AM 

 CEBU, Philippines - Gokongwei-led conglomerate JG Summit Group's real estate arm Robinsons Land Corporation officially started its P5 billion integrated development at the 4.6-hectare property at the north reclamation area.
The company held its ceremonial ground breaking event yesterday attended by RLB president Frederick Go and other company officials.
"RLC is ramping up investments in Cebu, which is experiencing robust economic growth, a vibrant retail industry and a booming tourism sector" Go said.
The seven-story commercial building is slated to be finished by 2014.
The building, of which four-story will be occupied by the shopping mall operation will have a gross floor area of about 156,000 square-meters.
Robinsons Galleria Cebu will be a mixed-used development which will include the first Cebu branch of Gohotel.ph, as well as office spaces for business process outsourcing firms.
The hotel will have 153 rooms, the BPO offices will occupy three floors with over 9,000 square meters of leasable space, which the mall will have a gross leasable area of 5,000 square meters spread on four levels.
Robinsons Galleria Cebu's anchor tenants will include Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, True Value, Robinsons Appliances, Suizen, and Toys R' Us.
It will also have six cinemas, including two 3D theaters, with a total capacity of 8,800. The mall will have about 300 tenants offering international brands and popular local brands. Tenants will also include homegrown Cebuano retail shops, restaurants, amusement centers and new entertainment attractions.
The Robinsons Galleria Cebu opening on 2014  will come after RLC opens five Robinsons Place malls in Butuan, Roxas City, Malabon and Santiago, Isabela.
Go said the master plan for the General Maxilom property also includes the construction of high rise residential condominium units which will be benefit from the proximity of the mall and BPO offices.
Robinsons Galleria Cebu will be RLC's third mall in Cebu, which is mixed use mall and office development in the Fuente Osmeña area.  (FREEMAN)

CV is second fastest growing region in Phl

By Grace Melanie I. Lacamiento (The Freeman) Updated July 28, 2012 12:00 AM

 CEBU, Philippines - Central Visayas ranked second to Caraga Administrative Region as both had been included in the top five list of fastest growing regions in the Philippines for year 2011 based on the recent statistical data of the National Statistical Coordination Board.
In a press statement posted on the agency’s website last July 26, Region 7 posted a 7.9% growth among the country’s seventeen regions following Caraga’s economy that recorded the fastest growth at 9.6 percent last year.
“This is a very good development for Central Visayas. Our Gross Regional Domestic Product level has reached P620 billion at current prices, the fourth biggest after National Capital Region, CALABARZON and Central Luzon,” National Economic Development Authority Assistant Regional Director Efren Carreon told The Freeman.
Aside from Region XIII and Region VII, other areas which were included in the 2011 list of top five fastest growing were Central Luzon with 7.5%, Western Visayas with 5.5% and Cagayan Valley with 5.4%. The economy of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), however, declined by 1% in 2011 from a 2.3% growth in 2010.
On the other hand, the national statistical agency cited that the economies of the three island groups reported slower growths last year from their strong performances in 2010.
“Luzon’s economy (excluding NCR) slowed down to 3.9% in 2011 from a robust performance of 8.9% in 2010; Visayas decelerated to 5.9% from 7.3% and Mindanao’s economy turned in a lackluster performance of 3.2% from 4.7%,” NSCB stated.
With the same share compared to the previous year, Luzon island with seven regions excluding NCR contributed 37.5% of the country’s total domestic output that is considered to be the largest among the island groups. Mindanao island which is comprised of six regions accounted for 14.1% of the country’s economy and Visayas island group, composed of three regions, posted a share of 12.8% in 2011 which is 0.3 percentage point higher than its 12.5% share in 2010.
In terms of the 3.9% national GDP growth in 2011, NCR also contributed at 1.3 percentage points considered as the largest, Central Luzon with 0.7 percentage point and Central Visayas and CALABARZON which contributed 0.5 percentage point each.
NSCB was created under Executive Order No. 121 issued on January 30, 1987 as the policy-making and coordinating agency on statistical matters in the Philippines.
It further aims to develop an orderly Philippine Statistical System capable of providing time, accurate, relevant, and useful data for the government and the public for planning and decision-making.  (FREEMAN)