Chamber creates advisory group

TO identify issues affecting Cebu’s economy, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) created an economic advisory body that is composed of organizations representing a cross-section of Cebu business and the academe.

The Cebu Economic Advisory Group (CEAG) was organized last month to process and consolidate the collective positions and policy recommendations of business on concerns affecting the overall business and investment climate of Cebu.

“This group can become a sounding board for the concerns and sentiments of different sectors affecting business, so that we can articulate and come up with (business-related) pronouncements to the government and other sectors. We want to be an influential group,” CEAG chairman Ge-ronimo Sta. Ana said in a press conference last Monday.

CEAG’s chamber members include CCCI (trade, industry and services sector as well as and the export sector), the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines-Cebu, American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines-Cebu, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.-Cebu, and Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) Chamber of Exporters and
Manufacturers.

The rest of the 11 institutional voting members are the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines-Cebu, Cebu Bankers Club, University of San Carlos, and University of San Jose-Recoletos.

Sta. Ana said economist Dr. Cayetano Paderanga will act as special economic adviser while the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) will provide technical assistance and database.

“If we can reflect the true picture…that’s (when) we will be successful. CEAG’s pronouncements are more credible and in-depth, especially when it is validated by the academe and a special adviser and further validated by DTI and Neda,” said CCCI president Edward Gaisano.

He stressed, though, that CEAG will only tackle issues that are of general concern to the Cebu business community and which impact on the overall business climate and economy of Cebu.

“It does not negate each chamber’s advocacy or supplants the chamber. We are just finding the common denominator of the different chambers by uniting together the issues common to all members,” he said.

He added that some aspects of labor, especially with labor flexibility being a raging issue amid the global financial crisis, can be discussed by the group.

As a start, CEAG sent out questionnaires to more than a thousand individuals who are members of the different chambers to determine their sentiments and outlook for 2009. Results of the survey will be presented next month. (NRC)