Arnold Garbanzos
ILIGAN City is proud to be known even once as the “Industrial City of the South”. With us are no less than a dozen industries residing in Iligan.
The sad fact however is that many of them are simply corporate residents but not corporate citizens. Meaning they only live here physically but their hearts are very far from the City and its people.
For me a corporate resident is one who lives in Iligan but does not care about the quality of life in our City. They simply pay taxes and that is all. A corporate citizen is one who lives in Iligan and is very much concerned with the quality of life in Iligan. They pay taxes and at the same time do a lot of CSR activities which by the way is tax deductible.
Take the case of the power industry-nobody defends Iligan when the rates go up or high, thus we lost our greatest advantage as a City. When Epira was made nobody from the industry defended our rights as a City and we all now suffer as a consequence-more so for them because their power needs are greater than the rest of the residents of Iligan. Residents of Iligan pay almost P 10 per kilowatt hour when we should be paying only half of that. Some areas of Davao and Cotabato have even cheaper power rates than us as if they own Lanao and the Agus. Funny.
Take the case of the National Steel Corporation when it was sold to private interest. Nobody in Iligan cared to defend our rights as a City and the almost 4,000 employees of the the Iligan Mill. And so now we suffer.
Take the case of water supply--many of the managers in the Industries have high degrees in Engineering and Water management but no one has ever volunteered to help the City in its water needs nor even in its drainage systems-which overflow and get clog up when it rains heavily. Many of them are residents but no one is a corporate citizen who cares for the City.
Take the case of building roads. During its heyday Iligan used to boast of three cement factories but not even one has volunteered to donate cement supply to our City to cement all the roads of Iligan up to the Mountains. The general attitude is as long as we pay our taxes, we don’t care much for the welfare of the City.
Or take the case of water pollution. I know of one company in Iligan that pollutes our fresh waters daily to the extent that the waters smell like their chemicals. This company does not even know that the waters they are polluting may someday be more expensive than the chemicals they are polluting. So much for logic and common sense Iliganons.
I myself could not even remember a CSR which has impacted the community except for a few school buildings donated and books for reading. I would truly appreciate it if the IBCI can give us a full list of all their social projects for Iligan and I would like to know how much tax deductions and incentives the City has given them in return-we need to know-that’s FOI in action.
The industries have the right to sit in the City Council of Iligan as a Sectoral Representative to defend the industries and their concerns. But up to now I have not heard of such an initiative. For most of our industries they are simply residents but not citizens. As long as we pay our taxes, don’t touch us- we are private corporations.
When I was with Pioneer Insurance we did not only pay our taxes (and one of the highest in the City) but we also cared for Iligan. We did a Guinness to boost the Iligan image. We donated a building to the Lanao Chung Hua and the Kasama of MSU-IIT thanks to the initiative of our agent, Ms. Inday Rico who got the funding. When Sendong happened we donated to the victims and paid our claims up to the last centavo.
Perhaps if there is any advocacy our Industries can lead- its peace building and the development of our waters. Peace is basic for all. Our waters on the other hand can be the key to another industry-the fresh water industry of Iligan. If Singapore a Nation which has practically no water supply can generate $S 1.5 Billion in revenues and 11, ooo jobs from the water industry in 2015-so much more Iligan and Lanao. IBCI should take the lead.
In 2011 when Sendong happened I even saw Global Steel donating water tanks for the victims while some could not even volunteer an electric post for those who suffered. So much for corporate profits.
The Iligan Investment Code provides a provision for a regular CSR by the industries who availed of our tax incentives-this must be strictly adhered to and promulgated. The City is losing a lot when it is not implemented.
As a going concern in the City we must not only be Residents but also Citizens. One thing I noticed is this the City likewise treats our industries as if they have not contributed much to our City coffers.
When NSC closed in 1999, I did not see any City Official complaining to Malacanang nor did anyone led a rally to petition Malacanang to do something. The general attitude is just to wait and see. And it took another 5 years it was re-opened through the Indians of Global Steel. My question to the City is what happened to the almost billions of taxes paid by NSC/Global-do they not mean anything to us? If we cannot care for our steel industry (a primary industry) which has contributed so much to us as a City, how much more for the secondary and tertiary industries.
Another case in point when San Miguel-Ilicoco closed shop nobody in Iligan cared. When Azkon closed nobody cared. When RCP closed nobody cared. I guess if Pilmico (God forbid) would close or NPC would be sold to private interest (God forbid) nobody will care. I see no City leader or politician taking the cudgels for the industries-nobody fights for them, nobody cares.
The City must create a fund for unemployment coming from the industries. There must be unemployment benefits in Iligan. We can do this since we are supposedly the Industrial City of the South.
The City must also realize that a tax advantage from the private sector is not only in terms of cash but also in kind. And if it is in kind then they must be given to the poor in Iligan, specially the Hinterlands. In return the City must also issue a Certificate of Tax Donation or Deduction so as to acknowledge the contribution of the Private sector.
Another major move the City can do is help initiate the IBCI Foundation with our industries-as a catalyst for more industries in our City.
Perhaps the industries of Iligan can help us create our BPO industry for the sake of our and their children. They have the funds and the means to do this.
Or they can help create the fresh water industry of Iligan like mineral water, soft drinks and juice factories and generate more jobs for our children and our grandchildren. The industries must get involved with the quality of life in Iligan.
It is totally different when a Ramon Ang, a Henry Sy or an Aboitiz gets involved with our City.
My question to all our Iligan Industries is this- are you a resident only or are you a citizen at the same time? It is better to be both-it shows a healthy partnership between the public and private sector.
Maayung Iliganon sa tanan!
