Applying Business Administration Lessons in Remembering Ruping, Surviving Odette

I remembered back in 1991 when it was in November--the time when typhoons are prone to strike. Ruping was for me a really painful, traumatic experience that somehow made me scared of brownouts. In the case of Cebu--it was a blackout. It was also what led to the phenomenon called Ceboom. It was really one month of a blackout and chaos was really expected. I was soon scared of typhoons and brownouts that followed. It didn't help that I had to deal with a Filipino nanny who kept telling ghost stories in the dark, thinking that they were funny. I was only six years old yet the memory can still be there. I had an infant baby sister at that time. Everything was just downright scary especially at night. We couldn't charge our emergency lamps because there was no electricity. It was a total disaster. My memory was bleak though it seemed to relive during Odette late last year. It was three weeks without electricity. We were fortunate to eventually get a generator though we operated at at limited times to avoid overworking it.

Ceboom was the phenomenon of rapid economic growth. I heard that Manila refused to send some aid during that time. Cebu leaders requested help from Manila. I think it was because vital structures were paralyzed. Rather than sulk, Cebu's leaders started to work together. Though, it was a slower recovery because the technology was lower at that time. There were no cellular phones or Internet. Internet was also rather expensive and slow since it was the use of dial-up cards. I could remember how often I sent PHP 100.00 or higher for prepaid cards in high school and even in college! The efforts paid off and I remembered how electricity returned before Christmas. It was because the storm hit a month before unlike how Odette hit during December--creating a Christmas time disaster even if the storm didn't hit on the actual day. Yes, Google "Christmas time disasters" and you'll notice that Christmas isn't all that safe either! It was Christmas without the merry as celebrations were cut off. Fortunately, it didn't hit during the celebrations like some Christmas time disasters.

Odette's damage could make one think of Ruping and Yolanda. Right now, Surigao, a place dear to me, is in bigger ruins. I heard that some have been moving over to Butuan City which is largely unaffected. I guess it's because Surigao is closer to the ocean. Cebu began its movement to repair things on December. That meant no celebrations at all--why think about having Noche Buena when there's damages to fix? Odette practically ruined Christmas for people. VECO and CEBECO did what they could but there were so many damages. Roads had to be cleared. Fallen trees had to be removed. It was really a sight to see all December. No New Year's Eve dinner too. The holidays were ruined by Odette. I would think failure to heed the warning of CNN may have also contributed to the lack of preparedness.

My experience in Cebu's road to recovery

Much work was done and not everyone could get electricity ready. Some electrical structures may be a lot more complex than they seem. Just think about how complicated things can get. There are several posts to power up certain parts of a city or subdivision. It could mean one part of a city could get power and the other won't. Having to deal with a noisy generator is really a task. Some people may have ruined their car batteries charging their devices. The problem with no electricity means no water and telecommunications. Generators were hard to find. Solar panels were hard to find. I fell into a panic since it was the first time in my life (again) to face it after Ruping. Fortunately, things got into place though the battle is far from over. It seemed, for some, they celebrated Christmas differently by doing away with the festivities and focusing on helping others.

However, in every disaster, there are also opportunists. I think about how some sold overpriced water. True, the law of supply and demand dictates prices. However, some people chose to go against the ceiling prices set by the local government. Fortunately, Mayor Mike Rama (who replaced the late Mayor Edgar Labella) had set up rules against sellers who broke the ceiling price laws. These people need to be arrested since they aren't helping. It doesn't help that there's still the COVID-19 pandemic going on. I heard some vaccines were ruined because they couldn't be stored in temperatures.

Fixing the utilities required priority. People had to endure this and that in order to get ease later on. Some people ran out of gas to buy gas for their generators. Fortunately, the cooperation of businessmen such as the Aboitizes, the Ayalas, and some selected malls were there. Just think of how some malls such as the Ayala Center Cebu offered shelter to the less fortunate people. Eventually, lines started to get shorter after people were cleaning their mess at homes. Though, there were still fires because some people had no choice but to use candles at night. Several establishments started to have electricity in order to power up the economy. Though, I don't want to deny the problem that it took some time since there will still be others waiting for their turn in a very long line.

The speed of the recovery made me think of international marketing all over again

Unfortunately, the "Foreign Investment Act of 1991" or RA 7042 had limited ownership of foreign investors to a mere 40% of their net earnings. This is pretty much close to the Filipino First Policy by Carlos P. Garcia. Just think would anybody want to invest in another country if they had to look for a local partner and to give up 40% of their earnings? It's like opening up a commercial building and requiring tenants to give 60% of their net earnings to the landlord. Such is not a feasible plan even if it's supposed to "benefit" the local business. If tenants were subjected to such a ridiculous plan then do you think that they will stay in the building? It's like giving overpriced services to make a quick profit--something that any real businessman should avoid at all costs! 

True, there was help from local businessmen. However, recovery could've been done better if the ridiculous negative list was removed. One could always foolishly argue that only foreign direct investors (FDIs) will get rich if you let them invest here. The idea is as foolish as saying that only tenants will get rich if you let them rent the shopping mall you newly opened. Any commercial building (like a mall) gains its money from its tenants. The late Henry Sy and the late John Gokongwei expanded their malls by letting tenants rent them. It didn't matter if a tenant was a foreign entity (McDonald's) or a local entity (Jollibee). What mattered was that the tenant followed the contract and paid monthly rentals. All that the tenants were required to stay in a space that wasn't theirs was to follow their contract, pay their rentals to their landlords, and follow by-laws.

Just imagine if the utility sectors weren't subjected to the negative list. There will be more providers for important necessities such as telecommunications and electricity. Today's businesses are run by them--it's not the stone age anymore! Many businesses today rely on the Internet to book their orders, and receive orders, and payments. Electricity is also a necessity these days. The repair efforts took longer for one good reason--supply and demand. Quality will eventually be compromised when there's too little supply and too much demand. The result is that you get higher costs at the cost of quality. However, if utilities were allowed to invest in the Philippines without the negative list--you can imagine how recovery could be done much faster.

I could imagine how things would be if electricity and telecommunications were actually not on the negative list. It would mean higher supply to meet the higher demand. When demand is up then supplies must go up. Are you afraid that these foreign providers will exploit the Filipino people? Not to worry as foreign investors are like tenants and the Philippines is like a commercial space. In short, they are required to obey by-laws since the Philippines owns the land that they do business on. FDIs are still mandated by law to obey labor laws and taxation laws. In short, the FDI can continue to get rich provided that they obey these laws and pay their taxes. It's like tenants can continue doing business if they pay rent on time and follow the rules. If a tenant doesn't pay rent properly then they can be kicked out. If a foreign investor refuses to follow rules then they can be deported. Besides, having more supply for electricity and Internet can benefit the local businesses too. Local businessmen could've recovered faster from Odette if there were more services to fill in those necessities. Also, if foreign service providers helped in the clearing, I think the clearing would be significantly done faster. It would mean utilities will be restored a lot faster.

The disaster should make you think of one thing--are we really satisfied with the status quo or do you want to improve the Philippines' business atmosphere?