ComValeños initiate Business and Investment Security Summit
“If we strengthen business, we allow room for peace!” thus spoke Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy to 303 participants who witnessed the Compostela Valley Business and Investment Security Summit (CVBISS) held on August 10, 2018 at Big 8 Corporate Hotel, Tagum City.
The summit, initiated by Governor Uy being the Regional Peace and Order Council XI (RPOC) Chairman, was directly related to government’s aim to obtain an insurgency free and peaceful province while strengthening business growth. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Compostela Valley Provincial Director Atty. Lucky Siegfred M. Balleque presented the objective of the activity which is primarily to foster business enabling environment in CompostelaValley (ComVal) thru a simplified, standardand harmonized Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development effort including the provision of security for business sector.
Security consultant Augustus Caesar B. Esmeralda who was tapped to help formulate the Provincial Business Security Plan, said that the undertaking was in fact the first business and investment security summit ever held in Mindanao if not in the Philippines. Esmeraldaenlightened the multitude regarding the asset protection,hazard identification, risk assessment, risk management, and risk response strategy. He also reiterated salient points occurred during the Consultative Forum on Business and Investment Security held last July 30, 2018 and highlighted the importance of conducting drills and document control. He then briefly shared his experience in Thailand to which he quoted, “Terrorism kills Tourism”. To that, he identified the most common assets in the business industry around ComVal with high risk and were susceptible to extortion; real estate as the most common, followed by Human Resource, Commodities, Machineries and Equipments, Transportation and Supply Chain.
Among the highlights of the event was the ceremonial turnover of the ComVal Business and Investment Security Plan which was received by Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy, PD Atty. Lucky Siegfred M. Balleque of DTI, the previous Governor, Arturo Uy, Mayor Roberto M. Yugo of Pantukan and Business Chamber of Representative.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) represented by Col. Richie Bucol, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) represented by Col. Gilbert Sarte and the Bureau of Fire and Protection represented by Chief Inspector RandolfArbutantealso showed their support and commitment for the attainment of peace and security in the province.
Later in the afternoon,Director Olly Dagala of Mindanao Development Authority showed the Investment Security Strategies in the Mindanao Corridor together with the Philippine Development Plan for Mindanao 2020 which mainly focus on ensuring the security of not just one region but all regions in Mindanao. Furthermore, Engr. Reynaldo Quijada of Apex Mining Co., Inc. and Marcelo M. Go of Lubi Plantation under Torre Lorenzo Development Corp. also shared their experiences related to security issues in their respective offices and how they handled and coped up to these events. Quijada built trust and confidence with the community by giving scholarship grant while Go extended his call for help by asking the PNP and AFP visibility around his premise.
