It is an honor to be here with you tonight as you hold your general membership meeting and induct the new set of officers and trustees of CCCI. One of my real pleasures is to be able to come to Cebu whenever the opportunity presents itself.
            Cebu is the crown jewel of the Visayas. Its history is rich, its outlook vibrant, and its future perennially bright. On these shores, Filipinos engaged in trade with foreign powers long before the rest of the country did. This tradition of commerce flourished through the centuries, firmly establishing Cebu as a hub of local and international trade.
            The land here breeds your spirit of enterprise. Compared to other provinces with larger areas, Cebu has a smaller percentage of arable land. Yet, your province is never wanting and has in fact become a model of urbanization in the country. The keen acumen of the Cebuano business community has always insured that the needs of its people are met. Where there is demand, the business community makes sure that supply is present.
            Beyond basic trade, you have explored and excelled in industries requiring sophistication and daring. Up until recently, no one could imagine that the furnishings in some of Europe’s finest hotels are made not in the United Kingdom, but here in Cebu. Your province has also made inroads in the design of world-class seacraft, blending art and science to produce technological wonders. It is no surprise then that even in sunrise industries, such as Business Process Outsourcing, Cebu is miles ahead of its neighbors.
            All this has brought profit and prosperity to your shores and this is well deserved. True to yourselves, you have decided not to rest on that achievement, but to look forward and push the limits of what your individual businesses can achieve. In the face of business headlines bewailing the country’s poor competitive standing among the Asia Pacific countries, your unbridled drive to surpass previous targets could pave the way in changing our position in the global market.

            As you look at new frontiers and fresh opportunities, perhaps you will indulge a humble public servant’s thoughts on business as it relates to our government’s journey towards progress.
            Business is an engine of economic growth. You have fueled this engine and are familiar with this truth. In President Aquino’s thrust to fight poverty, employment stands as a firm pillar of our efforts to pave the Righteous Path. It is businesses like yours that generate jobs for the surrounding population. As your businesses prosper, the incomes of these people likewise increase.
            On this path, smaller enterprises are born. These SME’s may support the larger players or they may be driven by the evolving tastes and needs of the employed population. Like the bigger businesses, these smaller ventures also generate jobs, granting employment to those whose skills may not match the needs of the large industries. All this accelerates the economic growth of the area which permits supporting institutions to gain viability. These include medical centers, schools and universities and telecommunications.

            But beyond this, business is an engine of personal growth or holistic human development. Many of you and the people you employ are breadwinners. Whether as a capitalist, employee or entrepreneur, it is through work that we support and uplift our existence. The pay we take home allows us to sustain not just ourselves, but also our households. Work gives that ability to provide not just for food, clothing and shelter, but also for health, education, the needs of old age, the possible exercise of entrepreneurship, and the ability to live up to our civic duties.
            Within the workplace, an employee naturally looks forward to opportunities to grow. This desired growth is more than just mere financial gain. It answers his innate need for personal fulfillment, of becoming a better person. In working, he should, over time, become a proficient practitioner of his trade. As he hones his craft to a keen edge, he comes closer to realizing his true potential, and it is this that quenches his inner thirst. Work makes this possible. Indeed, if man does not labor then he gains nothing and eventually becomes nothing.
            Work then, exists for man. This principle is and should remain the guiding light for business in its role as an agent of true progress. A business that focuses solely on profit for the owners at the expense of its employees shall quickly see its labor force crumble or leave. The accompanying blows of a competitive market can only hasten the demise of the enterprise. 

            You must take care of your labor force very much in the same way a husband takes care of his wife, or vice versa.  For as the recently beatified Pope John Paul II, whom the Cebuanos love, points out in one of his great social encyclicals, Laborem Exercens, labor is the creator of capital.  Without labor, there will be no capital.
            It is  on this truth that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) takes root, and manifests itself through the maintenance of high standards of business ethics; working as part of the community; protecting the environment; providing good corporate governance; and engaging in fair trade and business practices, as well as fair workplace relations.
            Socially responsible corporations then, are those that are fully aware of the rights and desires of their various stakeholders and not just their shareholders. The owners and capitalists have their stake as do the employees, who have entrusted their professional and personal futures to the firm. The communities around the businesses are stakeholders as well. They provide not only the natural and human resources needed by the enterprises, but also the revenue which keeps the businesses afloat. All stakeholders are thus to be given what is due them, within the spirit of justice. All are to find fulfillment without disadvantage to the others, again as justice demands.

            In recent years, the most successful companies here and abroad have seen the direct link between addressing the needs of all stakeholders, and the longevity of their business. The most visible local example can be found in the synergies built by Gawad Kalinga, one of the National Government’s partners in providing shelter to our less privileged countrymen. As Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, I have had the privilege of working with GK and was taken by their conviction that corporate social responsibility is a vehicle for nation building, an instrument of hope, and a stimulus for economic growth.
            From a modest start doing charitable work in the slums of Manila, GK blossomed to over 2000 communities. As impressive as this is, Gawad Kalinga stresses that this success would not be possible without the help of companies such as those you represent.  Corporations that have partnered with GK include Shell, Philips, HSBC, Nestle and Unilever. Other companies such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate, Pfizer, Citigroup, and IBM, among many others, have taken on programs with GK according to their corporate interest and the needs of the target communities.
            In looking at what drives these firms to pursue CSR so aggressively, GK saw that “these companies are in our country for business, but their new bottom-line is profit with a bigger social conscience. They also inspire their employees to volunteer and render patriotic service with corporate support. In a sense they have made nation-building integral to their business plan.”  Clearly, Corporate Social Responsibility is not distinct from business. It is business made real.
            GK is but one example of exercising a spirit of social responsibility. There are numerous avenues, as your various projects demonstrate. The immediate assistance you extended to the victims of the recent Leyte floods is but one example of your Chamber’s genuine concern, and I thank you for being so generous to our distressed countrymen. As you continue to extend a helping hand to those in need, I humbly ask that you also look inward for more opportunities to further social responsibility in the Cebu business community.
            In particular, I enjoin you to insure and advance the quality of jobs that you create in your respective industries. Work must be decent for work to be true to its purpose, and it is businessmen and employers who are in a preeminent position to safeguard this.
            Within President Aquino’s Labor Agenda, the issues of minimum wage, social protection, workplace safety, compliance of labor standards and security of tenure stand as concrete considerations. It is here where I ask that you consider devoting your efforts.
            This challenge is not easy. Nation-building never is, but the government’s resolve to see this task to its completion resounds strong and clear. It is this that gives me the courage to ask you to join us in this mission. In building the Righteous Path, we level the obstacles that lie before us and these hurdles may be the only thing we see until our job is done. But those that come after us will enjoy a road worth travelling, one built on the selflessness of the strong of heart and firm of faith.
            As I look to leaders and members of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I have no doubt that you will not only rise to the challenge, but will raise the bar in the noble tradition of the Cebu business community.
            I congratulate the new officers and trustees of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I look forward to seeing your light shine across the country and beyond.
            Maayong gabii kaninyong tanan. Daghan salamat.

            Mabuhay tayong lahat.​