Weekend in Singapore; First additives plant in Southeast Asia

It takes 45 minutes by plane from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. But the story is always worth retelling how one man’s vision transformed this once scruffy island into an enviable powerhouse with wide clean streets and where technology works. Singapore has not escaped the worldwide financial crisis and it is technically in recession. But when you are a tourist, that hardly matters when you come through a huge modern airport and efficient staff get you and your luggage out in minutes to taxis orderly lined up in a queue.

It is not the first time I have been to Singapore. My son lives here and makes it a point to bring me to the best eating places. I wanted a relaxing weekend and told my son — no sightseeing, please.

He was not to be overruled and took me and my sisters, who had come along, for Singapore’s walk in the park. The park was the Botanic Gardens. He called it Singapore’s ‘utopia’ boasting some 20,000 orchid plants. And so it was. To have a part like this in tiny Singapore was indeed a marvel. Why could we not have something like this? There is also a children’s garden, “All Life On Earth Depends on Plants”, to make the young interested in nature and sciences.

Each time I visit Singapore I pay homage to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in my mind.

Here is a man able to dismiss criticisms from Western “human rights organizations” over Singapore’s authoritarian government and proud to have proven that each country should choose what works.

“Have they ever run a country, created jobs for community and given them a life? We have and we know what it requires.” At Kinokuniya I bought his memoirs The Singapore Story.

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Back in Manila, we were among the millions who celebrated Barack Obama’s victory. But we had our reservations and like others, skeptical that the mythic hero can get us out of the mess. As I told a long-time friend who shared my mixed feelings, we must distinguish between the euphoria of defeating Bush and the realities of governance.

The victory of Barack Obama had still to unfold. I was truly surprised when told that the Philippines was among very few countries to have gone for McCain. (Having been merely told, I don’t know which poll did the survey).

There is indeed a paradox. The almost universal acclaim for Obama in the rest of the world was well deserved but few were willing to look deeper on what faces the man. He hinted more than once he would be more ‘protectionist’. That means less jobs for us. Certainly outsourcing will not be popular with those who voted for him to keep the jobs in America.

Still, let us share the joy and victory of the American people. We wish him well but prepared to be surprised if he can please both America and the world at large at one and the same time in this period of hardship.

As Tom Friedman of the New York Times said early in the campaign — it’s the state of America now that is the most gripping source of anxiety for Americans, not Al Qaeda or Iraq. “Anyone who thinks they are going to win this election playing the Iraq or the terrorism card — one way or another — is, in my view, seriously deluded. Things have changed.”

“We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working.” Towards the end of this article he wrote “I continue to be appalled at the gap between what is clearly going to be the next great global industry — renewable energy and clean power.”

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In this sense Filipinos are better off paying attention to “little events” instead of chasing straws in the wind that we will be better off because Barack Obama won overwhelmingly. This is not to belittle Obama’s victory but to place some order in the way we perceive what is better for our country.

As soon as I was back in Manila I went to one such “little event” — the opening of the first fuel additives blending plant in Asia Pacific by Petron Corporation. The media was there too, graced as it was by President GMA. But few would have appreciated the implications of the “little event.” Only a sprinkling of politicians and Petron staff were there. I was able to talk to the people who made it possible — the engineers, the foreign partners and several Petron officers.

Certainly Tom Friedman would agree with me that the inauguration of the first additives blending plant in Asia Pacific is worth more celebrating by Filipinos, often tagged as laggards in the region. The Subic Bay facility will blend 12,000 metric tons of fuel additives every year and exported throughout the region. When added to gasoline, diesel, or fuel oil, fuel additives improve efficiency, boost engine performance, and benefit the environment by reducing harmful emissions.

Petron’s partners in the project is Innospec, a leading global additives supplier which already has a strong presence in the region.

Petron will operate the plant to serve its own clients as well as Innospec’s customers in the region like Cambodia and Indonesia, among others. Wilfredo Toledo, general manager of the Petron Freeport Corporation, said it will be hard work to be able to fulfill the potential of the group as an Asian brand but they are prepared to do just that. Innospec products used in Asia had to be sourced from Europe before the plant was constructed. Roughly 80% of the facility’s production will now be exported to the Asia-Pacific region.

This is definitely a milestone for Petron and the Philippines. “It will enable Petron to combine its first-rate technical services, marketing capability, and strategic location with Innospec’s fuel additive technologies and strong presence in Asia,” Petron Chairman Nicasio Alcantara said.

This optimism was shared by incoming president Eric O. Recto who added “the fuel additives plant is part of efforts to diversify from our core business.” It will enhance the group’s growth not only in the Philippines but also in the region. More importantly it sets apart the Petron brand as a corporation willing to take responsibility for the environment for future generations.