Here's some good news...and a bad one!

We are still in the midst of the calamity that befell Northern Luzon and Metro Manila, which I’m sure would exacerbate our already precarious economic situation. But at least there is some good news for us in Cebu. The Tholons Study and Global Services that collates information on Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) still identified Cebu City has the number one in the Top 50 Emerging Global Outsourcing Cities in the world. In short, Cebu City is still hot as an emerging destination, although we haven’t yet emerged or graduated. But it’s still good news for us!

The Tholons Study says, “While several offshore nations continue to battle their way into the emerged destination list and despite growing competition, the Philippines holds its ground as one of the more prominent and established outsourcing hubs next to India. In 2008, the country’s niche outsourcing offering—English language contact-center services—employed more than 250,000 people and generated about 70 percent of the country’s total US$6 billion in outsourcing revenues.”

I asked Mr. Avinahs Vashistha when we met at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) last June on whether Cebu could hold this position. He could not yet ascertain this, but since it was his first time in Cebu City, he was able to see for the first time what Cebu City had to offer. In the end, the Tholons Study showed that we still top the list.

Meanwhile Avinash says that revenues from the I.T. industry have risen from US$4.8 billion in 2007 to US$ 6 billion in 2008. This increase also resulted in the increase of employment by 33% to an estimated 400,000 employees. Although he pointed out, “The general movement of outsourcing destinations in 2009 will remain minimal compared to previous years when drastic movement across different service and value lines were observed. With increased competition among service providers offering similar value propositions, distinction and categorization has indeed become difficult. Location assessment has, hence become increasingly complex and important.”

With the political turmoil expected to spill out in the International News Media, we can only hope and pray that after elections, we shall be electing a President from the new automatic machines of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) so we can finally move forward in this global competition amongst nations that also want to become an IT hub. So let’s make sure Cebu City won’t downslide from this position, but instead emerge into a true IT destination like India.

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While we do have a lot of good news coming our way, like it or not, we also have our share of the bad news. A Mr. Leonilo Tarona emailed me a few days ago this letter.

“Sir, attached are pictures I took from the old Mactan Mandaue Bridge. In one of the pictures you can see a buckled bracket attachment in one of the diagonals of the bridge. In the other you can see a corroded structural member. One of these days a portion of the bridge will give way to stress. I hope it will not happen. I can still remember, just recently this bridge was closed for inspection. Were they not able to see this? What are the authorities doing? Best Regards, Mr. Tarona.”

Mr. Tarona’s pictures were quite alarming because I never saw twisted metal in the old Mactan Bridge even after it was hit by the M/V Sangko Elegance that structure its piers at the height of Super Typhoon “Ruping” unless of course the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) kept it in secret. Corrosive material can be found anywhere, but what we need to know is how deep is the corrosion affecting the structural integrity of the bridge? I really don’t know. I’m only an M.E. “Murag Engineer.”

So before any disaster befalls us, I suggest that DPWH immediately do a thorough inspection of the old bridge. If the structural integrity of the bridge has been compromised, then they must bite the bullet and close the bridge to all traffic and fix the problem. Call this our wake up call before anything untoward happens. Thanks to people like Mr. Tarona for their vigilance in bringing this problem to our attention, so we may still have time to fix the problem.

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Our article on the controversy between the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Rapid Bus Transit (BRT) elicited an unexpected response from a mayoralty candidate in Cebu City, Ms. Georgia Osmeña. Here’s her text message in full: “Hi Bobit. I agree with you. BRT for the city and a railway system for Metro Cebu and outskirts. Besides, the LRT is ugly, and it destroyed the commerce on both sides of Taft Avenue, Rizal Avenue, and Edsa in Pasay.”

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