A clarification on the Mactan Airport deal

A few days ago, ABS-CBN nightly news came up with a story that was completely incorrect, so allow me to correct it as it said that the SM Prime Holdings, Inc. was in serious discussion for the purchase of the property belonging to the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA). The real score here is that Rep. Tomas Osmeña of the South District of Cebu City apparently got a letter from the SM Group indicating their willingness to purchase the property where the Mactan International Airport stands.

This report actually began with a proposal by Rep. Tomas Osmeña who suggested a couple of months ago that the Mactan Cebu International Airport be transferred a few kilometers south of its present site. Of course that proposal was met with cries of foul... after all, it is not easy to move an international airport a few kilometers into a property that is still underwater today. Yes, Virginia, the plan is to first reclaim the shallow part of the Municipality of Cordova (which is knee deep during high tide) and build a new runway and terminal building.

Of course that proposal met with stiff resistance from different quarters, first because Rep. Osmeña had no business talking about a project that was not in his area of jurisdiction. Others were less polite, accusing the latter of coming up with such a huge project which would be “profitable” for the developers at the expense of the taxpayers whose money they would use.

So right now, all this is nothing but a mere proposal from SM... who thought that they could now purchase the land where the Mactan Cebu International Airport stands. When he first came up with this proposal I immediately dismissed it as nothing but pure fiction. But now that Rep. Osmeña has enticed SM to show their interest on the MCIA property, I’m suggesting or even challenging the SM Prime Holdings Group to do the reclamation of Cordova on their own, then let them build two long parallel runways and a new terminal building... and only then should the MCIAA move into the new terminal and give the old property to the SM Group.

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You can say that my good friend, Erramon “Montxu” Aboitiz, president and CEO of Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) and AboitizPower, must be the most recognized business leader in the Philippines today because very recently he was recognized by the international professional services company Ernst & Young as “Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 for his vision, leadership and financial expertise. But it seems that that recognition was not enough because Montxu was recently bestowed the prestigious honor of being “Management Man of the Year 2011” by the top management practitioners through the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

MAP confers this award to individuals in business or in government for attaining unquestioned distinction in the practice of management and for contributing to the country’s progress. This honor of having a Management Man of the Year has only been conferred 35 times in MAP’s 44-year history.

MAP chose E. Aboitiz for being a model of management excellence and dedication to the transformation of a regional business group into a geographically and technologically diversified conglomerate.

I have to second the motion to that! Under his watch, the Aboitiz Group literally grew by leaps and bounds... but it had to undergo a transformation like for instance, their giving up their original or core business which was a pillar in the shipping industry, when they sold this lock, stock and barrel to a business conglomerate.

Lately, Montxu called me up prior to the presscon and announcement on their decision to transfer their corporate headquarters from Cebu to Manila. A Cebuano moving to Manila is a huge decision and while we Cebuanos did not like this idea, we understood the present realities since we have a highly-centralized form of government, hence even the Aboitiz Group must embrace the need to move to Manila.

So kudos to Montxu Aboitiz on the recognition given to him. In his acceptance message he said, “We believe the success of one is the success of all. Aboitiz is a business enterprise that took root over a century ago and we owe our success today to those who left us the solid base to build on... While we are very proud of the Group’s achievements, we are even more proud of all our team members, the men and women who make up the Aboitiz Group. The Group is what it is today because of them. They truly are the ones that deserve the recognition you have given me.” This is one of the hallmarks of Montxu Aboitiz; he never fails to recognize his forebears, but equally recognize the men and women who make the Aboitiz Group of companies succeed. Congratulations Montxu, we are so proud of you and your company.

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