Old and sputtering, Cebu Chamber needs drastic overhaul

There was a time when the Cebu Chamber of Commerce was regarded by the community it serves with the highest respect. It was an organization that bestowed honor on its membership. There was pride in simply belonging to it. Its contributions in thought, in words and in deeds were anticipated and welcomed in circumstances big and small as they affected life in that community.

In other words it was a living and breathing cog in the engine of growth and development that helped spur the city to what it has become. But that was in the past, when the leadership of the Chamber had focus and the dynamic to excel in its job of promoting business and enhancing the climate in which business can operate.

It was a time when the Chamber still enjoyed the leadership of such dignified and exemplary business leaders as Ramon Aboitiz, Jesus Garcia Sr., Frank Benedicto, Norberto Quisumbing, Raul del Mar, Sabino Dapat, Jose Ng, and John Gaisano, among others. These business leaders were like finely-tuned compasses that always pointed north, sure of the direction they were heading and where they wanted Cebu business to go.

A good number of discerning Cebuanos, however, have noted with alarm and dismay that in the past few presidencies, the Chamber has lost focus in its main job of putting business up front by promoting and enhancing the environment in which it can thrive, and taking the community along with it in progress and development. The more observant have in fact noticed a bent toward playing and dabbling in politics with an eye to be in the limelight.

The Chamber's flagship event, the Cebu Business Month, has all but become irrelevant, coming painfully around year after year with increasingly faded luster and significance. The CBM has evolved into almost nothing more than a sponsoring event, nailed to the recurring topic of ICT almost to the total exclusion of others.

Instead of pushing holistic programs that make business sense, the Cebu Chamber prefers to be quick in the business of commenting and issuing statements on politics, health, social services and other issues that are otherwise best left to the real experts in these fields. It has forgotten the focus on charting genuine business agendas.

This is the stagnating effect when an organization loses the maverick type of leadership that is forward-looking and unafraid to break new ground, leaders with the courage to pioneer new things. This is what happens when leadership descends into the repetitive humdrum so characteristic of an old boys club, of pre-ordained faces locked in a game of musical chairs.

It is a no-brainer why membership is dwindling, with lesser participation from real business leaders. The chamber is increasingly becoming a group of employees, bereft of top executives and much less business owners or industry captains. Worse, the next generation taipans are gravitating toward the more dynamic and relevant counterpart groups like the Mandaue Chamber.

Cebu Province under Governor Gwen Garcia, herself very dynamic and forward-looking, now prefers to work with the young and dynamic Mandaue Chamber. With such a significant loss, the Cebu Chamber is now left to rely on the Cebu City government for support and collaboration. But all is not lost though. The chamber will elect a new board of trustees on February 25. It is make or break time for redemption of the chamber.