EDITORIAL — Russian invasion

The Russians are reportedly coming to Cebu to look for investment opportunities. This was announced by the legal office of the Cebu City government following Mayor Michael Rama's three-day visit to Russia last week.

According to outgoing Cebu City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo, Cebu is set to become a prime destination for Russian businessmen eyeing to invest in tourism and other areas, brushing off reports that the city gained nothing during the trip of Rama and other city officials to the Russian city of Vladivostok.

“Rama was the best salesman not only in Cebu, but the entire Philippines,” Castillo said, adding: “Naa na tay exchanges. Ila rang hangyo that there will be direct flights from Vladivostok to Cebu, mao ra nay hangyo nila.”

Based on Castillo’s statement, it seems the Russians are dead serious in their interest to do business here that they want a direct flight between the cities of Cebu and Vladivostok, a proposal Rama also approved.

In fact, aside from bringing the matter to President Marcos’ attention, the mayor said he is now communicating with the bigwigs of Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air for the possibility of launching a direct flight between the two cities.

Well, if we are to believe the city officials’ statements, we can only say that Rama’s trip to the city of Vladivostok was a success. And we can only hope that those Russians interested in doing business here will see Cebu as a worthy choice for their investments.

Of course, this is really a welcome development for Cebuanos. With Cebu now starting to embrace the ‘new normal’ following the pandemic, those Russian interests are a sign that Cebu is now well on its way to becoming a foreign investment hub in the country.