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The Palawan Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (PCCI) roots its history in the nineteen sixties when it was then
officially known as Puerto Princesa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PPCCI).
The official venue of meetings and gatherings of PPCCI was at the most
prestigious pension at the time –Rafols Pension. Elected founding president of
then Puerto Princesa’s only business association is Don Felix M. Rafols who
carried the Chambers leadership through the 70’s. Among its membership of about
thirty pioneer businessmen of the city are Don David Garcellano, Don Ramon Tan
and Dona Ofelia Miguel.
By 1994, the PPCCI through its revival metamorphosed into a
provincial organization by carrying the banner of the entire business interests
for the whole of Palawan as it assumed the identity of Palawan Chamber of
Commerce and Industry. Membership to the Chamber is in the name of the
enterprise or businesses engage in commerce and industry. A member company or
proprietorship is entitled to one official representative with two designated
alternates. It regularly holds monthly business meetings at designated
establishments usually owned by member s.
It would be interesting to note that during the initial
afternoon meetings for the revival of the chamber of commerce at Kamayan
Restaurant along Rizal Avenue, there were thirty persons who attended but are
not necessarily the same thirty persons who originally comprised the PPCCI.
Interestingly also to note is the fact that for the second time in the business
chambers history in the province, the founding president of the new chamber of
commerce is again from the illustrious Rafols family, but this time it is the
much younger but equally dynamic Rey M. Rafols.
Don Rey, upon being unanimously elected to lead the revival of the then
Puerto Princesa Chamber of Commerce took a break from his hectic schedule as
president of the largest multi-media network (Palawan Broadcasting Corporation)
in Palawan and thereafter proceeded to Manila to confer with the officialdom of
the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Chamber national president Jose
Yulo graciously hosted the new leader of businessmen in Palawan and Yulo’s
support was so tremendous that the Puerto Princesa Chamber of Commerce and
Industry was eventually granted by the national chamber of commerce to carry the
name Palawan instead of being limited to the name of the capital city. Thus
paving the way for the PCCI to be recognized as the sole businessmen’s chamber
under the rules of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry which spells
that in one province only one chamber shall officially be recognized.
By June 14, 1995, the Articles
of Incorporation of the present Chamber was issued by the Securities and
Exchange Commission under Registration No. ANO95-02174. The incorporators
represent a cross- section of the commerce and industry of the province : Arnel
Abela, Simeon Alarcon, Angel Antic, Cynthia Aragona, Bobby Castro, Jose Castro,
Jr., Renard Dacuan, Pedrito Ensomo, David Garcellano, Agustin Go, Antonio Goh,
Agapita Hagedorn, Elidoro Perey, Rey Rafols and Roland Siat. Don Angel Antic was
the first corporate treasurer while Jacinto Magay ,Jr. was the first corporate
secretary.
In 1995 Chamber national
president Jose Yulo inducted at the Grand Ballroom of Asiaworld Resort Hotel (formely
Rafols Hyatt –Palawan) the first Board of Trustees and officers of the PCCI. The
first trustees to make the Board are Angel Antic, Bobby Castro, Jose Castro, Jr,
Renard Dacuan, Antonio Goh, Agustin Go, David Garcellano, Agapita Hagedorn and
chaired by Don Rey. By 1997 Don Rey was reelected president and was inducted to
office in a dinner gala at the same hotel by Chamber national president Federico
Pascual. The ingenious Don Bobby Castro of the growing Palawan Pawnshop chain
was the vice president while the treasurer was LandBank of the Philippines
wonder boy Ferdinand Adriano. The indefatigable Cynthia Aragona of the Palawan
Cycle chain of stores was also re-elected secretary general. A third induction
was held with House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Alfredo Abueg, Jr. being
the inducting officer.
Like his late father, Pres. Rey Rafols was credited for
his pioneering endeavors that, so to speak, established the promontory on which
the present Chamber ‘s laurels are firmly anchored. It was during Don Rey’s
presidency when several government agencies
confirmed the vital role of the Chamber in the community. Since then, the
Chamber is the official business sector representative to the Palawan Council
for Sustainable Development under the Office of the President of the
Philippines. By virtue of an Executive Order of President Fidel V. Ramos, the
chairmanship of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council in Palawan
was assumed by the PCCI.
Representation in the
Provincial Economic Council was also extended to the Chamber during Pres. Rey
Rafols’ incubency. This was about the same time when the co-chairmanship of the
Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) For
Palawan was held by the PCCI.
Pres. Rafols did not miss to consider the
invaluable tie of the academe to the business sector since he holds the view
that from Industry. To complement the vision of Don
Bobby,an understanding of cooperation was forged by the Chamber with the local
office of the Department of Trade and Industry. This partnership brought about
the creation of a Business Information and Assistance Center in the DTI-Palawan
office. A one-stop-shop for business registration and permit was also sought to
be implemented by multiple government agencies.
President Castro introduced
fellowship evenings as part of the Chambers activities to develop camaraderie
among the business players in the province. It was not purely fellowship
however, but mostly work, when the Chamber hosted the forum for local election
candidates to face the people in a no- holds-barred evening. The Chamber was represented in
regional conferences such as in Lucena City where the Southern Luzon Business
Conference was held. It was at this time when the Chamber was allotted a seat in
the bidding committees for government projects y the Department of Public Works
and Highways.The advocacy of the Chamber on
local real property taxes went on a high gear at Pres. Castro’s time such that
it lead to the creation of a working committee to study the matter and come up
with recommendations to the city officials.
The third president of the Chamber is Don Angel
Antic whose extensive experience in banking and finance brought a new and
welcome dimension to the thurst of the Chamber. In The entrepreneurial genius of
Pres. Bobby Castro in building a regional empire of pawnshops found application
in his thrust to development entrepreneurs from Palawan. A workshop to install
and develop entrepreneurial skills was conducted at Garcellano complex by the
Chamber in coordination with the National Youth Commission and the University of
the Philippines Institute for Small and Medium Scale.
By March 2002 the leadership of
the Chamber was passed to a gentleman from a family of eleven brothers and
sisters hailing from Brooke’s Point, Palawan. University of the Philippines Law
School graduate Don Vicente Tan passed the bar exams with flying colors but he
was destined to be a successful business man and leader. He assumed the
presidency at Asturias Hotel upon being inducted to office by Philippine Chamber
of Commerce and Industry president Sergio Ortiz-Luis. Special guest of honor was
the former senator but then Department of Education Secretary Raul S. Roco.Don Vicente brought with him to
the leadership of the Chamber his wide experience and expertise in handling
organizations as he was a past president of the oldest Rotary Club in District
3830—The Rotary Club of Puerto Princesa. He was also past president of the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines-- Palawan Chapter. Inducted with him are his
vice-president Edgardo A. Palanca of Philippine Veterans Bank. Dona Virgina T.
Gapuz of Olympic Construction became the secretary general. Jerome T. Lastino of
PCI-Equitable Bank and Teodoro Constantino of Philippine National Bank were the
treasurer and auditor , respectively. The immediate past president Don Angel
Antic chaired the Board consisting of the officers and Cynthia Aragona of
Palawan Cycle Center, Engr. Cipriano Barroma of Austin Keith Lending and who was
then president of CREBA, Don Bobby Castro, Don Gregorio Castro of Circon Lodge
and Commercial Center, Benjamin Cabrera of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation,
Teresita Dimalanta of Avenue Enterprises, Agustin Go of Seven A Shell gas
station, Chea Lok of Badjao Inn, Dante Villar of Metrobank and Lolita Zabala of
Golraz Enterprises. General legal counsel was Attorney Allan Carlos.
The first order of Don Vicente’s tenure was to increase
membership and as the membership increased the Office of the Secretariat was
institutionalized with the engagement of The Firm General Services as its secretariat,
public/press relations and events coordinator. Aside from the publication of
newsletter -type bulletins or notices the recording and filling of official
resolutions, minutes of meetings and activity records had been ordered by Don
Vicente to be systematized. But even before all these were fast tracked, Don
Vicente was quick to the draw in establishing a Presidents fund for the Chambers
projects and sourced from his personal fund and given to the Chamber as a
sizable cash donation to the Chambers projects.
Official joint activities with
the Rotary Club of Puerto Princesa and the Palawan Filipino-Chinese Chamber of
Commerce were regularly conducted leading to the holding of a series of dinner
forum with candidates for the local elections. Three contending mayoralty
candidates for the City of Puerto Princesa separately held dinner fora with the
Chamber in joint session with the Rotary and Fil-chi chamber. A one-on-one
symposium in a debate format was also held on the burning issue of the Malampaya
wealth share of Palawan. Governor Joel Reyes joined Kilusan Love Malampaya chair
Ceasar Ventura in the discussion.
Don Vicente’s clans’ southeast Asian
connection was rekindled during his tenure as he was sought personally by
Malaysian public official James Lim of Kudat, Sabah to be in reunion with the are representatives from : Europarts
–Franz Heppelien, Roxas Cable and Television- Honorio Ventura Jr. and Palawan
Casbro Corporation-Tereso Montero. Also inducted as officers are the following:
Internal Vice-President Simeon E. Alarcon of Maileens Merchandising, External
Vice President Angel Antic, Secretary General Eric John G. yayen, Treasurer
Jeromy T. Lastino, Auditor Agustin K. Go. Also inducted as chairman of the Board
is Don Vicente Tan together with trustees/directors (in addition to the
officers) Atty. Allan Carlos of The Firm General Services and Prudential Customs
Brokerage and Services Inc., Don Gregorio D. Castro , Don Bobby Castro, Teresita
G. Dimalanta, Agustin K. Go, Jeromy Lastino, Margarette Lumauag, Engr. Armando
Lustre of AR Lustre Construction, Engr. Eufronio R. Reyes of Triple R
Construction, Eric John Yayen and Lolita G. Zabala. Atty. Carlos continues as
general legal counsel.
Pres. Gapuz lost no time in
forging the international ties built by her predecessor as she flew to Malaysia
in September 2004 on her personal expense and met with her counterpart to follow
up on the gains of the protocol. In the same month, the Chamber hosted the
official visit of immediate past national president Noemi Saludo who spoke on
the ten point agenda of Pres. Arroyo and the creation of one million jobs among
others. Saludo also made a tour of several in the
city.
Among the many guests invited to the regular business
forum of the Chamber every Tuesdays is former Depart of Tourism secretary
Wilhelmina "Mina" Gabor sometime in April 2005. Gabor emphasized on the role of
small and medium enterprise in nation building and shared
her experiences in community development work. She also visited small scale
manufacturers of souvenir goods as well as several handicraft makers.
In March 2005, the Chamber
hosted fora for property owners along Rizal Avenue to conduct a dialogue with
officials of the city on the widening and enhancement of the main avenue of the
city. The second dialogue was held at Skylight Apartelle whereby Engr. Jonathan
Magay and zoning officer Jovenee Sagun explained some details of the project.
The mayor considered the suggestions of the Chamber and passed in a Resolution.
President Virgie approved the continued participation of
the Chamber in the Baragatan Festival in May in commemoration of the founding
anniversary of the Province of Palawan. The Chamber, through Secretary General
Yayen, took the management of the construction and leasing of the private sector
commercial booths.
The indefatigable Palawan-governor Joel
T. Reyes, Puerto Princesa City multi-awarded mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, the
legendary Provincial board members Antonio Alvarez, Ramon Zabala, Modesto
Rodriguez Jr., city councilor Rebecca Labit, city administrator Agustin Rocamora,
Executive Assistant Alfred Sy, congressional district chief of staff Atty.
Winston Gonzales, provincial information officer Rolando Bonoan, Jr. Don Vicente
Tan of the Palawan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) headed the business
and civic delegation consisting of Palawan Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce
president Efren Chua, Rotary Club of Puerto Princesa president Simeon Alarcon,
PCCI and Rotary Club chief legal counsel Atty. Allan Carlos, Rotary Club past
president Felix Lao, former Sabah resident and Palawan foreign investor Jean Pol
Plisnier, former Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development
assemblyman Al Babao, travel and tourism guro Eddie Nuque and copra magnate
William Tan.
Prior to this official visit, a
group of officials and businessmen from Malaysia visited Puerto Princesa in
January. During the Malaysian visit, former Kudat mayor James Ibrahim Lim
learned of Tan’s stay in Kudat more than three decades ago and when Tan told him
of the twins in the house he stayed in at Kudat, Lim immediately realized that
it was Tan whom the chief minister was asking to be located in Palawan. The
chief minister’s father and that of Tan are old friends. According to Lim, the
chief minister immediately ordered for an official invitation to be sent to
Reyes, Hagedorn and Tan after he learned of the hospitality accorded to his
constituents on their visit to Puerto Princesa. The chief minister was also
informed of the observation that so much could be done for the mutual benefit of
Sabah and Palawan in the areas of trade, tourism, education and cultural joint
undertakings. |
