‘Let’s not mess up Cebu’s coming-out party’

WHILE the heads of government discuss Southeast Asian policies and agreements behind closed doors, Cebu and the country will have to remain open to a close watch by the national and international community, through the local and foreign press.


Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros is there to see things through. Designated as the Philippines’ official spokesperson for the summit, he has to contend with questions— from whether foreign dignitaries will set foot in the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), to policy statements, the propriety of government spending for the summit and the inconveniences the public will have to face.

Having been in the foreign service since 1980, this Mass Communications major and former journalism professor knows whereof he speaks. He served a similar function during the 2003 state visit to the Philippines of US President George W. Bush.

But what makes him doubly proud of his job now is that it has given him a chance to witness while his hometown plays the gracious host.

“Every day, I become more confident about the summit,” Ambassador Lecaros told Sun.Star Cebu last Tuesday. “Now, with the CICC virtually complete, our attention shifts to the actual topics in the agenda, which is where it should be. What are documents that will be completed? What are the directions that Asean will take from here? And you know, Cebu will be in the map and the archives of the Asean after this.” Here are some interview excerpts:

How would you assess the performance so far of local officials in preparing for the summit?

It’s not surprising. I’m not surprised at all that they have pulled this off. You may not have been here at time, but we did this once before—the fourth centennial of Christianization in 1965. That was one time when Cebu was at the top of the heap. We had a fantastic police force and all that, which we are getting again.

That is why I ask a series of rhetorical questions. Who would ever want roads with potholes? Who would not want to have their roads well-lit? Our visitors will enjoy those things for three or four days. Who’s going to enjoy those things for the next three or four years? Di ba kita ra man gihapon? (That’s us.)

As for all this talk on expenses, it misses the point completely because the job of the government is not to save money at all costs. It is to deliver services. If you saved money but did not deliver the services expected of you, you are still a failure.

Given the doubts about whether the CICC will be completed on time, were there ever any misgivings among organizers that Cebu was picked as the summit’s venue?

No. It was a conscious decision by the President that it be held in Cebu. If there was any doubt, it was not on the part of Cebuanos or of the organizing committee people, like (National Organizing Committee Chairman) Ambassador Marciano Paynor or me. I was in Kuala Lumpur as a regular member of the delegation, being an ambassador to Vietnam then, during the summit last year when the President said that this year’s summit will be in Cebu. I said, “Maayo na da.” (That’s good.) That was my unguarded reaction.

The only thing for you to do is to maintain it (the CICC). We should not neglect this structure. Nobody serves forever, not I, not the governor, not the President. I hope our successors will take care of these things so that they will continue to reap their dividends for the province.

What is the total cost so far of all these preparations?

Very cheap, as far as international standards go. If you look at Filipino standards, peso standards, then you would say, ‘It’s expensive because it reached P500 million.’ But think about how much P500 million is, US$10 million? That is very cheap. I will not name the country but they built their convention center for US$320 million and another country went even higher than that.

US$10 million is very cheap.

The CICC aside, how much did the National Government spend for the Asean?

That I don’t know. But, let’s say, P1 billion for the whole package, or US$20 million. You know how much a fighter plane costs, without the armaments? About US$35 million and that was 12 years ago.

So whatever we spent on all the preparations, on all the salaries, on all the construction materials, on all the overtime pay, it’s not even enough to buy a fighter plane. Let’s put things in perspective. Let’s not wring our hands and say, ‘It’s costly.’

Just imagine what it means to be given the honor (of hosting the Asean summit), which fell on our laps without asking for it, by the way. We didn’t have to fight for it. It was handed to us in a silver platter.

What has been the most challenging aspect of the preparations?

In terms of physical facilities, I would think the convention center. But in terms of the issues, there are many significant ones, depending on whom you ask.

In what stage are we in our preparations? Are we done with our physical preparations?

I think we are. As they say in sports, it’s all over but the shouting. But really, for a nine-month project, that’s remarkable, nothing short of miraculous, especially given the fact that our system is replete with checks and balances.
In other countries, you could build a highway, longer and wider than Edsa, in 10 months.

Looking at the long-term, we have to look beyond traffic congestion and all that. And in any case, traffic congestion or unexpected twists and turns of traffic, you can prepare for that. It’s only for four days and in exchange for what we stand to benefit.

Why are we doing this? The answer is very simple. We are trying to project ourselves on the world stage not just as a tourism destination, but as a convention city.

So, imagine the boon for Cebu. If you expect the CICC to immediately recover its costs with just the summit, then you’re in for disappointment, just like a businessman who expects immediate gains in the first month of operation.

How do the organizers plan to deal with the rallyists?

It’s not a crime to disagree with the government. It’s not a crime to disagree with government officials. Our system allows plurality of ideas. In other places, you do that at your own risk. Here, it’s not a risk. It is such that even foreigners come here and berate us and they still live to have dinner with their children later on.

It’s a fact of diplomatic life. You do not interfere in the internal affairs of your hosts. It’s the equivalent of going to your neighbor’s house and telling the kitchen staff how to run things. It’s impolite, to say the least.

But then again, some of the critics of the Asean say that is exactly what makes the organization ineffective.

Let me ask a question in answer to that question. Has there been a war between the Asean in the last 39 years since 1967 that involved two members?

Any parting statement?

Here, I am not an unbiased source. I am speaking as a Cebuano. This is our coming-out party. Let’s not mess it up. And let’s not let others mess it up.

Now, to our kababayan, to the entire country, we need to get engaged with the international economies, at least with the regional economies, because we cannot be an island unto ourselves. We cannot pretend like we don’t need anybody.

Let us not be fazed, or scared or intimidated by others coming in through our open doors, coming into our market.

Because open doors mean also that we can enter their market. And there are many areas where the Filipinos are at a distinct advantage.