Cebu has a lot to offer; it is a paradise for the beach lover, the golf player and the diver. But for those who are interested only in business it is the place to be too.  Cebu is different, it does not have just one Product, and it has two: tourism and business. Situated at a crossroad of trade, with a typhoon-free deep-sea port and an international airport. Cebu is competitive; time has proven it. But what about Promotion?

But who knows Cebu? Becoming known is a matter of making yourself known. What makes Cebu so attractive? It is a question asked not only by many tourists, but also by many Filipinos.

During the Marcos era, Cebu was neglected in almost every way. Cebuanos were notorious for their anti-Marcos feelings. Its leading politicians were either in jail or had fled abroad. Cebu had to fight on its own, it had to keep going, but at a snails pace. Many of its assets disappeared into the pockets of Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies.

The People Power Revolution in February 1986 brought down Ferdinand Marcos and swept Corazon Aquino, widow of the assassinated Se. Benigno Aquino, into power.

During the dark moments of the revolution Mrs. Aquino sought refuge in Cebu. During her six-year Presidency her power-base was Cebu and the Cebu economic growth model became the example to follow the country.

Aquino’s Presidency was marred by seven coups d’e’ tats, during the last of which, in the early days of December 1989, Cebu proved again to be the cornerstone of the country. An attempt to take over Mactan Airbase by the rebels was foiled. Without this airbase and its aircraft the rebels lacked the necessary airpower to succeed.

The bad publicity, which Manila received in the early Nineties, the chaotic way of life and the apparent lack of law and order in the country’s capital and prime city, gave way to the promotion of Cebu as “An Island in the Pacific.”

The promotion was a great success, especially in Japan. Growth of tourism and foreign investment in Cebu, in the late Eighties and early Nineties, far outpaced that of the country as a whole.

Today, Cebu’s economy is based solidly on a vast array of light electronic industries, furniture, costume jewelry and the services of its international airport and seaport. Its fast growing Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) is the cornerstone in this scenario. Tourism, based on its fabulous white sandy beaches, its excellent diving opportunities and its challenging golf courses, places Cebu on the world map.

Source: Drs. Dirk J. Barreveld