Corporate sector needed in poverty drive - DEMAND AND SUPPLY

I see two very important lessons from recent events. First of all, coup pals like Gringo and his forever boss should be treated like recidivists who cannot be trusted to behave. Sayang yung amnesty. From what government is saying, it seems they are at it again. Don’t you think they have caused enough death, mayhem and damage to the economy since the Cory days? Enough is enough.

Secondly, there must be a concerted and visible effort on the part of society’s upper classes to help bring our poverty stricken countrymen up. The corporate sector is in the best position to come up with an organized effort quickly. And they must go beyond the usual confines of their "donations program."

I remember when it was my generation getting clubbed and tear gassed in Mendiola, the corporate sector took notice and organized what is now the Philippine Business for Social Progress or PBSP. I don’t know what has become of PBSP but I suspect it has grown a fat bureaucracy administering token projects with little enthusiasm. Administrative costs probably outrun project costs.

In the early days of PBSP, it has come up with relevant projects. PBSP even built a condominium project for the poor. Can you imagine if PBSP just concentrated on housing instead of dissipating its scarce resources on bits and pieces here and there… But it has lost its impact. I’ve been in corporate public relations for more years than I care to disclose in public and I am unaware of what PBSP is still doing, or even if it is still around.

The business sector played a key role in EDSA 2 and it is but logical for it to follow through so that no future politician can misuse the masses in a selfish war for power. The Makati Business Club, the Management Association of the Philippines and other big business groups must now organize to help actively in the government’s anti poverty program.

The image of Bill Luz speaking on some political matter is becoming tiresome. Next time we see him on TV, it would be nice to hear from him what MBC is doing to help the poor live decently. If that is not part of MBC’s mandate, they should make it one.

Actually, the business sector should see poverty reduction as an economic program by itself. A few columns ago, I wrote about the need for wealth redistribution so that the economy can be stimulated by a population with greater buying power. In any case, growth cannot be achieved unless we drastically reduce the number of poor people in this country.

What can we do? Plenty. Any program to fight poverty starts with basic education, health and nutrition, water and sanitation, shelter and livelihood opportunities. The micro finance program of the ABS-CBN Foundation is a good example. It had been nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit of housewives, fishermen, etc all over the country. There is so much to be done in this area and they haven’t even scratched the surface.

The Sky Foundation has adopted some schools and provided them with television sets and cable television connection so that children can have the benefit of educational television. Given the inadequate training of many of our public school teachers, the tested teaching methods in the modules help tremendously.

Corporations can adopt whole public schools and provide resources for training teachers, maybe help upgrade their take home pay so teachers don’t have to sell longaniza or whatever to make ends meet. There is simply so much to do, government simply can’t do it all.

Think of what happened in the early morning hours of May 1 and imagine that it could happen again with different and less desirable results. That should be enough to get moving to help fight poverty as best we can.

Sonny Vistan

I do not understand the histrionics of GSIS’s representative in the Equitable PCI Bank board over the election of Sonny Vistan as president and CEO. The fact that Sonny accepted the position is the best news about the bank in recent weeks. Sonny Vistan is just what the bank needs to radically improve its tarnished image.

In fact, if they know what is good for them, the EPCIB board should drop Equitable in the name and just be publicly known as PCI Bank again. It may hurt the ego of the Go family, but the reality is, Equitable reminds people of a small Binondo bank that forced its way to the big league by using SSS and GSIS funds to buy a much bigger bank, made possible by George Go’s closeness to Erap. That is the same George Go who was treasurer of an Erap Foundation that turned out to be the depository of jueteng payoffs.

PCI Bank on the other hand, enjoys a good reputation as a well-managed bank that was in the big league for years. Next to BPI, PCI Bank probably enjoys the best reputation for a Filipino bank until the merger and the scandal that followed. A cold blooded, unemotional decision to drop Equitable in the bank’s name will make the image improvement program easier to manage.

Going back to Sonny Vistan, he has proven himself in crisis situations. I remember during the financial crisis of the late 90s, Sonny was often on radio early in the morning trying to explain the movement in the peso/dollar exchange rate to the masa. As president of the Bankers Association then, he helped the BSP calm the market as they devised instruments that stabilized the exchange rate at a time when it was most needed.

I asked BSP Governor Paeng Buenaventura why the GSIS representative was raving mad at him for allegedly forcing the bank to hire Vistan. Well, Paeng says he didn’t impose Vistan on the Equitable PCI Bank board. Paeng told me the BSP had no one in particular in mind and the names mentioned as possible CEO were all acceptable. The choice was theirs in the same manner as with the chairman, chairman of excom.

What Paeng was more interested in was the advance BSP gave Equitable PCI Bank when it had problems. "Essentially what we told PCI Bank was: If you want us to restructure part of our loan into a five year loan – we would want a business plan, a capital buildup...."

But then, Paeng said, "Tony Go came to see me and said that they now have no plans to ask for a restructure and will pay us as soon as possible in which case, they are free to choose their chairman and CEO as long as they are with experience, integrity etc..".

I was thinking, so what if Paeng suggested Sonny Vistan? Paeng only wants the best since he can’t afford any more problems there. We are talking of the third largest bank and the last thing Paeng wants is for the third largest bank to have serious problems during his watch. Besides, the advance of BSP in EPCI Bank is much larger than the equity contribution of GSIS.

While it is true that the acting president is also a good banker and probably as capable as Sonny Vistan, he is unfortunately identified with the old Equitable leadership. Sonny provides a fresh face. Hopefully, they will now work with him to save us, clients and stockholders, more anguish.

Superman

Now, now… here’s Dr. Ernie E.

Bill was taking a flight to New York. He boards the plane, finds his seat and settles in, but does not fasten his seatbelt. The flight attendant comes down the aisle and sees Bill’s unfastened seatbelt and says, "Sir, you need to fasten your seatbelt for takeoff."

Macho Bill says, "Not necessary to do that, Superman doesn’t need a seatbelt."

"Superman," the flight attendant said, "doesn’t need an airplane either."

(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected])