Why I believe Lexmark will stay in Cebu

I read this piece of news from CNET that indeed, Lexmark International, Inc. was closing down its Mactan Export Processing Zone Authority (MEPZ) facility. This is their inkjet printer plant, which is being phased out because it is “hardware centric” and they are shifting to software development for business solutions. Yes, this shutdown will affect some 1,700 jobs at the MEPZ, but frankly speaking, I don’t think that Lexmark is moving out of the Philippines and in a way, I can explain this.

 Way back in the mid-90s, Lexmark went to Acoland, the Aboitiz run MEPZ II requesting to get a 50-year contract with them. But Aboitiz only has a 20-year contract with the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), so they had to pass on this long term deal to the MCIAA Board. Since no one from the Board knew the impact of Lexmark’s coming to the Philippines, the members of the Board, especially those coming from the government sector, did not want to make a decision.

 It was a good thing that I just came from Europe at that time and I knew that Lexmark was shutting down its facilities in the Netherlands, if I remember right. So if Lexmark was planning to move to Cebu, it was a very positive move. The problem was how to handle the Lexmark rental after our 20-year deal with Acoland? The solution came from Lexmark who offered an advance rental of 50 years to the MCIAA, for as long as we can give them a clean title of the property. The rest is history… I was one of the signatories of that deal and I’m proud that Lexmark did not just plunk in their money in Mactan, they also constructed buildings at the Ayala Business Park.

 While Lexmark management has made this decision to shut down this printing facility by the year 2015, we will never know what’s up ahead in the future for this company. Things can easily change; Lexmark could shut down other facilities and concentrate in Mactan. Mind you, Lexmark was very happy with their Cebuano workers, in fact they sent many of them to their US facility. But knowing that they still have so many years left in this contract, I don’t think that they would abandon this facility. They may shift production or move towards software development but I’m positive that they would never leave Cebu.

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 I saw the television footages of the recently recovered right wing of the ill-fated Piper Seneca II of Aviatour that crashed off Masbate and took the lives of DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo, its pilot Capt. Jessup Bahinting and co-pilot Kshitiz Chand. Off-hand, you will see that its landing gear was already on a down position, which means that the plane was on its final approach when the accident happened.

 At this point, as I’ve already pointed out, certain investigators are trying to pin the blame on the late Capt. Jessup Bahinting, insisting that the flight that Sec. Robredo took was a training flight. Come now, how come these so-called professional investigators are saying this even if they just began their investigation? For the sake of fairness, CAAP officials should stop issuing such negative statements until they can prove something, which I doubt that they can prove. Kshitiz Chand never piloted that plane, but was just a passenger seated in the co-pilot’s seat so that he could be with Capt. Jessup on his return flight from Naga… but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

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 My family’s heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Mrs. Gloria “Tita Glo” Escaño who passed away the other day after a short illness. Tita Gloria was the contemporary of my mother, the late Mrs. Ascension Avila, as they were practically together in their civic and social activities, whether it is the Catholic Women’s League (CWL), the Woman’s Club that runs the Cebu Maternity House or the Inner Wheel Club, where she became a contemporary of my wife Jessica. This was the organization of wives in the Rotary Club of Ceb, as Tito Jess, even when he suffered a stroke, never missed a Rotary meeting.

 The Escaño residence in Juana Osmeña was like a second home to most of us who were barkadas of Pet Escaño Misa, and later on, Jimmy and Tommy Escaño. Tita Glo welcomed all of us into their home where our faces became so common in her house, which is now the Metro’s Restaurant. So you can say that she was like a second Mom to all of us.

 One memory of Tita Glo that I can never forget was during one of the numerous parties in her house, she would dance the “Hula.” Being born in Hawaii, Tita Glo made sure that all the Escaño girls would dance the hula with her. In fact, almost a year ago, she and Pet Misa danced the hula again at the restaurant and she was always graceful as ever. May we request the pious reader to please pray for the repose of her soul.

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