5 October 2023, Mandaluyong City—The Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (ORO CHAMBER), and the City Government of Cagayan de Oro successfully mounted the Cagayan de Oro Investment Forum at The Marquee, EDSA Shangri-La, Thursday, October 5.

The event highlighted the ORO CHAMBER’s 5-day ORO BEST EXPO (Cagayan de Oro Business Enterprises, Services, and Trade Exposition) at the nearby Shangri-La Plaza, which runs from October 4 to 8, featuring the best products and services that Cagayan de Oro and Region 10 have to offer.

The Cagayan de Oro Investment Forum opened with a ceremonial sounding of the gong by Guest Speaker and U.S. Embassy Commercial Counselor Paul Taylor followed by a warm welcome from ORO CHAMBER President Raymundo G. Talimio, Jr.

Then City Councilor George S. Goking, representing City Mayor Rolando “Klarex” A. Uy, pitched the advantages of Cagayan de Oro as a business and investment destination, ending with a rundown of the five (5) projects being showcased, which included the city’s own:

• Development, Construction, and Operation of the Cagayan de Oro Sewerage Project;
• Development, Construction, and Operation of Waste-To-Energy (WTE) Project; and
• The New City, a mixed-use development to complement and support the city and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development’s (DHSUD) housing development in Barangay Lumbia under the Philippine President’s flagship Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program (4PH).

Guest speaker Paul Taylor discussed how and why the focus should be on Region 10 and Mindanao as an agricultural and economic powerhouse, zeroing in on Cagayan de Oro’s significance as the island’s gateway and catalyst.

A roster of experts and professionals further underscored the richness of the city, the region, and Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro’s potential as an investment destination, such as:

• Economist and professor Dr. Bernardo M. Villegas, Ph.D., of IESE Business School, Barcelona, and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), led an exploration into “How the Rapid Growth of the Philippine Economy Impacts on Metro Cagayan de Oro”:
• National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Region 10 Director Myla Aurora Faye B, Cariño, who touted the “Infrastructure Development Opportunities in Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro”;
• Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation scion Guillermo D. Luchangco, who weighed in on how the metro is the right choice for business when he built Cagayan de Oro’s first township in the early 1990s, and now;
• A. Brown President and CEO Robertino E. Pizarro seconded the city’s and the metro’s vast property development potential and his company’s future plans in the area; and
• Ms. Stephanie Rosalind P. Caragos extolled the depth of Cagayan de Oro and the metro’s talent pool, the soundness of the city’s information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, which, coupled with the mutual support among public and private sector partners, ensures connectivity across the board.

Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company (CEPALCO) Executive Vice President for External Affairs Jaime Rafael U, Paguio, who also chairs the Northern Mindanao chapter of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP), moderated the Open Forum that ensued. 

The afternoon session opened with Messages of Support from Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, the Department of Trade and Industry’s ASEC Leonila T. Baluyut speaking on behalf of Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual, and the Department of Science and Technology’s ASEC Napoleon K. Juanillo, speaking in behalf of Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr. 

The pitching continued with:

• Atty. Joseph Donato J. Bernedo, Administrator and CEO of the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority, promoting the 3,000-hectare industrial estate;
• Mr. Giovani Dahino, Chief Operating Officer of Gedah Holdings, Inc., presenting his company’s Paraiso Hill, a 39.7-hectare mixed-use township development in Barangay Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City; and
• Visionary entrepreneur Engr. Elpidio M. Paras, President of UC-1 Corporation, is taking attendees in the gondolas of his Cagayan de Oro Aerial Mass Transit System (ATS), with its demonstrated viability and necessity.

City Administrator Atty. Roy Hilario P. Raagas delivered a message of gratitude, which signaled the end of the program and the beginning of networking and light cocktails, which saw four (4) of the five (5) projects showcased eliciting inquiries and even letters of intent.

 Video Watch: Highlights from the Cagayan de Oro Investment Forum.