In Cebu Summit, CPAs get a look at infra, tourism highlights

Newly opened and upcoming infrastructure projects for Cebu and how these will shape the economy were highlighted in the 6th Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Cebu Summit last Thursday at Marco Polo Plaza Hotel.

Kenneth Cobonpue, CEO of Kenneth Cobonpue Asia and chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in Central Visayas, presented the projects that the council has endorsed to the National Government.

Among the projects he mentioned in his speech were the Mandaue-Consolacion-Liloan bypass road, the Metro Cebu Expressway that will go from the City of Naga to Danao City, the Naga-Minglanilla-Talisay bypass road, Cebu-Negros Link Bridge, and Metro Cebu Circumferential rail road.

For his part, Andrew Acquaah– Harrison of the GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. emphasized in his speech the beauty that the region has to offer and its great potential to attract more travelers.

In Cebu, he pointed, the number of tourists has increased dramatically since Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport opened last July 1. Acquaah-Harrison is chief operations officer of the private consortium that has managed the Mactan airport domestic terminal since November 2014 and opened its new international terminal this year.

Organizers of the PICPA Cebu Summit had divided the conference into technical sessions that discussed the significant role of CPAs in the economy, financial challenges brought about by impacts of climate change, digital transformation imperatives for the accounting profession, the effects of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law, and corporate governance.

The infrastructure and tourism briefings gave participants a good look how developments in these areas may boost the economy.

Cebu’s place

In his speech, Cobonpue said he was optimistic that the use of more ferries would be viable as an alternative means of transportation for commuters. However, a Bohol-Cebu bridge is not yet feasible, given the massive cost it would entail.

In its meeting last month, the RDC endorsed as priority projects the Mandaue-Lapu-Lapu Link Bridge with Mandaue Scenic Coastal Road, Metro Cebu Circumferential Road, an Urban Mass Rapid Transit Coastal Line, UMRT Central Line, and Area Traffic Control System. It also supported recommendations to create a Metro Cebu Traffic and Transportation Council.

Cobonpue said that if all these projects will be realized, these would solve traffic congestion in Metro Cebu and boost the economy.

“I think Cebu will finally take its place,” he said.

Letting the world in

In his speech, Acquaah–Harrison recalled that when GMR first came to Cebu years ago, they tried to understand why an average person did not think of the Philippines as a holiday destination, considering how beautiful it is.

With improvements in Mactan airport and the opening of a new terminal, he said, this part of the Philippines has opened up more to the world.

He also mentioned how Philippine Airlines has been persuaded to launch a nonstop service to Los Angeles, which is a first for Cebu, and how connections to Europe have grown by 33 percent.

“We have increased the number of nationalities now coming from different parts of the world to Cebu,” he said.

He described the airport as an engine of economic growth that provides jobs and whose impact the average Cebuano can feel.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III is asking the country’s economists to support the second tax reform package,