Cebu Portland Cement Company (the cement factory in Naga)
The Cebu Portland Cement Company was established during the American occupation and one of the country's government owned and controlled company. On January 31, 1941 President Manuel Luis Quezon delivered his seventh State of the Nation Address. In his message he already mentioned the idea of selling the company to a private company, this he said:
"The Cebu Portland Cement Company has been operating profitably. This company had completed plans to establish a factory for the manufacture of cement-asbestos roofing to replace galvanized iron. This project, however, has been suspended in view of the offer made by a private company to establish and operate such a factory."
In the same speech President Quezon also made mention:
"The exploration of the Surigao iron deposit has been completed. In relation to this deposit, the National Development Company has had experiments made in the United States and Europe to determine the best process that should be adopted for the most economical utilization of the ore. Exploration of coal deposits has shown that several sections can be commercially operated. The Cebu Portland Cement Company is now exploiting the Uling coal mine in Cebu to its advantage.
The National Development Company is working on coal mine in Malangas in the Province of Zamboanga. With the output of this mine and of the Uling mine, it is believed that all the requirements of the Cebu Portland Cement Company and the Manila Railroad Company would be met eventually."
On May 14, 1953 President Elpidio Quirino delivered an extemporaneous speech during the inauguration of the building of the Cebu Portland Cement Company. The building though was not in Cebu but in the head office of the company which was in Dasmarinas, Manila.
This was the part of the content of the speech of President Quirino of the building of Cebu Portland Cement Company in Manila:
"It is remarkable, my friends, how we have been able to achieve all these during the short period of seven years. But that only shows the versatile qualities of the Filipino race and our determination to build a country once we have been given the opportunity to do so. This building is one of the evidences of the new age, of the new inspiration, of the newly discovered genius that our country is manifesting today as having been developed by the incentive given to us, that we may guide our own destiny as masters of our own affairs.
This building, therefore, is an example not only of the new urge that possesses the Filipino people, but the vision, the financial insight of those who have seen fit to construct this building. I am told that, besides economizing in monthly rent at the rate of P1,500 a month which this company used to pay before this building was constructed, with the other offices that are being rented to other people who you may be able to accommodate in this building, you may yet to derive another income of P3,000 a month. So you get money in the investment, you economize in rent, and in ten years: you will be able to recuperate all the money invested in the construction of this building.
I, therefore, want to congratulate the vision and foresight of the board of directors of the corporation for having initiated the construction of this building, and I wish that other corporations of the government, with the new incentive being given and the stimulation being extended by the new Secretary of Economic Coordination, they may yet expand the program of construction with the same benefits that are now shown to be of beneficial results of this corporation."
The CEPOC or Cebu Portland Cement Company building in Manila costed P1,200,000. Years later CEPCO was sold to a private company and assumed a new name, the cement factory still exists today in Naga City, Cebu.