ANOTHER SILICON VALLEY IN LAPU-LAPU?

Almost a year ago, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Boy Radaza proclaimed he would proceed with the Mactan North Reclamation Project. His PR agent went to work trumpeting this ridiculous plan as a landmark project. I wrote this commentary which I circulated among a few friends and members of the various business chambers in Cebu. With all the criminal cases pending about scams in Lapu-Lapu, how can we Oponganons expect that such a grandiose project will be scandal free? I am reprinting this in my bog, as I believe this will be nothing more than another mega scam.


ANOTHER SILICON VALLEY IN LAPU-LAPU?
By: Efrain T. Pelaez Jr.

Lapu-Lapu Mayor Arturo Radaza has announced that the P10Billion Reclamation Project will go through, and it will become the next Silicon Valley, presumably of the region. Since the name Silicon Valley has become a catch-all phrase to indicate corporate centers of high technology, mainly in information technology and before we get carried away by the rabid propagandists of the reclamation project, let us examine what Silicon Valley really is. The term originally referred to “the area outside San Francisco around Stanford University that housed the California’s large number of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers, but eventually came to refer to all the high-tech businesses in the area. Despite the development of other high-tech economic centers throughout the United States, Silicon Valley continues to be the leading high-tech hub because of its large number of engineers and venture capitalists. The industry began through experimentation and innovation in the fields of radio, television, and military electronics. Stanford University, its faculty and graduates have played a major role in the evolution of this area.” Intel, Fairchild and Hewlett-Packard, and many others like them trace their roots to Silicon Valley. Companies like Xerox, Cisco, Adobe, Microsoft and Apple all use technologies and innovations developed at Silicon Valley. By the early 1970s there were many semiconductor and related computer firms in the area, and programming and service companies serving both. Industrial space and housing were plentiful.

Well, I am sorry to inform Radaza and his misinformed PR consultant that our version of Silicon Valley already exists and has been here for over 20 years. Bahaw na ni! TMX was one of the first Silicon Valley- type high tech companies that located in Lapu-Lapu and has since grown under the auspices of the PEZA to what it is today. Other technology companies, mainly in semiconductors, followed and located in MEZ 1 and later MEZ 2. There are now over 200 companies and 60,000 employees with over half in IT related activities in Lapu-Lapu alone. Danao also has Mitsumi with roughly 10,000 employees. PEZA-registered IT parks and BPO centers have opened up all over the Cebu area, providing another component to what in fact is Greater Cebu’s “Silicon Valley”.
Creating more land in Lapu-Lapu will not automatically result in another or bigger Silicon Valley. Did the Mandaue Reclamation or SRP in Talisay result in new Silicon Valleys? There is already plenty land, not only in Lapu-Lapu, but also in Metro Cebu and other cities and towns. In fact the BPO’s are in dispersal mode and moving into other urban centers like Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro and the like that have educational capabilities to provide the manpower needed to man such endeavors like call centers.
Unfortunately, we in Lapulapu cannot hope to be engaged in the leading edge of high technology. We do not possess the same infrastructure and qualities that gave rise to such explosive growth in the U.S. We neither have the venture capital and educational facilities like Cal Tech and Stanford in our backyard, or the demand for research provided by NASA, the U.S. military or Fortune 500 firms. Innovation was and continues to be the catalyst of Silicon Valley’s success. By contrast, our PEZA Zones can only hope to be extensions of these companies, providing them with cheap manufacturing and industrial space, a trainable and skilled workforce, and reasonable infrastructure. For example, in 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported that “13 of the 20 most inventive towns in America were in California, and 10 of those were in Silicon Valley.” Does this sound like Lapulapu City?
So does Radaza’s P10 Billion Reclamation Project fit the bill? No way! May we humbly suggest that he stop thinking about Silicon Valley and instead focus on cleaning up the city, fixing the existing roads and infrastructure and concentrate on realistic and doable projects that will immediately benefit the city. He has wasted 8 years doing nothing to improve conditions in Lapulapu. It is simply too late for anything realistic, but I suppose it is never too late for a scam. Enough of this silly business!