‘…I’m told that most of the top elective positions in GenSan are held by a family member of People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao, which can be a good thing if the former senator can spearhead the effort for an honest-to goodness master plan that could be his legacy to the future southern capital of the Philippines!’
I’ve been to General Santos City (formerly Dadiangas) maybe 33 times: three times before the age of 36, then 20 times between the ages of 35 and 50, and another 10 times from ages 51 to today (I’m 62).
The reason for the avalanche of visits 25 years ago was that I joined the Philippine branch office of The Coca-Cola Export Corporation and part of the responsibilities of the many hats I wore (communications, incident management, corporate foundation) was to visit the bottling plants owned by our local bottling partner, and engage with the employees and the communities.
GenSan has a Coke bottling plant so it was the main reason to go.
Before I joined Coke, I did some creativity seminars for corporations (Jollibee was my biggest engagement) and this included Dole/Stanfilco, which brought me to the Kalsangi operations of Dole at the foot of Mt. Kalsangi. I got a taste of the pineapple fruit they produce there (sweet!) and loved the pineapple orange juice, and I got a taste of golf at Club Kalsangi as well.
Every time I return to GenSan, I always leave with the same impression: this city is a jewel in the rough, a diamond in the rough indeed. It is teeming with so much potential – even its scorching heat brings potential for the clean energy industry! – that I am hoping and praying the political leadership will have the wisdom to imagine a GenSan bustling far beyond their wildest dreams.
Because GenSan could be the Makati/BGC of Mindanao rolled into one with an airport and a seaport/fishport for international trade. It could become bigger than Davao, not in size but in businesses established and income generated, and it could outstrip Cebu as the most cosmopolitan metropolitan area outside of the National Capital Region.
If – and some people think it is a big if – if the political leadership looks at GenSan and thinks for the long term.
Like Cebu and Davao, GenSan has a sprawling airport and it has good port facilities. It has avenues in the city center that are wide, in contrast to the narrow, congested streets of Cebu and Davao. These are the plus points for the city, important elements of infrastructure that could make or break a city.
And it has lots of land rivaled only by Davao and Puerto Princesa.
It needs to improve the power supply situation, though, as my friends complain of rotating brownouts. And that’s a problem when the day has been scorching hot and you need to cool off, but there’s no power at home.
I think one aspect of daily life affected by the power issue is the poor state of interconnectivity throughout the city. The “Net” was slow except in the hotel where I stayed.
Public transport also leaves much to be desired. There are no city center buses, taxis are hard to come by, and Grab is almost nonexistent. Locals and visitors who need to move about need to rely on tricycles that charge ₱15 per person or ₱50 Pacquiao. I mean pakyaw.
If tricycles are GenSan’s main public means of transport it will remain a backwater.
As I said, it will take leadership with a vision to transform GenSan from what it is to what it can be – the Makati/BGC of Mindanao. Now, I’m told that most of the top elective positions in GenSan are held by a family member of People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao, which can be a good thing if the former senator can spearhead the effort for an honest-to-goodness master plan that could be his legacy to the future southern capital of the Philippines!
Time to polish the diamond in the rough!
