Executive Message
THE REALM OF GOOD INTENTIONS
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It’s an adage that seems to capture the willingness of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration to explore every avenue in addressing long-standing economic and social issues.
The repeal of “endo” (repeating renewals of short-term contracts) is one such policy being pursued. It’s a complex task, given the need to provide workers with improved security and the means to achieve their aspirations, balanced against the imperative to keep businesses viable and the Philippine economy competitive.
Despite the challenges ahead, there remain many opportunities in our economy if business and government are prepared to make the necessary investments. We must improve our capability in areas such as manufacturing, while enhancing our advantages in key service industries such as business process outsourcing and tourism.
No amount of increased economic activity can happen without the energy to drive it. But with the environmental concerns that face the power industry, more attention is being placed on renewable energy (RE) from sun, wind, and water. These may not yet become our primary sources of energy, but they are slowly becoming an important part of our energy mix. Meralco is keen on leveraging its expertise in this area, through our RE subsidiary, Spectrum.
This spirit of exploration and risk-taking is a mindset I believe we – our business partners, entrepreneurs, and our government – can all benefit from. Aside from improving our competitiveness, it can make our economic policies more inclusive of all Filipinos.
CREATING THE BEST PACKAGES
Never underestimate the power of an image. As Century Properties Group Chairman and Special Envoy to the US Jose E.B. Antonio demonstrates, the images he captures in his travel photography have the power to change our perspectives on countries, cultures, places, and people.
Projecting the right image is a challenge faced by every government in the world since time immemorial. Certainly, it’s a challenge Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez must address in the coming months, given the issues surrounding labor contractualization. At stake is nothing less than the foreign investment potential of the Philippines, not to mention the sustainability of local enterprises.
Image certainly influences the way we see the products we buy. Good packaging, for example, can project an image of purity, quality and good value for money. This is why manufacturers of every kind of product want to partner with state-of-the-art packaging companies such as Shrinkpack, to give their brands that extra level of competitive advantage.
We at Meralco also understand the importance of packaging electric distribution with value-added services. That’s why we provide continuous support and technical consultation to our corporate customers like San Beda College Alabang, helping them maximize their power usage while minimizing energy costs.
In the long run, we’re working toward a future where the entire energy value chain can start, and not just end, with the consumer. Meralco is already rolling out advanced metering infrastructure that will allow residential and commercial customers to better monitor their power consumption, and even become part of the energy production system. It’s a way of packaging our services so that our customers get the assurance of quality in the power they pay for.