Envisioning a thriving biz community in Pasay City
Credit to Author: YUGEL LOSORATA| Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2019 16:20:18 +0000
BUILDING a community where businesses flourish entails empowering its residents and providing tax incentives to entrepreneurs.
This is what Edward Togonon envisions for his beloved Pasay City, which he served as its prosecutor for 14 years. And if given the chance, he would do exactly that.
“Big companies in a city should give priority to employing its locals. Why not make use of your manpower before looking elsewhere?” he asked.
Togonon is eyeing the post of Pasay mayor under the banner of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in the May midterm elections. He is doing so after assuming important leadership positions during his career: first president of the Pasay City Prosecutors League; president of Chief Prosecutors Association Inc.; and two-time president of the National Prosecutors League of the Philippines.
As proven by his dedication to his work — for which he received the “Outstanding Prosecutor” award thrice—envisioning is a serious business for a man who recently retired from the Department of Justice. He did not choose to enjoy his retirement sitting pretty, but felt the urge to complete what he sees is unfinished business for the people in his city.
“Job generation is an [issue] we care about, among others like peace and order, housing, seniors’ welfare and health care,” Togonon said. “Livelihood projects for the poor, as guided by Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) is of utmost importance.”
Given that part of Pasay City is in the Manila Bay area, the Iloilo province-raised father of two sees the privilege of having a good location as pathway to being valued as among the “business-friendly cities” in the metropolis.
For him, a harmonious relationship between business owners and the local government is possible if the latter offers tax incentives, with the aim to show the former that the city sees them as partners in city-building. In this scenario, taxmen play their part as ensurers of public commitment toward the city’s improvement.
“This can be achieved, as we should open doors to more businesses in the city. Let’s give chance to those types of businesses that can help in the promotion of our city as a business district,” the soft-spoken Togonon said.
“It is not bad to take the lead from other cities that [succeeded in boosting] their town in the business community…” he pointed out.
“As we live in the internet age, connectivity is a valuable element in creating a modern community. That is why providing Wi-Fi connection in strategic places is a must.”
Well, this former prosecutor has now positioned himself for more entrepreneurial talk. He clearly means business.
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