Man behind many ‘firsts’

May 19, 2015

 

By Lito U. Gagni

Dr. Cezar T. Quiambao is a visionary who has accomplished many firsts in the annals of the country’s economic development.  He set up the country’s first infra Public-Private Partnership project, the $514-million Metro Manila Skyway project  and its companion $57-million Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) tollway that resulted in an unprecedented  economic boom in areas south of Metro Manila.

The vision for that Skyway resulted from an observation he had whenever he returned to Manila from his comfort zone in Indonesia, which, by the time, already had multilevel roadways in the 1990s. Ever desirous of seeing through the economic development of the Philippines, he conceptualized the project in partnership with Indonesia’s infrastructure behemoth, Citra.

Dr. Quiambao’s partnership with Citra came easy. After all, he distinguished himself in the construction industry in Indonesia for 14 years, culminating with a feather in his cap: overseeing the construction of the Lhoksumawe airfield that Mobil Oil put up for the world’s largest natural-gas processing complex in Sumatra.

Another notable first that Dr. Quiambao accomplished, this time in IT is the government computerization project in the Land Transportation Office that not only resulted in the instant processing of driver’s licenses but which banished corruption altogether in that agency. The Build-Operate-Own computerization project was done through Stradcom Corp., which he domiciled in his hometown Bayambang, Pangasinan, in turn transforming that sleepy third-class town to a first-class city via the tax contributions of the company.

It was this out-of-the-box thinking that Cezar, a certified public accountant, applied whenever he tinkered with the status quo. For instance, while being employed in a huge pharmaceutical firm in the Philippines, he tinkered with a product’s packaging that resulted in millions of savings.

And so, when he chanced upon the fact that Guam residents come to the Philippines for their medical treatment, he conceptualized the establishment of a tertiary hospital in that US territory and initiated the setting up of the Guam Regional Medical City, which is due to open this year. It is because of this contribution that Guam named Dr. Quiambao, now a director of that medical facility, an ambassador-at-Large.

Dr. Quiambao’s altruistic bent stemmed from his desire to pay it forward. Having achieved much, he sought to better the quality of life of his townmates by putting up the CSF Rural Bank of Bayambang, which lends to would-be entrepreneurs. On top of this, he sponsors through his foundation livelihood programs for the poor so they can be gainfully employed. It is in making their lives better that Cezar derives much pleasure.

Aside from various accolades though, Dr. Quiambao treasures one that the Polytechnic University of the Philippines accorded him, a Doctorate of Humanities degree for the visionary zeal with which he shepherded the accomplishment of various  ground-breaking projects in the Philippines.

Helping the poor in Pangasinan

December 27, 2015

Lito Gagni

IT entrepreneur Dr. Cezar T. Quiambao has emerged in the forefront of equipping the poorest of the poor in Bayambang, Pangasinan, with tools to better their lot and with their self-worth intact, their imagination fired up and their lives turning for the better. 

Started three years ago, through the offer of scholarships initially to the families of the Pantawid Pamilya, the government cash-transfer program, the skills training courses, in conjunction with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), has already seen 7,000 graduates from the course offerings.

In one graduation ceremony three months ago at the Royal Mall in Bayambang, Pangasinan, some of the graduates, mostly on certificate courses related to tourism like housekeeping, already had ready employers hiring them on the spot. It turned out that there are two big hotels that were just completed and the tourism entities were just as eager to poach from the graduating batch.

Quiambao, a known philanthropist who has a ready heart in helping the poor and the downtrodden, said he thought of the program after several attempts at bettering the lot of the poor families in his municipality, failed. He realized later on that it is by teaching them new skills that they become employable and even emerge as entrepreneurs themselves.

The advocacy program is lodged with the Kasama Ka sa Barangay Foundation and in keeping with his IT involvement, one of the skills-training courses offered include personal computer assembly and dis assembly, networking, reformatting, installation and operating system and hands-on PC operating Excel, Word and Power Point presentations.

Those who finish the course later on have to pass the Tesda exams to have their certifications. These certifications are what the graduates present to their employers. The program includes the hiring of IT experts and personality development trainers that the foundation marshals for their skills.

Other courses offered by the training school of the KKBFI are Micro-Small, & Medium Entrepreneurship Training, Computer Hardware Servicing, Reflexology, Cosmetology, Ventosa, Swedish, Thai Massage, Hair cutting, Manicure/Pedicure, Hair and Scalp Treatment, Food Processing (buro and other products), RAC Servicing (DomRac), Electrical Installation and Maintenance, and Housekeeping.

It is Quiambao’s dream to see the graduates of the program become businessmen themselves and he takes pride in the fact that there are now a handful of the first graduates who now have their own hotel and resort facilities that they manage.

In fact, the training school has been attracting not just the poor; he told me that at one time, a 70-year old man enlisted to know the massage techniques. Quiambao said the man used his newfound skill on his ailing wife who had to undergo daily massage therapies. Now, he no longer had to pay a masseuse as he now can do what his wife needed.

Quiambao, dubbed the local boy who made good, has been dabbling in this kind of advocacy, the kind that ensures inclusive growth that is now the new buzzword all over the world. Inclusive growth means providing a platform for the poor to level up their lives by way of education.

The United Nations, India, the United States, and emerging countries have come up with their own versions of inclusive growth and by far what has emerged is that of making the poor learn new skills and even about finance so that they do not fall victim to pyramid scams and the like.

When the program was launched in partnership with the DSWD regional office, Quiambao, challenged the beneficiaries to find ways to improve their living by graduating from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program as this is not a permanent assistance from the government.

It was after the Memorandum of Agreement was signed between DSWD and his foundation that Quiambao mentioned that this public-private partnership contributes to the inclusive growth among the poor and marginalized individuals, giving them equal opportunities.

With the way the graduates of the program have been acing their interviews and getting their job offers, it is not far fetch to assume that similar programs could be replicated in other municipalities in Pangasinan.

Quiambao, who was one of those who returned to the province from their foreign business engagements during the Ramos administration, has been trying to come up with concepts on how to make the poor improve their lives. For him, it is in sharing that one’s life.

Date of Birth: November 17, 1948

Place of Birth: Bayambang, Pangasinan

Education: University of the East, Accountancy (1969)

Profession: Certified Public Accountant

Work Experience: Over 3 decades of executive experience in various industrial activities, infrastructure and development projects, information technology applications, management knowhow and corporate planning, and banking, finance and investments

Former Executive Vice-President of PT Green Timber Jaya, a leading timber company in Indonesia (1977)

Former Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Alliance Development Corp.

Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Stradcom Corp.

Landmark Projects:

2008 Automated Elections of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao

LTO-IT Stradcom project

Land Registration Authority’s land titling computerization project

Metro Manila Skyway project – a groundbreaking project worth USD514M and a pioneer in utilizing the Build, Own and Transfer (BOT) scheme between the government and private sector

Other project:

Put up the CSF Rural Bank of Bayambang to provide microfinancing programs that help small entrepreneurs

Award:

Recipient of the prestigious Asna Award for Business (2014) given out by the provincial government of Pangasinan to select achievers