I had a fun short vacation in Misamis Occidental - in the cities of Ozamiz and Oroquieta. It was more like a business trip really and in that short time, I was able to come up with some suggestions on how development can quickly come to these second and third tier cities and make them really competitive against other more developed neighboring cities like Cagayan de Oro.
Since my businesses are mainly online, the Internet speed of the province still has to be improved immensely. I had difficulty doing my downloading and putting ads since the process kept fluctuating and it took ages to post something. Also, as the night deepened, it was almost impossible to do any work online. If the Internet companies there can only make it faster, like Metro Manila fast - the province can invite more businesses which have online presence.
I was even mulling on putting a satellite office there, since rent and wages are very reasonable, but the Internet speed is just too slow to do any work. I hope that can be fixed immediately.
Another problem area is the electricity which keeps fluctuating. Brownouts happen sporadically so many establishments had generators. That would be extra gastos for businessmen like me who do not need that extra expense. One had to stay in a hotel with a generator, otherwise, one had to sleep in darkness or not get any work done - which can piss off any businessman.
Infrastructure is ok and it was quick to travel to and fro both cities. There is a daily flight to Manila and there are buses north and south of the cities. The roads are also well-maintained so if logistics is your business, it would be no problem.
As for the people, I think one can find capable people there who can do 'mind work' like writing and content writing. As long as they are trainable, there would be no problem.
Anyhow, these are just some of my suggestions on how development can push the province and its cities to get more businesses to put up shop there.
