INVEST IN PEOPLE

“After all, the people have all the infinite possibilities of creating something out of everything, even out of nothing.”

Tourism is a booming industry.  With the availability of unlimited access to information, improvement of of public infrastructure, affordable travel cost and highly competitive travel packages, people love and are more than willing to visit places, people and events.

Just this morning, over cups of coffee, I had the chance to have discussion with the number councilor of our town, Engr. Alan Calalas and two of his office staff Ondoy and Dave.  We talked about diverse topics under the sun.  What was seemed obvious in our chit-chat session was our common interest of finding means and ways on how to promote our beloved locality.

We talked from sports as means of promoting the municipality, to finding tourists spots to develop, to making agriculture as a way of making the town popular, to clearing/cleaning  the right of ways especially along major thoroughfares to impress visitors and investors, to making assurance that water and sewerages should be managed well, among others.  And the list goes on, and on, and on.

Until one mentioned the promotion of people.  A struck on the bell of my mind keep on ringing until I’ve made the proposition that if, for the time being, we do not have much product and services to offer as a means of promoting tourism, why not invest in people.

Without fear of argument, I believe and stand by my conviction that by investing to develop the people, these same people will create, recreate and innovate products and services that will surely have tourism potentials, thereby promoting the locality and harnessing their respective possibilities.

My partner in the office, Soy-soy, suggested that I need to present examples for profound a understanding on how should these create, recreate and innovate be done.   I have reservation to make any because not every locality has the same repository and set of people potentials.  Besides, I don’t have the monopoly of opinion here.  Honestly, there are number of personalities around who have greater familiarity on how to place this idea the way it should be.

While development proposition, formulation, authority and approval reside on the mandate of government offices and the people therein, elected or career/appointed, it would be proper and appropriate for LGUs to invest on developing, enhancing and mobilizing the knowledge and skills of the people within their respective jurisdiction.  After all, the people have all the infinite possibilities of creating something out of everything, even out of nothing.

In conclusion, I will leave the provocation of thoughts and imaging to all the warm bodies, in the local government units and the private sector, to think and act how to put in place policies and programs that will surely develop people.  With high optimism, my faith is strong enough to convince me that this belief of people-centered development direction is the most viable and productive development option of the time.

And the right time is now.