GENERAL SANTOS CITY—One of the country’s most dynamic subregions–and home to world boxing champion and congressman Manny Pacquiao—will kick off the 1st SOCCSKSARGEN Business Summit on July 28 with the opening of the USWAG Trade Fair 2011 here at the Gaisano Mall Atrium.

The USWAG Trade Fair will showcase agriculture products and tourism sites and services, said Cherrylin Espinosa, president of the Sarangani Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the event’s lead organizer.

The acronym SOCCSKSARGEN stands for four Mindanao provinces and a city: South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City. Other cities in this subregion are Koronadal, Cotabato City, Kidapawan, and Tacurong.

“Congressman Manny Pacquiao is expected at the business summit’s main opening at the Phela Grande Convention Center on July 29,” said Espinosa. “He’s a great crowd drawer, and we’re very happy to have him promoting investment in our area.”

The summit is organized in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Sarangani provincial government, with support from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the U.S. Agency for International Development, through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program. The GEM Program is implemented under the oversight of the Mindanao Development Authority.

Summit plenary sessions will focus on tourism investment, including medical tourism; doing business under free trade agreements; and achieving a sustainable business environment.

SOCCSKSARGEN is home to the agro-industrial hub of General Santos City, and has a highly competitive export sector, Espinosa pointed out.

She added that a summit highlight will be the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Sarangani chamber and the Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, which should serve to introduce innovative agricultural technologies to the subregion.

The Sarangani chamber, a relatively young business support organization (BSO), is already helping to mentor seven smaller chambers at the municipal level, and recently added 20 more individual businesspeople to its members list.

Like several other Mindanao chambers of commerce, Sarangani seeks to attract trade and investment at the subregional level.

“Increasingly, these chambers are taking the lead in facilitating the entry of investment into their areas,” said Marlon Libot, team leader for BSO development of the GEM Program, which works with PCCI to build up the institutional capability of Mindanao chambers and industry associations.

“PCCI encourages us to build up links with other chambers and agencies, and to leverage our efforts” Espinosa said. “We also focus our investment promotion, which this year is concentrated on the European Union and South Korean markets.”

The SOCCSKSARGEN Business Summit will also include visits to industrial sites and popular tourist stops, such as Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, and white sand beach resorts in Sarangani.GEM

MAITUM, Sarangani (July 24, 2011) – Maitum chief of police PInsp. Jeofrey Ega Sanchez (2nd from right) and Kabalikat Maitum president Perfecto Narvaez (right) give food to school children during the feeding program of PNP Maitum and Kabalikat Maitum in coordination with the local government unit at Tuanadatu Elementary School Wednesday, July 20. (Afren de Guzman/MAITUM INFORMATION OFFICE)