Panganiban, a council member of the Cebu City Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the newly formed Creative Council, has stated that a turnover of P30 billion for the entertainment industry by 2030 is well within reach.
In Japan, Cebu is famous for its resort islands and English language schools. In addition to these tourism and service industries, manufacturing, mainly for export, is actually a major industry. There are many Japanese-affiliated companies, including Mitsumi (semiconductors and electronic components), Tamiya (plastic models) and the Tsuneishi Shipyard in Balamban on Cebu's west coast, which has an annual shipbuilding capacity of 30 vessels.
In recent years, Cebu has been focusing on business process outsourcing (BPO) such as call centers, and the IT Park in Cebu City's special economic zone is lined with brand new buildings housing such companies.
However, these call center operations are likely to be replaced by AI in the future.
Perhaps because of this, Panganiban's argument is to develop the creative industry as a new industry.
The creative industries are aiming to generate sales of P3 billion by disseminating original content, mainly animation, games development, films and music, to the world through social media.
This creative industry seems to be a good fit for Filipinos, who like to have fun, whether it be karaoke or dancing.
It may not be long before Cebu Island becomes Cebu Wood, next to Hollywood and Bollywood.
I personally hope that this will happen.
