LAST Tuesday, June 30, Bicol Mail editor Joe Perez and BM senior reporter cum Philippine Daily Inquirer correspondent Juan Escandor Jr. motored to Pili town to get a close shot of the beehive of activities that are humming in among the different car sales and service centers that have anchored their operations in the capital town, which many have tagged, and unmistakably so, as the emerging automotive hub of Bicol.
Pili, a first class municipality of 82,307 people (as of 2010 census) is the premier town of Camarines Sur where five of the world’s leading car brands have put up their car sales and service centers, with two more relocating here in a year or so from their erstwhile comfort zones in Naga City where they had first put up their showrooms and sales and service centers.
A quick trip led us to a face-to-face interview with Mr. Felix ‘Boggie’ Gumabao, the primus inter pares of car salesmen in Bicol who holds the distinction of orchestrating in perfect harmony the distinct goals, strategies and product lines of four distinct auto brands under his single baton as general manager.
A graduate of Ateneo de Naga (HS Batch 1971)and Ateneo de Manila University (for his college studies), Boggie, as he is popularly known, is a native of Baao, Camarines Sur. He has since settled his family in a cool farm house in upland Naga, a perfect refuge after a day’s hard work.
Following are excerpts of our straightforward, no-holds-barred Q & A interview:
Bicol Mail : Where was your earlier assignment before Honda Pili (Camarines Sur)?
GM Boggie Gumabao: I worked with Mitsubishi Motors of the Philippines Corporation for 27 years and retired in 2006 as VP Industrial Relations Division and VP Marketing as prior assignment. I came to Naga City as General Manager at Caleb Motors for Mitsubishi and Hyundai Motors but had to retire in 2012 due to health reasons. After recovering from a major surgical operation, I was in no time hired to lead Honda Motors in Pili, Camarines Sur, whose local franchise owners later put up the Bicol branches for Subaru, Foton, and Chevrolet Motors that I was also tasked to handle as general manager.
BM: Why did you choose Pili over Naga in putting up your car sales and service centers?
Gumabao: First, the property value in Pili is much cheaper than Naga. There are very few property considerations in Naga that are conducive for an automotive concern. Burgeoning traffic is also becoming a problem in Naga City. Moreover, there are positive signs for attractive tax holidays in Pili than in Naga. We also see that property taxes are much cheaper in Pili, which is a municipality. Our location along a highway in Pili is also a vantage point compared to a likely crowded location in Naga.
BM: And why did you choose Camarines Sur over other provinces in the Bicol Region?
Gumabao: Camarines Sur, along with Naga City as the urban center, is a center of trade, commerce and trading, and education. It has the largest population base. Aside from its continuing progressive growth, Camarines Sur is strategically located both in terms of “terrain” and the availability of major players in the auto financing industry with the presence of more banks and other financial institutions.
Terrain here means that the locality is comparatively less prone to floods and other disastrous natural calamities. For one thing, we do not have here an erupting volcano, or a threatening tidal wave as Pili is far from the sea.
BM: What are the leading car brands that have so far located their businesses in Pili?
Gumabao: Not to mention Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet, Subaru, Foton, Isuzu, and upcoming Nissan and Mitsubishi, we heard that Ford (located in Naga) and Mazda are just waiting for the right time to move to Pili, thus completing the town’s title as truly the “automotive-hub” of the Bicol Region.
BM: Do you get tax incentives from the Pili municipal government?
Gumabao: Yes, as part of the town’s economic package of incentives for New Business Locators.
BM: It has been argued that locating these car sales and service centers in Pili does not do harm to Naga as car buyers anyway will have to transact business with banks in Naga which in turn remit business tax payments to the Naga City government. Is this true?
Gumabao: Partly yes, simply because of bank’s auto loan approval. But this does equate better total revenue potentials for the city. In terms of real estate taxes, that will be a big loss to Naga. Income are also lost in unrealized municipal sales tax, business permits, and realty tax remittances of the locators. We have to understand taxation to say this. As added information, the yearly growth of the automotive industry has been pegged at no less than 20% during the past three (3) years. That’s a lot of progressive money in terms of taxes paid.
BM: On the average, how many units of cars of various types and models are sold every month by car sales centers in both Pili and Naga combined?
Gumabao: As reported, around 300 to 400 units are sold to buyers from throughout Bicol and outside the region. This does not include the after sales service and the employment equity and taxes that the industry is contributing to the Bicol regional economy.
BM: Would you know from what province come the most number of vehicle buyers?
Gumabao: From Camarines Sur and Albay provinces, in that order.
BM: What are the top three leading brands in both Naga and Pili in terms of unit sales?
Gumabao: Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai, in that order. Our dealerships (Honda, Chevrolet, Foton, Subaru) are up-coming to be the new players in the market. But you have not asked which among the key players are making the most profit (Laughs).
BM: Do you think there are enough rooms for more automotive brands to locate in Pili and Camarines Sur?
Gumabao: Yes, definitely, challenges should be a healthy competition. “Pa-guarapohan na lang.” The latest technologies in the automotive world are not privy among ourselves. They are practically the same, and of the best standard vis-à-vis the costs. It’s a matter of how you handle them to your advantage. As my former Japanese mentor, Senjie Endo, whom we fondly tease as an “Automotive Shogun,” would tell us: the use of common sense (CS) is vital in attracting clients to a product that one sells.
BM: This question must have been asked earlier: Is business doing well in the automotive sales in Bicol?
Gumabao: Yes, business is good but capital investment must be substantial. There is a saying in automotive parlance that for as long as there are roads, we will be here to stay since the lifetime responsibility of a manufacturer is that once somebody buys our car, our responsibility extends for as long as that car stays on the road, whoever the owner is. If a manufacturer of a brand cannot maintain this culture of existence, he does not have the business to be a part of the automotive world.
BM: Do you think we have enough roads for these vehicles?
Gumabao: Well, that is not my line to say or to make a comment on. Road mobility and infrastructure are the responsibilities of the government who are at the helm of development.
BM: Is the after-sales car service aspect also doing well despite the mushrooming of small-time or road side auto repair shops throughout Bicol?
Gumabao: Yes, all are contributory to the business, the 5-star after sales and the service shops found “under the mango tree.” But the latter do not have the expertise and special diagnostics equipment to examine their vehicle the proper way. As it turns out, it’s more expensive to have your car repaired in shops that are considered traditional and “under the mango tree.”
BM: How many skilled laborers and auto mechanics do you think have been hired by automotive sales and service centers?
Gumabao: Each plant has an average of 10-20 skilled workers, plus the social dimensions of training OJTs from the universities which guarantee that if an OJT performs well, a regular job will be waiting for him. Many of those who started as OJT in our plant have ultimately been hired by us. Which reminds me of an idea I floated about establishing a four-year college course in automotive with a local university as partner while our plants with its modern equipment and facilities to serve as laboratories or workshops for the students.
BM: Are their salaries competitive?
Gumabao: Yes. Yes. Eventually, they will be a bit higher than those Manila rate based on their skills and performance, where the most important ingredient is “Attitude.”
BM: Do you think Pili and Naga will soon accommodate sales and service centers for high-end car models? When would be that time?
Gumabao: Yes of course. It’s just a matter of timing, as we already have them as early as “yesterday.”
BM: Is there no conflict if you handle more than two brands in terms of selling and marketing?
Gumabao: No, each brand has its own market niche; each brand has its unique organization, focused on the needs of the brand. You just have to keep their identity as a brand and its culture.
BM: Are you happy with your job?
Gumabao. Obviously, yes! It is my passion. My passion statement is, “Love what you’re doing! Do it with passion at all times.” This is the culture that I have been inculcating in the minds of my team members, “Do it with passion or else you don’t belong to my organization.”