Justin Villanueva

Panay ‘Recovery Blues’ & the Typhoon known as “Frank” Panay: the heart-shaped island located in Western Visayas; known more for its city, Iloilo, its vacation hotspots of Boracay, & Guimaras, as well as its food- ‘batchoy’ from Lapaz, the pancit from Molo, and the ever favorite ‘biscocho’. For The Company’s PRODUCT Distribution, it’s supposedly the bastion where Primary volumes are concerned. Coming from its 2004 launching, Panay as a “viable business area” had been moving up in terms of volumes, from 2004 to 2006, with its performance increasing with leaps and bounds, beginning at around 10,000 cases for its 2004 volume performance, and ending at around almost 61,000 cases by end of 2006- quite a mean feat from such a young upstart. Then came 2007: a seriously challenging year for almost all businesses- volumes went on a dive, people came and went, operations and businesses struggled. From Back-Office sales, AR issues, to manpower problems and issues with The Principal, Panay had it all; it definitely wasn’t for the faint of heart. Yet with everything going against it, resiliency and the drive to bounce back was foremost amongst everyone’s psyche in Panay’s Business Centre. It may have been a matter of saving face, or of being sensitive to being called the ‘sick man of the Visayas’, so to speak (even with its approximately 31% contribution to total Visayas Regional Volumes), but it was imperative that action- and thus, rectification, had to be done. Survival was paramount, what with the specter of potentially going down and folding up: a grim reality to everyone. 2008 then, became the year for the needed ‘turn-around’: various route reconfigurations, manpower changes, day-to-day focus on volumes, and collection of ‘receivables’-- back to basics, with the major focus of taking the business to be at par, or even higher, to its 2006 peak volumes. It has been no walk in the park, given the pressures and daily challenges (not to mention frayed nerves, and the sometimes “heated exchanges of viewpoints” characterizing the will and passion to “get things done”), but it was a matter of just doing it. Thus, the First Quarter of this year proved that, hand-in-hand and with the proper mindset, change can and will occur. Panay was on to a potential ‘banner Second Quarter’, when tragedy struck: Tropical Storm ‘Fengshen’ (Chinese: “Wind God”)- popularly known as Typhoon Frank, made landfall and hit the shores of Western Visayas during the 21st of June, 2008, with the whole of Panay coming under a State of Emergency. In the throes of calamity, flash floods and landslides were a reality- from knocked down trees & electric posts, to houses, cars, and livestock being swept away by raging shoulder-high waters; it was a harsh wake-up call by Nature: thousands were evacuated to schools, baranggay halls, and gymnasiums for shelter, albeit make-shift. Most of the major areas and business centers in the island were affected- our very own sub-depot in Kalibo, Aklan almost obliterated by knee-high mud, raging flood and rainwater. Curiously though, what can be deemed as ‘miraculous’ is Panay’s roster of personnel being intact, with no major injuries whatsoever. Oftentimes, it has been said that it takes adversity to bring people closer, and gain strength from each other- this was a fitting example. Though with the outpouring of support from each other as well as help from Head Office, other depots, subsidiaries, sister firms, and even our mother company The Corp., what could have been a bleak aftermath was reverted into something quite positive and reassuring- our deepest and unending gratitude to all. Thus, coming out of the storm, Panay’s back on track, enduring- having been able to pull up its act a bit, as well as relatively be “on the black” meantime. Focus to maintaining its newfound confidence and building from its small successes is now the direction, with the heavy challenge of doing positively well for the remainder of the year. For many in Panay, this year has been quite a ride- and with everything that has been experienced and gained, an eye-opener of sorts.