About Us
ABOUT US
INTRODUCTION
The Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Camber) is a non-stock and non-profit voluntary organization of businessmen and professionals working together to foster and promote private sector initiative toward business development in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Province and nearby areas.
Oro Chamber was organized in December 1982 with an initial membership of 25 businessmen and registered with SEC in 1985. The Oro Chamber has taken the role as the Voice of Business in Northern Mindanao thru regular dialogues with the public and private sectors. The Oro Chamber has widened and scaled its reach overseas thru trade missions and business trips abroad — forging bilateral agreements and linkages with foreign chambers of commerce.
Oro Chamber is the first recipient of the Hall of Fame Award as the country’s Most Outstanding Chambers of Commerce for three consecutive years.
OUR
MISSION
To promote and safeguard the interests of business through the free enterprise.
OUR
OBJECTIVES
To help create a more conducive environment for business in Metro Cagayan de Oro; to enhance the productivity of member firms; to expand the coverage of Metro Cagayan de Oro business community in the local, regional, national and global markets; to be the most influential voice of business in Northern Mindanao.
HISTORY OF
ORO CHAMBER
The ORO CHAMBER was first organized in December 1982 by a convenor group of 25 firms. On 29 October 1985, the ORO CHAMBER that is known today was formally established. On this day, under the Registry Certificate No. 12944, the CAGAYAN DE ORO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY FOUNDATION, INC. was listed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
1982… the Regional Governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dante Sarraga, called a meeting in order to organize a chamber of commerce here in Cagayan de Oro.
This first gathering, then known as the Group of 25 all felt that, for a long time, the city and the province of Misamis Oriental needed an organization of businessmen that can articulate the problems and issues affecting business.
Elected as charter president was the late Virgilio Neri.
The following year, the Oro Chamber displayed its pioneering spirit as it organized and hosted the 1st Conference on Cottage, Small and Medium Industries at the VIP Hotel.
However, the demise of Pres. Neri later that year left a void in the leadership of this fledgling organization. But the dream refused to die and, on October 1984, a new Board of Directors was installed and elected then as president was Aldrico T. Manus.
Then, on February 18, 2986, the Oro Chamber signed a partnership with Handwerskskammer Kassel and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce for its inclusion to the Philippine-German Chamber Cooperation Program.
This program provided training, advisory, equipment and financial subsidy to both chambers. On September of 1987, the first Secretary General of the Oro Chamber was hired in the person of Mr. Nestor Abanil.
What was originally designed to be a 3-year Assistance Program turned into 7. The Oro Chamber that we know today is the crowning achievement of the Philippine-German Chamber Cooperation Program or PGCCP.
Succeeding in 1988, the newly elected president, Guido Alfredo Delgado, completed what Pres. Manus set out to do for a period of 4 years. Taking over as Secretary General for a period of 2 years was Mr. Ramid Gualberto.
Pres. Delgado kept the chamber at the forefront of lobbying on the issued that affected or benefited the business community.
It was the new Secretary General, Mr. Mariz Maniel Agbon who took over the management of the chamber in May 1991 and paved the way in further professionalizing the services of the chamber. Then, on November 1991, the chamber saw the realization of yet another bigger dream ’96 the completion of the master plan for the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor.
On August 1992, the newly-elected president Arsenio Bobby Sebastian led the Oro Chamber in the 1st Mindanao Business Conference here in Cagayan de Oro. Close to 400 delegated attended with His Excellency President Fidel Ramos as Guest Speaker.
The Succeeding years marked the unfathomed growth of the Oro Chamber as it improved its services to include the organization of business conferences, trade missions, management seminars and the conduct of market research studies.
For 2 consecutive years, in 1993 and 1994, then elected Pres. Jesus Emmanuel Paras received on behalf of the Oro Chamber, the distinguished award as the MOST OUTSTANDING CHAMBER IN THE PHILIPPINES, given by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
During the incumbency of the new president, Eduardo “Bong” Pelaez in 1995, the Oro Chamber experienced unprecedented growth. Pres. Pelaez led the organization with the development of the beef cattle industry in Mindanao.
It was also in that same year when President Bong received the Hall of Fame award from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In 1996, the new chamber president, Roberto “Bob” Togle, received the chamber’s partnership with Handwerskskammer Kassel with the implementation of the Regional Chamber Development Program (RCDP).
Its specific beneficiaries include the Iligan, Butuan, Ozamis and Bukidnon Chambers of Commerce.
By 1997, the new chamber president, Arturo Mercader, together with then Acting Secretary General Marilou Flores, continued its outreach program through a new project with PEARL-CIDA dubbed as the Regional Chamber Strengthening Development Program.
Engr. Jose M. Belen, who took over the presidency in 1999 , together with the new Secretary Generay, Ma. Teresa Alegrio, revived the ORO SERVICE CENTER, a project between the Oro Chamber and SWISSCONTACT. Under this project, over one thousand (1,000) SME’s were given retooling and capability building programs. Another breakthrough is the selection of ORO CHAMBER as a public registration authority under the WORLD INTERNET SECURE ELECTRONIC KEY (WISEKEY) of Switzerland. Under this project, the ORO CHAMBER will be the first Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines to issue digital signatures and certificates under E-Commerce.