A for ACPACI and Annual National Convention (ANC)
The Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce and Industry (ACPACI) successfully held its 2013 Annual National Convention (ANC) last September 19 – 22, 2013 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in the Queen City of the South, Cebu City.
The convention formally opened on September 19 with Ms. Grizelda Sanchez, Provincial Board Member of Cebu, delivering the keynote address and sharing her reflections on this year’s theme, “Rising to the Challenge.” She candidly confessed to the delegates present at the convention that being there and speaking before the distinguished and successful accountants in the country was a “rising to the challenge” experience for her in itself. She was there as an alternate and was speaking on behalf of Cebu Governor Hilario P. Davide III who couldn’t join the event.
ACPACI President, Ms. Connie Cadelina, welcomed all the delegates (both from Manila and Cebu) and guests with this year’s ANC Chair, Ms. Liza Glodoviza, declaring the opening of the convention with a symbolic gong. The re-known San Diego Dancers of Cebu, dressed in their glittering costumes, provided entertainment with their Sinulog themed dance numbers. The event was also graced by PICPA President, Ms. Violeta Josef and PICPA National and Cebu Chapter Officers.
R for Radisson Blu Hotel
The convention venue, Radisson Blu Hotel, is the only five-star hotel in Cebu and it provides deluxe accommodation with incredible scenic city and Mactan Canal views. It is a stone throw away from SM City Cebu, the 11th largest mall in the world. The hotel has a plush, comfortable rooms with thoughtful amenities including the weighing scale inside the bathroom, the flat iron and ironing board inside the closet (very convenient because in other hotels, these features are not available, and they’ll charge you an arm and a leg for pressing your clothes, at Radisson Blu you could do your own ironing in the comfort of your room) and the free Wi-fi and high speed internet access available throughout the hotel premises. The delegates dined at the hotel’s hot spot, the Feria restaurant, which offers a wide selection of dishes, soups, a gamut of bread and cheese and compotes, salads and desserts.
T for Technical Sessions
High on the convention agenda was the varied technical sessions the Association has lined up for the attendees that would help them keep abreast with the trends and updates necessary in their careers and professional development as well as in their personal well-being.
For day one, the first technical session the topic tackled was Ensuring Compliance: New Tax Regulations by Atty. Jonathan P. Capanas, Dean of the College of Law of the University of San Jose-Recoletos. Atty. Capanas spoke about the newest tax updates, new BIR tax implementation, and how private businesses could be compliant with their statutory responsibilities in the face of these new tax regulations. In the second technical session, Punongbayan & Araullo Partner, Mr. Romualdo V. Murcia, gave a lecture on Keeping Abreast with PFRS and its Impact on Tax Rules to the attendees, he discussed the impact of PFRS on old and recent tax rules and clarified some grey areas of these new pronouncements.
S for Sky Adventure
After the technical sessions, the participants sojourned at the Crown Regency Hotel for the fellowship dinner themed: Experiencing “The Sky Adventure.” The Crown Regency Hotel, having 38 floors, is the tallest building in Cebu and outside Metro Manila. The delegates literally experienced the sky when they tried the extreme rides offered by Crown Regency – the Skywalk, the Edge Coaster and the Tower Zip.
Many of the adventurous ACPACIans had a bit of adrenalin rush throughout the “sky walk” on the edge of the glass platform on the 38th floor of the building. Dressed in their orangey jumpsuits, complete with contraptions and harnesses, they did different poses, shots done by their photographer and the guide accompanying them. They had a 360 degrees view of Cebu City that night as they walked around the edge. The others tried the Edge Coaster. They sat on a coaster that revolves around the edge of the building and automatically tilts upon take off. But you could adjust the tilt to your liking afterwards. The fear factor of this ride was you’d be looking 37 floors down of the building and you also have a 360 degrees skewed view of the City. Not a brave soul tried the Tower zip. This ride involves a short trip while hanging to a line in Superman pose zipping from one tower to the other and then zipping back again.
These extreme rides are not for the faint hearted, but they sure are fun and extreme rolled into one and a must-try at least once in a lifetime because “you only live once.” The 4-D cinemas were very realistic (complete with squirting water and strong "winds"), and were exciting and heart pumping enough for those who opted to skip the sky adventure.
Z for Zumba
The delegates worked out and “zumba-ed” their way to health and fitness as early as 6 a.m. on day two before facing the busy day ahead of them.
T for Technical Sessions part 2
The whole morning of September 20, 2013 was dedicated to another set of relevant and enriching technical sessions for the ACPACIans. Mr. Hansley See, CEO of Solvento Philippines, Inc. lectured about the Reshaping of ERP Landscape and presented the essentials to understand ERP softwares and their benefits and how the technology and business intelligence could aid the accountants in finding solutions and mechanism for improvements in their respective companies and industry. The last two sessions were intended for the personal development and well-being of the ACPACI members. Mr. Alan P. Joseph, President of the Cebu Business Club tackled the topic Evolving Entrepreneurial Mindset to the participants while Dr. Russell V. Makiling, Psychologist, dwell on the topic Striking Work-Family Life Balance and gave pointers to the accountants, in spite of their busy and stressful (at times) careers, on how to achieve and maintain work and family life balance.
C for Cebu City tour
After listening to a series of technical sessions the whole morning, the delegates rested their heads via a short jaunt to the City and engaged in a cultural enrichment and anthropological (read: shopping) activities. Their first stop was the Alegre Guitar Factory in Lapu-Lapu City. Cebu is home of the best guitar craftsmen in the Philippines and in the world. Their guitars are durable, affordable and of great quality. They have a guitar showroom and at the time of the visit, there were shop workers present and one could get a glimpse on how guitars are made. ACPACIans bought mementoes like guitar shaped key chains and refrigerator magnets and other keepsakes in a souvenir shop inside the factory. Next in the agenda was the trip to Lapu-Lapu Monument also called as Mactan Shrine.
L for Lapu-Lapu
For a dose of history, they paid a visit to the Mactan Shrine where the 20 meter (66 ft.) long bronze statue of Datu Lapu-Lapu is standing. This is one of the most popular landmarks of Cebu City. Lapu-Lapu was the Chieftain of Mactan. He fought for freedom and he killed the Spanish Conquistadores Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan in 1521. According to the tour guide, the statue is the giant replica of Lapu-Lapu, and looking at his majestic statue with a brandishing sword in his right hand and a shield in his left hand, his huge biceps and sinewy muscles, one would be of opinion that Lapu-Lapu was a good looking and a sexy warrior. He was a Filipino demigod; his body was a masterpiece like Michelangelo’s David with bahag (loincloth). One would wonder how many carabaos he wrestled and trees he felled in order to achieve that sigh-inducing physique, and one would bet that girls in the 1500s Cebu were lining up to be Lapu-Lapu’s girlfriend.
M for Magellan
At the entrance of the Mactan Shrine is an obelisk called Magellan Shrine built in 1866 in honor of Magellan whose expedition is the first recorded circumnavigation of the earth. The actual spot where Magellan met his demise was a tombstone with plaque of a written history on it. At the back of the tombstone was a mural depicting the battle of Mactan.
The Mactan Shrine is a small park with beautiful landscapes, well-kept grass and greens and a lot of souvenir shops. These shops showcase affordable shirts and bags for all styles and ages, funky jewelry and colorful accessories. If one is looking for inexpensive chic and fabulous finds, these shops are the place to be.
S for Sto. Nino Church
After Magellan Shrine, the ACPACIans went to stroll and to pray and to join the spiritual crowd at the Sto. Nino Church in downtown Cebu. No trip to Cebu is complete without a visit to this famous church. Locals and tourists alike flock this site. Cebu is known for its grandeur and heritage churches. These churches are part of Cebu’s colonial charm. The Sto. Nino Church is the oldest church in the Philippines and it houses the oldest religious relic in the country, the Sto. Nino image given by Magellan as a gift to Hara Amihan, the wife of Raja Humabon, when she was baptized into Christianity in 1521. Right next to the Sto. Nino church is the Magellan’s Cross displayed in a small chapel. Lovely frescoes depicting the first mass held in Cebu are seen on the ceiling. There were ladies clad in yellow blouses selling candles to the ACPACIans and they offered “dance prayers” for a small fee. They danced and prayed for about anything for one to two minutes from good health, luck, prosperity to finding love.
T for Tabuan Market
The last trek before the delegates headed back to the hotel for the Fellowship dinner was the Tabuan Market. Heaps and mounds of dried, semi-dried, salted, less-salted, unsalted fish like danggit, dilis, squid, tuyo, dories, sapsap are teeming in Tabuan Market, which could arguably be the Danggitville and the Daingshire of the Philippines. ACPACians were giddy and excited to load up their baskets with danggit and other dried fish, for pasalubong when they get back in Manila, as well as other goodies like the ubiquitous dried mangoes, Shamrock Otap and peanut kisses which are also being sold in Tabuan. Caveat: the pungent smell of the dried fish tends to cling on your clothing even after the market jaunt.
Z for Zarzuela
The last fellowship night was themed Zarzuela Night. Ladies attended the gathering donned in their Zarzuela attire with fans and tiara, and looking like Spanish senoritas, insulares and peninsulares. The stage and the dinner tables’ decors were festive, rich and elaborate and reminiscent of the jazzy and flamboyant lifestyle evident during the Spanish era in the Philippines. Again, the San Diego Dancers presented a dance number to the delight of the participants. There were fun games prepared by ACPACI Fellowship Director Cecile Carandang and the Fellowship Chair, Jayson Ayson. The Best in Zarzuela Costume award was won by incoming ACPACI President Ning Santos.
B for Bohol
The third and last day of the convention was an almost perfect side trip to Bohol. Famous Bohol tourist spots were explored by the delegates like the Chocolate Hills, which is one of the most dramatic and breathtaking landscapes in the Philippines. Thousands of small, verdant (not yet chocolatey) mountains that look like green Hershey’s Kisses (without the wrapper and paper strip) dot the area of Carmen, Bohol.
ACPACIans wandered around and snapped up pictures at the Blood Compact site in Tagbilaran, Bohol. The statue/representation depicts the blood compact between Datu Sikatuna, the Chieftain of Bohol and Spanish explorer Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565. It is also a great symbol of friendship and foreign relations.
They also took a daytrip excursion to the Butterfly Garden, shopped at the Aproniana Souvenir Shop, traversed the Hanging Bridge in Sevilla near Loboc, prayed and meditated inside the Baclayon Church and passed by the Man-made Forest in Tagbilaran. They took the Bohol’s famous Loboc River Cruise with lunch and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon, marveled at the “green-ness” of the Loboc River, feasted on the food and were serenaded by the singers on the boat who were former members of the world famous Loboc Children’s Choir. The boat’s pace and the music’s rhythm put the ACPACIan travelers at ease and ready to savor the dolce vita. Needless to say, Loboc River is a river worth fording for.
They fell in love with the tarsiers at the Tarsier Conservation Area. These cuddly and saucer-eyed creatures were so cute and they’re like the miniature replica of Jedi Master Yoda of Star Wars. Photography without a flash was allowed and absolute quiet was requested by the guides.
A for “All is well that ends well”
In spite of the rough and scary ferry ride from Cebu to Bohol, the ANC was a success. The delegates’ sea voyage back to Cebu was smooth and a peaceful one. About three weeks after the convention, Cebu and Bohol were rocked by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and were jolted by a series of earthquakes afterwards. Some of the places that the ACPACI members had visited during the convention, like the Sto. Nino Church, Baclayon Church and the Chocolate Hills were badly damaged by the earthquakes. The Baclayon Church lay in ruins; a lot of the hills in the Chocolate Hills crumbled, and its viewing deck collapsed.
They were lucky to have had the opportunity to see these wonderful places in their full glory before the earthquake struck. And in hindsight, after the convention ended, seasickness notwithstanding, they didn’t regret a thing; the ANC was intellectually nourishing, with nurturing camaraderie and friendship and, most of all, fun. These are the true essence of ACPACI’s ANC.