Man behind many ‘firsts’

By Lito U. Gagni

Dr. Cezar T. Quiambao is a visionary who has accomplished many firsts in the annals of the country’s economic development.  He set up the country’s first infra Public-Private Partnership project, the $514-million Metro Manila Skyway project  and its companion $57-million Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) tollway that resulted in an unprecedented  economic boom in areas south of Metro Manila.

The vision for that Skyway resulted from an observation he had whenever he returned to Manila from his comfort zone in Indonesia, which, by the time, already had multilevel roadways in the 1990s. Ever desirous of seeing through the economic development of the Philippines, he conceptualized the project in partnership with Indonesia’s infrastructure behemoth, Citra.

Dr. Quiambao’s partnership with Citra came easy. After all, he distinguished himself in the construction industry in Indonesia for 14 years, culminating with a feather in his cap: overseeing the construction of the Lhoksumawe airfield that Mobil Oil put up for the world’s largest natural-gas processing complex in Sumatra.

Another notable first that Dr. Quiambao accomplished, this time in IT is the government computerization project in the Land Transportation Office that not only resulted in the instant processing of driver’s licenses but which banished corruption altogether in that agency. The Build-Operate-Own computerization project was done through Stradcom Corp., which he domiciled in his hometown Bayambang, Pangasinan, in turn transforming that sleepy third-class town to a first-class city via the tax contributions of the company.

It was this out-of-the-box thinking that Cezar, a certified public accountant, applied whenever he tinkered with the status quo. For instance, while being employed in a huge pharmaceutical firm in the Philippines, he tinkered with a product’s packaging that resulted in millions of savings.

And so, when he chanced upon the fact that Guam residents come to the Philippines for their medical treatment, he conceptualized the establishment of a tertiary hospital in that US territory and initiated the setting up of the Guam Regional Medical City, which is due to open this year. It is because of this contribution that Guam named Dr. Quiambao, now a director of that medical facility, an ambassador-at-Large.

Dr. Quiambao’s altruistic bent stemmed from his desire to pay it forward. Having achieved much, he sought to better the quality of life of his townmates by putting up the CSF Rural Bank of Bayambang, which lends to would-be entrepreneurs. On top of this, he sponsors through his foundation livelihood programs for the poor so they can be gainfully employed. It is in making their lives better that Cezar derives much pleasure.

Aside from various accolades though, Dr. Quiambao treasures one that the Polytechnic University of the Philippines accorded him, a Doctorate of Humanities degree for the visionary zeal with which he shepherded the accomplishment of various  ground-breaking projects in the Philippines.