Equal opportunity is the driving force behind the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (Apeco) as its officials stressed the principle that no one should be left behind, especially indigents and indigenous people (IPs), in the ecozone’s operations.

In an interview, Atty. Gil Taway IV, the president and chief executive officer of APECO said aside from the strides in developing the more than 200-hectare economic zone, its officials are minding the welfare of the indigents living at the site of the Casiguran property.

He said more than a hundred Agta tribe members are currently hired to be the vanguard of the forest, or “bantay gubat.”

“What they do is they are protecting the forests that are not yet developed. Also, they are serving us by doing some work. We hired them to have normal and decent jobs so they can earn for their families,” Taway said.

Although budgetary constraints remain challenging, the APECO chief maintained that IPs remain a central concern.

“We have already secured around P1.5 billion out of the P10-billion seed money for us. But then we cannot blame the government because, for the last 17 years of the ecozone, nothing much happened,” Taway indicated.

APECO was previously embroiled in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators controversy as the previous APECO officials allowed the creation of online gaming hubs.

“I remember even the Mayor of Casiguran, Ronald Soriano, was not even allowed to enter the APECO facility. However, during my term as APECO president and CEO, I did not allow any POGO operations here. With POGO’s immense reputational cost in terms of forgone investments and missed revenues as explained by the Department of Finance, they are inimical to the nation’s interest and development,” according to Taway.

In his State of the Nation Address last July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. mentioned the former APECO administrator for its failure to realize its mandate to develop the Casiguran ecozone.

President Marcos said in the address: “We would also like to find a solution to the abandoned projects of APECO which has a value of almost P800 million. It is truly regrettable that the people of Aurora have missed out on these idle facilities. At the moment, president and CEO Gil Taway IV has decided to halt the project and rebid the contracts.”

Taway has ordered the Executive Committee “to complete the policy paper on a complete moratorium on online gaming operations, so that it may be presented to the Board.”

Aside from completing the abandoned infrastructure projects, he said APECO is now “full of life, and industry is completing new ones.”

“As we are all motivated only by the love of country, my heart is filled with hope that we will continue to cooperate and support each other. I encourage one and all to keep their eyes on the prize, that is, to witness our dreams and aspirations for the people, come to fruition.”

Catanduanes native

Taway attended a law course at the San Sebastian College in Manila and continued his studies at the University of the Philippines where he became a proud member Sigma Rho fraternity.

“I want to represent the poor and the underprivileged. In my younger days, we are not that wealthy. We live in the squatter’s area. But I excelled and strived. I idolize Andres Bonifacio. He was the original idol of the masses,” Taway disclosed. The APECO chief quotes the famous lines of Andres Bonifacio, “Love your country, next to God, your honor and most of all yourself.”

“You might ask, isn’t that love of oneself is antithetical to love of country? They are not mutually exclusive. Self-love is directly related to self-esteem and self-compassion. To my mind, it is not because everything should start within us. One cannot give and radiate love if he does not have it,” the APECO chief said.