TAGBILARAN City Mayor Jane C. Yap wanted that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will create opportunity and generate more jobs to all.
“We are confident that with our pool of talents, strengthened infrastructure, thriving business environment and cost competitiveness, Tagbilaran City is prepared for ICT-enabled industries and opportunities,” Mayor Yap said during the opening of the 14th National ICT Summit held at Bohol Tropics Resort last week.
In her welcome message, Mayor Yap welcomes guests and visitors, key players in the industry, local government units, national agencies, National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) in the summit to be able “discuss, learn and share success stories and challenges and future directions.”
ICT director Emmy Lou Delfin stressed the parameters or scorecard of establishing ICT hub. These are the talent availability, infrastructure availability, cost of doing business and business environment.
Talent availability refers to the number of potential talents and infrastructure means availability of stable connectivity in the number of telecommunication companies present in certain areas, Delfin said.
How much the cost of water and power (electricity) which are reliable and stable supply that the ICT investors consider in their cost of doing business and peace and order is necessary in terms of business environment, she added.
Gov. Aris Aumentado was represented by his chief of staff, Atty. Jun Amora, to deliver an inspirational message prior to NICP message by NICP president Dr. Mary Joy Abueg during the program.
Undersecretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DITC) Paul Mercado was the keynote speaker.
The gathering also gave opportunity to participants by way of the presentations by city governance coordinator Dr. Rosalinda Paredes over the city’s potentials for ICT business, including business process outsourcing (BPO).
The provincial government presentation on investment opportunities was expounded by Bohol Economic Development Investment Promotion Officer Maria Fe M. Dominise.
IBEX Associate director for operations Ms. Joy Ibale shared IBEX experience which may be consider a success story and Tagbilaran Uptown Realty Corp. president Engr. Albert Uy on Tagbilara ICT Hub/TaskUs presentation.
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READY
“We are ready,” Mayor Jane Yap sounded this off to all the delegates of the 14th NICP Summit which had its official opening in Bohol Tropics Resort.
The local chief executive said that Tagbilaran City is confident of its pool of talents, strengthened infrastructure, thriving business infrastructure, and cost-competitiveness. IBEX and TaskUs successes are a concrete testament of the city’s capability to nurture BPO locators. Further, Mayor Jane said that Tagbilaran City will be putting its head together to leverage on the rapid development of the ICT industry in propelling its own development agenda.
Keynote speaker Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Paul Mercado emphasized that all of us need to adjust in the rapid advancement of the digital technology.
“We have seen the resilience of this platform amidst the health crisis and we will witness its capacity to bolster countryside development and employment generation if we all can adjust to its rapid development,” Mercado said.
The challenge to re-skill and upskill the talent pool in Bohol was made to match the qualification and competencies of the business process outsourcing industry. The DICT committed to continue laying the foundation towards a digital Philippines and called for a synergy of the stakeholders to make the dream become a possibility.
Tagbilaran City’s Governance Coordinator Dr. Rosalinda Paredes and Provincial Government of Bohol Economic Development and Investment Promotions Officer Maria Fe Dominise presented the uniqueness and advantage of Tagbilaran and Bohol as investment destinations respectively.
Tagbilaran City’s BPO locators, TaskUs and Ibex both shared their journey. Joy Ibale of Ibex said that from 390 call center agents in 2019, Ibex workforce has grown to 2300 agents.
Engr. Albert Uy of the Tagbilaran Uptown Hub said that building an IT hub in Bohol was a brave investment. Engr. Uy thanked the local government for the support and encouraged more stable and consistent policies on BPO investments.
Mayor Jane Yap discussed her program on digitalization in the summit’s second day.
The highlight of which was the e-permitting system established in the City, including e-payments, and the Tagbilaran App.
Mayor Jane also reported that online payments already totaled to Php5 million. Tricycles can also receive electronic payments, as well as local market transactions. The sessions also discussed breakthroughs in education, healthcare, tourism, local governance, agriculture, gender, and technological innovations.
