Tagbilaran City hosted the 14th Summit of the National Information and Communication Technology Council of the Philippines (NICP), as the city positions itself as an emerging location for business process outsourcing (BPO) enterprises.
It is seen that the BPO industry is a potent job creator and as such, the city government has been working to attract more locators to provide employment to Boholanos not just those from Tagbilaran City.
“We are ready,” Mayor Jane Yap sounded this off to all the delegates of the 14th NICP Summit which had its official opening at Bohol Tropics Resort on Nov. 17, 2022.
The local chief executive said that Tagbilaran City is confident of its pool of talents, strengthened infrastructure, thriving business environment, and cost-competitiveness.
Currently, there are 2 BPO locators which are IBEX and TaskUs.
The success of IBEX and TaskUs is a concrete testament of Tagbilaran City’s ability to host BPO locators.
Furthermore, Mayor Jane Yap said that Tagbilaran City will be crafting a plan to leverage the rapid development of the ICT industry by having its own development agenda.
Keynote speaker of the summit was Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Paul Mercado. He emphasized that all Tagbilaranons need to adjust in the rapid advancement in the digital technology space.
“We have seen the resiliency 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,” the mayor said.
The challenge now is to provide the necessary skills to Boholanos so they can join the BPO workforce and earn a decent living while being with family.
The DICT is committed to continue laying the foundation towards a digital Philippines and called for cooperation from the stakeholders.
Meanwhile, 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.
In her presentation, Dominese acknowledged the efforts of then vice governor now Cong. Edgar Chatto for laying the groundwork towards bringing connectivity to Bohol.
Chatto, during his incumbency as governor of Bohol, launched Digital Bohol.
Digital Bohol is a platform with the aim of boosting the BPO sector’s contribution as a major economic driver of the province on top of tourism and agriculture.
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 full-time employees.
Engr. Albert Uy of the Tagbilaran Uptown Hub said that building an IT hub in Bohol was a huge investment. Engr. Uy thanked the local government for the support and encouraged more stable and consistent policies on BPO investments.
On the other hand, Mayor Jane Yap discussed her program on digitization 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 Yap also reported that online payments to the City’s coffers already totaled to P 5 million. Tricycles can also receive electronic payments as well as local market sellers. The sessions also discussed breakthroughs in education, healthcare, tourism, local governance, agriculture, gender, and technological innovations, among others.