*Eric T. Loretizo
Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo G. Maranon, Jr. lauded the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry for entering into a sisterhood pact, saying that the agreement between the two business groups “is a giant step for the success of the Negros Island Region”.
“This agreement is the first step in our coordination and cooperation for a better future for all Negrenses,” the governor said during the July 16 signing ceremonies held at the upscale Tierra Alta Clubhouse in Valencia town, Negros Oriental.
The future of this island, he continued, is so huge particularly in the areas of agriculture, tourism and the IT-BPO industry, among others.
“We have great potentials in these fields. And we can see a bright future for our NIR 25 years from now,” added Maranon as he commended MBCCI president Frank Carbon and his NOCCI counterpart, Edward Du, who both figured prominently in the Negros Island Region campaign.
President Aquino, after months of study made by Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas on the viability of merging Oriental and Occidental provinces under one region, signed Executive Order 183 creating the NIR last May 29, 2015.
DEVELOPMENT MODEL
He recalled that more than 20 years ago, former Governor Daniel Lacson, Jr. had envisioned that Negros Occidental can be a mini-Taiwan.
But tonight, let me you that the future of the NIR— depending largely on its leaders—can truly become a mini-Taiwan or even surpass a developed economy like Taiwan if we get our acts together, Maranon pointed out.
The governor said he has basis for his optimism because the NIR land area is about 40 percent the size of Taiwan.
The total land area of the NIR, or Region 18, is close to 15,000 square kilometers or 1.5 million hectares.
Taiwan’s land area is 36,000 square kilometers or 3.6 million hectares.
But unlike Taiwan, whose topography is mostly rugged, rocky terrain, mountain ranges and without natural resources, Negros Island Region is blessed with fertile soil and abundance of water supply and has highly-trainable people. We all know that where there is sufficient water, the agriculture sector will easily thrive, he said.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
I can see that the prospects for the Negros Island Region are greater than Taiwan; much better, that I can say with confidence. We can venture into high-value crops, he said, apparently referring to ginger.
We have proven that your one hectare with this crop can fetch between P1.5 to P2 million a year. There are more high value crops other than ginger that we can explore with available land and so much water, Maranon continued.
Another advantage of the NIR is its human resource with the island’s combined population of close to 5 million, 25 percent of whom belongs to the 35-years old and below bracket, he said.
Maranon shared that in the 1950s, about 90 percent of Taiwan’s exports is sugar.
Sugar mills thrived in that country. But today, with its industrialization and the full development of its manufacturing sector and production of high value crops, Taiwan continues to soar even when it only has one sugar central left. And it’s only a small-sized mill that produces sugar for its 22 million population, he said.
We should take advantage of our young population; our highly- trainable people both from Oriental and Occidental, the governor added.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
In Occidental, he said, the provincial government established the Negros Occidental Language and IT Center, which trains, educates and gives employment opportunities to the young, especially the less-privileged, including high school graduates.
“And because, as pointed out earlier, they are trainable, 80 percent of the more than 2,000 NOLITC graduates, who had completed their courses in the IT-BPO voice, 2D animation and medical secretarial, got well-paying jobs in various call centers in the province and Bacolod City,” Maranon said.
Our program for IT-BPO sector development paved the way for the creation of the Negros First Cyber Centre, the first provincial government-ran IT center in the country, he said.
STRATEGY VS. POVERTY
As a result of the NOLITC trainings, we are able to free many of our poor from the cycle of poverty. Our IT-BPO training program is sustainable. The IT-BPO industry can solve poverty, the governor stressed.
He shared the story of polio victim and former jeepney barker Mark Joseph Escora, who was cited by Pesident Aquino in his SONA last year.
Escora, who is now employed with Pan-Asiatic as a junior supervisor, he said, speaks with English accent and had solved the poverty of his family. And he is only a high school graduate who was bullied much because of his disability when he was in school, he added.
The Negros First Cyber Centre also opened its doors to start-up ventures, whose teams are enjoying the facilities of the NFCC for at least a year, free-of-charge.
Bacolod City, Negros Occidental’s capital, is now a key player in the global IT-BPO market. It is currently ranked No. 84 in the Tholons list of preferred IT-BPO destinations in the world topped by Mumbai, India followed by Manila.
In 2004, ironically, Negros Occidental has ZERO call center agent. Today, Bacolod and Negros Occidental combined have more than 20,000 agents and growing. With the industry’s rapid growth, we expect to have 32,000 in 2016 with an aggregate payroll worth P3.2 billion. Dumaguete City, Oriental’s capital, currently has more than 8,000 agents, he said.
WAY OF THE FUTURE
The IT-BPO sector, under the NIR, has yet to see its full potentials. We can be leaders together. We can develop and gain from the growth of the industry. The ICT sector is the way of the future, he told business leaders from Regions 6, 7, 8 and 18.
Also attending the MBCCI-NOCCI event, a highlight of the two-day 24th Visayas Area Business Conference, were Rep. Roman Romulo and wife Shalani, former councilor of Valenzuela City; Rep. George Arnaiz, former Gov. Rafael Coscolluela, Negros Oriental Vice Governor Mark Macias and Amlan Mayor and LMP Negros Oriental President Bentham de la Cruz, among others.*
Negros Island Today 