Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said he will champion the Information, Communication and Technology industry in Negros Occidental, at the “ICT Roadshow in the Next Wave Cities: Harnessing ICT for a Smarter Countryside,” held at Business Inn Hotel in Bacolod City yesterday.

Marañon said the establishment of the Negros First Cyber Center in Bacolod will make the city the IT center of the Visayasand will bring in more investors to the province as well.

He also said that business process outsourcing has already spread out of Bacolod City. There is one in Talisay City and another company is being put up in Kabankalan City, he said.

“I envision that we will also have smarter rural areas and each city in Negros is now trying to attract investors,” Marañon said.

He also said the province has already submitted all the documents and requirements for its application of registration of the cyber center in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

He said only President Benigno Aquino III can issue the proclamation and as a PEZA zone, business locators will enjoy certain privileges.

If we are accredited with PEZA, the locators would have free taxes in bringing in their equipment and in the first five years they will not have to pay income tax, he added.

However, Marañon also admitted that Negros is still at the bottom in the ICT industry and there are many things that need to be done. To make progress, we have to solve poverty first, he added.

“We have to support this with our security program. There should be food available in every family table at an affordable price,” he said.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Melchor III, deputy executive director of the Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office, said yesterday, the Philippines is regarded by international bankers and multinationals as one of the brightest stars in the world in Information Communication and Technology that employed about 638,000 workers and generated $11 billion revenues in 2011.

Melchor who spoke at the roadshow said they feel that ICT as a whole is already the biggest industry in the Philippines including revenues from business process outsourcing, semi conductor and electronics, and ICT-enabled creative arts.

“Our target by 2016 is to increase the ICT direct jobs to 1.3 million and that 2.5 to 3 million indirect jobs. It means that for every job created in the industry you have 2.5 to 3 indirect jobs generated from transportation, real estate, food stores, and other support industry,” Melchor said.

He added that the industry also aims to increase its revenues to $60 billion by 2016 as the Philippines has been categorized in 2010 as one of the fastest growing countries in the world today until 2050 with China and India. *LTG

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