The Negros First CyberCentre (NFC) that is projected to help generate 12,000 jobs by 2016, will have a ripple effect that will boost the economy of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City, Director General Lilia de Lima of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority said yesterday.

The NFC is projected to have a workforce of 6,000 within its premises, generating aggregate annual salaries of about P1 billion, Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said.

The other 6,000 jobs that the NFC will help generate outside its premises will come from the non-voice sub sector, such as games and software development, animation, and medical transcription and billing that offers a promising prospect of another P1 billion in annual salaries for the young workforce of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, it was also stated.

In the IT sector, a conservative estimate is that if 12,000 jobs are created, four times more will emerge from shops, eateries and other services that will open because of the increased money circulating, De Lima said.

De Lima, who was the guest speaker at the laying of the time capsule and dedication ceremony of the NFC at Lacson-Hernaez streets in Bacolod City, said in an interview that the foresight of the governor to build the center will pay off because now is the time to lure IT investors to the province.

The Philippines is currently the darling of foreign investors, which will not last forever, so now is the time to grab the opportunity, she explained.

The PEZA head said she will not be surprised if, as soon as the NFC is completed next year, it will immediately be fully occupied.

The Philippine IT sector is the fastest growing and has surpassed India in the voice sector, making it number two in the industry worldwide, she said.

She also pointed out that the Philippines was recently ranked number one out of 76 countries worldwide in business English proficiency in the workplace by the GlobalEnglish Corp.

Marañon said the provincial government is grabbing the opportunity to create jobs through the NFC, which he called the start of a very bright future for the young workforce of the province.

“I am very sure we will be proven right in the future,” he said.

The 3-storey 2.7-hectare NFC building, including a standby generator that is vital to its operations, will cost P650 million but rental from businesses that will occupy it will pay for the amount within eight years, he added.

The governor said he also aims to replicate the NFC in other cities of the province, like Kabankalan, San Carlos and Cadiz, to bring jobs closer to residents there.

Alejandro Melchor, deputy executive director for ICT Industry Development of the Department of Science and Technology; Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, executive director of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation of Information and Communications Technology Inc.; Raymond Lacdao, executive director for Industry affairs of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines; and Jojo Uligan, executive director of Contact Center Association of the Philippines, who also spoke at the dedication ceremony, expressed optimism that the cyber center will be able to create thousands of jobs that will boost the economy of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.

Batapa-Sigue said the NFC will have BPO call center work stations, a technology business incubation center, creative process studio, research development facility, cloud and data center, a ICT exhibitions and conference hall, investors lounge, leasable virtual offices and a commercial section.

Board Member Nehemias de la Cruz delivered the welcome message at the affair that, according to the program, was supposed to be delivered by Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr. who did not attend the event.

Board Member Melvin Ibañez introduced de Lima, while the ecumenical dedication ceremony was led by Imam Omar Betita, Pastor Emilio Henares and Monsignor Felix Pasquin.*CPG

back to top