BY CARLA GOMEZ
Leaders of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry last night signed a sisterhood agreement, which Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. described as 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,” Marañon said.
The agreement was signed by NOCCI president Edward Du and MBCCI president Frank Carbon at Tierra Alta Resort in Valencia, Negros Oriental, with Marañon as witness and guest speaker.
Dr. Henry Sojor represented Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.
Marañon said former Negros Occidental Gov. Daniel Lacson Jr. used to say that Negros can be a mini Taiwan but now the future of the NIR is much better than Taiwan.
Taiwan is mainly a rocky and mountainous areas, while Negros Island has rich fertile soil with an abundance of water for agriculture, he said.
With rich soil and abundant water, we can produce high value crops that can
earn, at the most P2 million, per hectare, the governor added.
The IT-BPO industry also has a bright future in the NIR, he said, citing the
success of the Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center
where 80 percent of its more than 2,000 graduates have already been hired by
call centers.
Training the young for IT-BPO jobs is one sustainable way to solve poverty, he
said.
Bacolod and Negros Occidental today have 25,000 call center agents and an
increase to 32,000 is expected by next year, he said.
Together with Negros Oriental, the whole island will soon have 40,000 IT-BPO
agents, he said.*CPG
