BY
BY PEACE S. FLORES
July 28, 2015
Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Frank Carbon yesterday lauded the recent economic progress and development in Bacolod City and other parts of Negros Occidental, despite the city's drop from No. 2 in 2010 to No. 73 this year in the National Competitiveness Index.
Numbers are just numbers, Carbon said, citing that progress is evident as shown in the recent boom in infrastructure and investments in Bacolod and the rest of the province.
These developments are not slated for mere short-term or two-to-three-year socioeconomic aims but for attaining long-term goals that have great significance for the next 20 to 50 years, or even more, Carbon said.
He added that the local government is doing its duty as a social planner in trying to integrate its development plans with those of the business sector.
Carbon declared Bacolod City as a place that is now truly conducive for business because of recent developments in power generation, local industries including sugar, infrastructure construction, and investments from big corporations.
Aside from producing sugar and molasses, the sugar industry, soon to be reinforced by Sugar Act authored by third district Rep. Alfredo Benitez, will soon have a role in power generation as bagasse provide for biomass energy, Carbon said.
Other forms of renewable energy, especially solar power, will soon augment the coal-focused power generation in urban areas, he said.
The MBCCI president also mentioned the entry of billion-peso investments from Megaworld, Ayala, SM Development Corporation, and other local corporate giants as potential catalyst for economic success in Bacolod.
Infrastructural improvements such as road expansions and better access to seaports and the Bacolod-Silay Airport is not just good for trade, but for reeling in tourists as well, Carbon said.
Carbon also complimented the agricultural progress of the province through the Negros First program, as well as the improved peace and security situation.
“There must have been some mistake in the numerical data when the National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines conducted its program for determining the city's competitiveness index rank,” he pointed out.
“Being 73 rd , Bacolod may be at a significantly lower rank in terms of numbers, but the recent socioeconomic developments which we can see around the city proves otherwise,” he added.*PSF
