Gov. Edgar M. Chatto pushed further the realization of a goal to position Bohol in the fastest growing industry in the world as he hosted last Wednesday’s Bohol ICT Business Forum at Bohol Tropic, this city. The governor who also sits as chairperson of the Bohol Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Council welcomed to the province on Wednesday top names in the Information Technology-Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) world. Cyberservices Commissioner of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) ICT Office (formerly the Commission on ICT) Alejandro Melchor III attended the ICT Business Forum with the academe, business community members of the ICT council, and potential local investors. Melchor was joined by Executive Director for Industry Affairs of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) Raymond Lacdao and Executive Director and Corporate Secretary of the Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) Jojo Uligan.

Melchor presented the DOST-ICTO Industry Development Plan for 2012-2015, presenting current national and global trends in the IT-BPO industry which posted a 22% growth rate for 2011 in spite of the slowdown of national GDP growth rate at 3.7%. Because it is recession-proof, slowdown-resistant, and electoral politics-bulletproof, the IT-BPO industry is key to increase GDP growth rate through business environment transformation local business empowerment and investment encouragement, he reported. Melchor went on to disclose he is scheduled to meet with President Noynoy Aquino to brief the latter on the viability of the industry and to lobby for the country to become an IT outsourcing hub. The speakers had arrived a day before the forum to do an initial assessment of Bohol’s potentials in the ICT-BPO industry. Lacdao and Uligan stated that the province’s prospects are bright in terms of capturing a share of this leading market. A sure sign is the regular holding of recruitment and jobs fairs of top IT-BPO companies in the province, they added. The task is to make Bohol the next preferred destination for industry players, they said. Guest speakers sat in round table discussions with the ICT council and possible developers to hash out the creation of a Bohol brand in the promising IT-BPO industry. Bohol’s modified vision for economic growth added ICT to eco-cultural tourism and agro-industry, a winning combination as far as top officials in these fields are concerned. (Leah/EDCom)