Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Benitez assured stable power supply for the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) sector, which is one of the major economic drivers in the locality.

Benitez gave the assurance in a statement on Tuesday night, April 4, after the IT-BPM Conference and Expo at a mall in Barangay Mandalagan.

“I ensure this sector that the city will continuously work in providing reliable power for our business process outsourcing companies and strengthen the department to attend to the needs of the industry,” he said.

Benitez, who aims to transform Bacolod into a “super city,” underscored the need to “take good care of” the industry and committed to the city government’s assistance in finding more ways to expand for more employment.

During the conference, partners and stakeholders of the local IT-BPM industry discussed the development of a roadmap for Bacolod as well as identified the gaps, challenges and areas of substantial opportunities for its growth.

JV Demontaño, the mall leasing manager, said they fully support Benitez’s vision to make Bacolod a “super city” by 2025, and they look forward to working closely with the city to attract more investments and locators.

Other partners which supported the city’s Business Development and Promotions Center in organizing the event included the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation of Information and Communications Technology (BNEFIT), the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the Department of Science and Technology.

During the virtual Liveable Cities Lab, figures presented by BNEFIT showed the IT-BPM industry here is contributing an estimated P8.1 billion annual cash infusion into the local economy, based on the P17,000 average monthly income of 37,000 full-time employees in the various sub-sectors. (PNA)