THE Cebu IT BPM Organization (Cib.O) said industries must “dance” more efficiently and effectively with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, and innovate to sustain the economy.

Cib.O president Pert Cabataña said government must push for development outside the urban areas.

“A congested Metro Cebu is a major transmission area for Covid-19, and it will be with us for a long, long time,” he said during an online forum hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry Central Visayas on business and economic outlook for 2021.

He also said there should be a push for science and technology, competitiveness or ease of doing business.

Industrial ecosystems must be developed and there should be a focused fight to prevent Covid-19 transmission through vaccination, he added.

He pointed out the country is still resource-based.

“When you look at our overseas Filipino workers, the I.T. BPM, they’re also resource-based where they depend on people as the natural resources,” he said.

“When you are (in) that situation, you are at the mercy of the tyranny of the S-curve, a natural component of technological and business development where you go through a growth stage, a plateau and then eventually a declining stage if you don’t do anything special,” he added.

Cebu hosts around 400 I.T. and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies that employ 170,000 workers. The industry is composed of contact centers, and providers of I.T. and engineering services, health services, banking and insurances and shared services. (JOB)