BACOLOD City, with its multi-stakeholder model in generating thousands of information and communications technology (ICT) jobs and opportunities, serves as a “beacon” for other cities and provinces in the country.
This was underscored yesterday by Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, executive director of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for ICT (BNEFIT), following the recent recognition given by the Information Technology-Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) to the city.
Bacolod is the first local government unit (LGU) in the country to receive the Crystal Flare of Beacon Award, one of the six awards given by IBPAP in a ceremony held at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City last Friday.
Batapa-Sigue said the recognition is an addition to the previous citations that put Bacolod on the global IT map.
Others are the 85th City in the Tholons International Top 100 Cities in the world, and being the Center of Excellence for IT-Business Process Management (BPM) in the Philippines.
“I am happy to see other cities and provinces look at Bacolod as a model and example in developing ICT jobs and opportunities most especially in the countryside,” Batapa-Sigue said.
The Flare Award is given to individuals and institutions who show passion in helping the industry like making key contributions to the accomplishment of the IT-BPM Roadmap 2012 to 2016.
Other awards include the Sapphire Flare for Brilliance given to Commissioner Monchito Ibrahim of the newly created Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT); Crystal Flare for Sparkler (Individual) - Dr. Patricia Licuanan; Crystal Flare for Sparkler (Institution) - Asia Pacific College; Crystal Flare for Kindler - Dr. Lilia De Lima, former director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority; and Azure Flare for Industry Luminary - former senator Edgardo Angara.
“The Bacolod experience has served as a beacon to other cities. As a past president and trustee of the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines, I have been given the opportunity to go around and help build ICT councils these past three years, sharing the city’s multi-stakeholder model," Batapa-Sigue said.
Through various capacity development workshops supported by DICT and NICP, Batapa-Sigue said she was able to share with other ICT councils the values of public-private sector collaboration, industry-academe partnership, strong involvement of private sector, government’s role as enabler and catalyst, and the pioneering spirit of a community.