MEMBERS of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) received a boost at the just-concluded 45th Philippine Business Conference in Manila.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of MBCCI, said Bacolod businesses benefited from the resolution supporting the sugar industry and learned current market trends during the conference.
Carbon said this year’s conference gathering members of the biggest business organization in the country, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), made them realize that it’s no longer business as usual.
“In this digital age, local businesses have seen that something big is happening,” he said, adding that enterprises in the province have yet to cope in terms of technology.
Themed “Enabling Business in Digital Economy,” the two-day national business conference was held at The Manila Hotel in Manila until Thursday, October 17, 2019. President Rodrigo Duterte, who was keynote speaker at the closing ceremony, recognized the vital role of the business sector in country’s economic development.
PCCI officials, also during the said rites, presented to the President nine resolutions.
For the agriculture sector, the PCCI passed a resolution urging the Department of Agriculture (DA), Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) to rationalize the importation of sugar on the basis of careful analysis of projected production versus domestic demand, and in consultation with industry stakeholders.
The resolution also urged the SRA to take the leadership role in ensuring the development of the sugarcane industry and optimizing the utilization of the annual P2 billion provided under the Sugar Industry Development Act (Sida).
This resolution was based on the joint resolution from the MBCCI and Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nocci) which was adopted by PCCI-Western
Visayas and passed during the 28th Visayas Area Business Conference in Leyte in August 2019.
The national conference included a business matching activity and breakout sessions on Understanding the Digital Landscape, Opportunities under the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Education and Upskilling of the Workforce, Enabling Innovation and Technological Change, and Opportunities and Challenges at the Age of Connectivity, among others.
For MBCCI, composed of at least 150 member-companies and over 20 business associations in Negros Occidental, the conference was also a big boost to its members especially in terms of improving their respective operations.
Carbon said most local businesses are not yet into digital thus, the activity was very relevant and timely.
“It has opened our eyes that there are opportunities outside the local market, there are bigger things in the national and eventually global markets,” he said.
He pointed out that “we do not move and learn some more in this time of technological advancement, we might end up still peddling our products and services.”