THE 30th Visayas Area Business Conference of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) will underscore the need for post-pandemic solutions in order for the economy to quickly recover, an official said.
PCCI Vice President for the Visayas Frank Carbon, also the chief executive officer of Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), said the upcoming business conference is very relevant to the present times.
The Capiz Halaran Business Chamber will host this year's activity on July 29 and 30 to be participated by business chambers in Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas.
Carbon said there is a need to encourage local government units (LGUs) and national government agencies (NGAs) to support or parallel their recovery efforts to that of the private sector.
"Various NGAs will present their crucial programs that will put the Visayas area to a stronger economic footing for businesses to continue staying afloat and recover quickly when the country attained herd immunity," he added.
For Western Visayas, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) will discuss the status of Panay River Basin Water Project.
The PCCI official said the project is a major flood control infrastructure of Capiz and will irrigate over 10,000 hectares of ricelands, and also a reliable source of potable water.
Panay Island has completed its Jalaur River Water Projects I and II. It has now started another Mega Water project, he said.
Carbon stressed that despite the fact that there is no single NGA managing the water sector, unlike the power sector, the NIA and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) in Western Visayas were able to complete the Jalaur projects in record time.
In Antique, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) along with the office of Deputy Speaker Congresswoman Loren Legarda and the provincial government are pushing for the conversion of farming and fishing communities into an agribusiness zone.
The lawmaker already released P30 million to the DOST for agri-fishery projects in the province, Carbon said.
For Aklan, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat will unveil the roadmap on how to fully open Boracay Island to tourists.
"The abovementioned programs and projects of our NGAs are what matters the most in the Visayas area economic recovery," he said, adding that "the focus is on Capiz, Aklan and Antique so they could catch up with the Provinces of Negros Occidental and Iloilo."
For Eastern Visayas, the chambers are working with the Anti-Red Tape Authority to eliminate corruption at Matnog Port in Sorsogon.
Carbon said business chambers there will engage the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to improve the operation at Matnog and Allen Ports in Northern Leyte.
They will also explore with the two NGAs the feasibility of building a bridge to connect Luzon and Visayas, he said, adding that Matnog and Allen ports connect Luzon to Visayas as part of the Pan-Philippine Highway.
For Central Visayas, on the other hand, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) top officials will tackle the Power Reliability Program for the Visayas Grid.
The discussion would also include the Capital Expenditure (Capex) Program of power distribution utilities (DUs) or the lack of it, which is one of the root causes of frequent brownouts.
The agencies will also take a look at the problems encountered by the DUs and their captive consumers in the implementation of the newly-established Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC).
Carbon pointed out that the TPBAC was recently created by the DOE and National Electrification Administration (NEA) to prevent collusion between DUs and power generators that hampers investment attraction and job generation efforts.
The DOE is now amending the Department Order that created the TPBAC to include the representative of the agency in the committee, he said.
"The projects will give impetus to private sector reinvestments and reopening of their businesses and generate the needed jobs," Carbon said as he urged LGUs and businesses to join the conference so as to align their strategic and operational plans to the program and projects of NGAs.