Bacolod declared ‘Center of Excellence’ for IT-BPM

MANILA, Philippines - Bacolod City was recently declared a “Center of Excellence” for information technology and business process management operations in rites held at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City with Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Mario Montejo as keynote speaker.

“This is great for Bacolod. It has cemented our hold as a top information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) destination,” Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.

Bacolod was elevated to a “Center of Excellence” by the DOST-Information and Communications Technology Office and the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP).

It now joins the elite group composed of Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Clark.

Leonardia said, “To be in this league is a clear manifestation of the continuous advancement of the IT-BPM industry in Bacolod. Moreover, it testifies that when the local government and the private sector work together, we can achieve great things for our city.”

Before this, Bacolod was consistently in the list of the “Top 10 Next Wave Cities” in the country.

The DOST and IBPAP also announced the “Next Wave Cities” for business processing and elevated only one city, Bacolod, as a Center of Excellence.

These cities are Baguio, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Lipa, Metro Bulacan (composed of Baliuag, Calumpit, Malolos, Marilao and Meycauayan), Metro Cavite (Bacoor, Dasmariñas, Cavite, Imus), Metro Laguna (Cabuyao, Calamba, Los Baños, Sta. Rosa, San Pablo), Metro Naga (Naga City and Pili), and Metro Rizal (Antipolo, Binangonan, Cainta and Taytay).

Leonardia also said the recognition is like a graduation gift as he ends his term as mayor because the billion-peso industry started with zero in 2004 when he took over the city government but has metamorphosed into an economic force.

This further validates that the local business environment is surging ahead, as Bacolod has been recognized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a consistent national finalist in the search for the “Most Business Friendly City in the Philippines,” after declaring the city the national winner in 2007.

Bacolod was also declared No. 2 among the “Top 10 Growth Centers of the Philippines” by the Asian Institute of Management, the United States Agency for International Development, and the German Technical Cooperation.