NegOr BPO industry jobs await skilled Dumaguete graduates

by Jennifer Catan-Tilos

DUMAGUETE CITY, Jan. 6 (PIA)   Dumaguete’s Information and Communications Technology- Business Process Outsourcing (ICT-BPO) industry has assured students in Negros Oriental and neighboring provinces for the availability of more jobs await for them.

Board Secretary Danah Fortunato of ICT Dumaguete said the ICT group here expressed the positive prospect of employment of graduates to the administration of Dumaguete City’s Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) at an ICT-BPO Industry Forum for Educators held recently at SPi Global’s facilities in barangay Bagacay.

The forum aimed to recognize the valuable contribution of HEIs to the success of BPO companies in the city and be the de facto beginning of a closer partnership between HEIs.

The activity also focused BPOs in bridging the gap between the skills of graduates and the entry level skills required in the industry, as reflected in the relatively low passing or hiring rates.

ICT Dumaguete president, Randolf Bandiola said that ICT-BPO jobs are not merely about “answering phone calls”, even though by the end of 2010 the Philippines had surpassed India in the number of voice jobs.

In Dumaguete, ICT-BPO jobs are currently in customer management, copyediting, graphics, animation, web design, software programming, architecture, market research, medical transcription, and engineering.

Meanwhile, companies involved in other non-voice work like legal research and accounting services are checking out the city’s business conditions.

Guest speaker Dr. Jeff Sallaz, Fulbright Scholar and Professor of Sociology of the University of Arizona, said the industry could be a way for Negros Oriental “to leapfrog from an Agricultural Economy straight into the Information Economy”. 

Sallaz cited  BPOs have drawn most foreign direct investments in the country from 2000 to 2010, thus reversing the lack of investment and manufacturing growth in the 70’s and 80’s. Incomes derived from the industry, he said, are welcome additions to an economy that is “too dependent on agriculture and remittances”.

Worldwide, BPOs is rapidly growing industry where the Philippines uniquely poised to increase employment from 500,000 individuals in 2010 to 1.3M by 2016, he said.

Fortunato said ICT Dumaguete projected the availability of more than 2000 jobs in Dumaguete’s BPOs in 2011 alone. The reality, however, is that only about half of those positions were set to be filled by the end of 2011 because the critical factors mentioned above kept the hiring rate at around 20 to 30 percent. (PIA/JCT)

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Army, OPAPP set up Peace & Dev’t Community

by Jennifer Catan-Tilos

DUMAGUETE CITY, Jan. 6 (PIA)   The Army’s 302 Brigade has participated in setting up Peace and Development Community (PDC) this week at sitio Escaguit, Barangay Enrique Villanueva in Sibulan town.

Brigade’s Information Officer, Captain Anacito Naz said the army linked up with Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) in the establishment of PDC in support for the government’s program on socio-economic development assistance to the members of Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Bongcayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA/ABB) Tabano-Paduano Group.

The establishment of the PDC is one of the important steps in attaining a successful closure to the peace process with theRPM-P/RPA/ABB, said Capt. Naz.

The Philippine Army led by Brigade Commander, Col. Francisco Patrimonio joined the team of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and some local officials in the conduct of an ocular inspection of the area.

The activity aimed at determining the particular location of the PDC as well as to gather information or data that will contribute to the profiling of the socio-economic, political and security aspects of the proposed PDC.

The military official said, “Aside from being a major component in the closure of the peace agreement, the PDC also aims to contribute to lasting peace by reducing poverty and vulnerability through community infrastructure and focused delivery of social services.”

Likewise the PDC helps improve governance through partnerships with national and local institutions, enhance transparency and accountability mechanisms, empowerment of communities and strengthening of their capacity to address issues of peace through activities that ensure participation and inclusion.

Present during the visit to barangay Enrique Villanueva also include Mayor Marcela Bartoces of Sibulan, P/SSupt. Edward Carranza, Police Provincial Director, Mario Aragon of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office. (PIA/JCT)

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CSOs get involved in the local ‘kaban ng bayan’

by Jennifer Catan-Tilos

DUMAGUETE CITY, Jan. 6 (PIA)     Civil society organizations (CSOs) and the local government units (LGUs) of Valencia and San Jose have participated in a workshop on “Increasing Transparency in Local Governance through Informed Citizens’ Participation,” this week.

Under Code: RED or Reforms for Economic Development, the seminar helps LGU executives engaged CSOs on revenue and expenditure management, opening an opportunity to work together in enhancing transparency.

This British Embassy funded project, Code: RED is a non-government organization commissioned by the British Embassy to undertake the seminar in cooperation with Social Watch Philippines and Silliman University.

In two separate schedules, some 60 identified local officials in each town participated in the workshop at Bethel Guest House.

Aside from civil society, participants include municipal planning officers, treasurers and budget officers in the each LGU. The workshop focuses on development plan, revenue sources and budget allocation, identification of additional revenue sources and priority spending and draw out the commitments from local government.


The activity also aims to capacitate CSOs in understanding the basic local finance and identify it under the Local Government Code, which they participate in the budget. 


A team of local finance experts led by former National Treasurer and Social Watch Philippines Lead Convenor Leonor Briones who discussed about local public finance and people participation in local budgeting and suggested ways of increasing LGU revenues and prioritize.


Other resource speakers are Social Watch Philippines' Jessica Cantos, Cielo Magno and Leilani Galvez.

Briones said that CSOs are trained to effectively participate in the local public finance process which involves analyzing public finance records, tracking expenditures and proposing alternative ways to raise revenues for the LGUs.


This gives “voice” to people, enables civil society to become partners of government, and makes the government more responsive to the needs of citizens,” said Code: RED.

The project comes in sync with the memorandum circular issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) last year.   Memorandum Circular 2010-83 requires all LGUs to submit and post sources of income, budgets, expenditures, contracts and loans as well as procurement plans.


Full disclosure of local budget and finances is central in institutionalizing good governance, transparency and accountability in light of the annual internal revenue allotment (IRA) to LGUs and other sources of income. 


In 2011 alone, the IRA  amounted PhP287 billion or about 20 percent of the national budget. Other sources of income for LGUs amount to an estimated PhP60 billion (£1 billion) annually.  (PIA/JCT)

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Families of Typhoon Sendong’s victims receive aid from NDRRMC

By Rachelle M. Nessia

DUMAGUETE CITY, Jan. 6 (PIA) --- The families of the victims who died from the onslaught of Typhoon Sendong in Negros Oriental received financial aid from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) yesterday (Jan. 5) at the Session Hall in the Capitol building.

Gov. Roel Degamo personally handed over envelopes containing cash worth P10,000 to each of the 38 beneficiaries who lost one or more family members as a result of the floods brought by the typhoon.

The aid was released by NDRRMC to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

The recipients come from the local government units (LGUs) here that were badly hit by Typhoon Sendong, namely: Valencia, Sibulan, Dumaguete City, Bacong, Siaton, San Jose, Tanjay City and Pamplona.

OCD Region 7 Director Minda Morante, who assisted the governor in distributing the monetary aid, said they will also be giving financial help to other flood-victims.

“For now we are prioritizing the release of aid to families of victims who died due to Typhoon Sendong,” said Morante.

The governor said the provincial government will also release financial assistance to families whose houses were affected by the floods.

The mood inside the session hall was somber with most of the recipients teary-eyed as they recalled how the typhoon claimed the lives of their loved ones.

Among those who received said financial aid is Elvin Balbon, 36, of Brgy. Tubtubon, Sibulan town who lost his father, sibling and three children after their house was swept away by the raging floodwaters.

Balbon said he will use the monetary aid from the government to rent a lot or house where he and his remaining family members will relocate to.

The typhoon made Angelita Bandoquilla, 25, of Brgy. Tabuc-tubig, Dumaguete City  a widow after her husband, Roben, died from electric shock at the height of the typhoon.

“He was comatose in the hospital for more than a week and died on December 26,” a grieving Angelita told reporters.

She added that she will use the financial assistance in her second-hand clothes or ukay-ukay business.

Gov. Degamo urged the families to avoid going back to their flood-hit areas. “Don’t go back there. Find a safe place where you can rebuild your lives,” he said.

Typhoon Sendong struck the province dawn of Dec. 17, 2011 causing two major rivers to swell and sweeping away houses, bridges and other infrastructure around Negros Oriental.

A report released Dec. 23, 2011 by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) here puts the death toll at 37 with six persons still missing.

Infrastructure damage caused by the floods is pegged at P694.45 million. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)