BACOLOD CITY, July 3 (PIA) – – The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), during the virtual launch of Digital Cities, named Bacolod City as among the top “Centers of Excellence” for Information Technology – Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO), along with other five key cities.

Bacolod City has remained as center of excellence for IT-BPO, as it first achieved the distinction in 2013, along with the other key cities namely Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Clark, Davao City, and Iloilo City.

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the distinction is a revalidation of the city’s status as one of the premier investment destinations in the country.

“In this highly competitive field, it takes a strong combination of available quality human resource and infrastructure to stay on top and we still made it. This and many other attributes of Bacolod should tell us that it will only be a matter of time when this crisis (COVID-19) is tackled that we will rise again,” Leonardia said.

Meanwhile, Rey Untal, president and CEO of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), said that they recognized locations that have been crucial to the continued and growing relevance of the Philippines as a global investment destination.

The virtual event was conducted through Facebook Live, and joined by DICT secretary Gregorio Honasan II, Digital Philippines Assistant Secretary Emmanuel Rey Caintic, and Leechiu Property Consultants co-founder and CEO David Leechiu, who is also a trustee of IBPAP. *(LTP/EAD-PIA6 Negros Occidental)