BACOLOD CITY – Some 30 business chambers from across the Visayas will be hosted by the Roxas City-based Capiz Halaran Chamber of Commerce and Industry during the 30th Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC) on July 29 and 30.
Organized with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), this year’s VABC will underscore the need for post-pandemic solutions for quick economic recovery.
“The upcoming business conference is very relevant to the present times,” Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and vice president for the Visayas of PCCI, said in a statement on Monday.
He cited the need to encourage local government units (LGUs) and national government agencies (NGAs) to support or parallel the recovery efforts of the private sector.
“Various NGAs will present their crucial programs that will put the Visayas area on a stronger economic footing for businesses to continue staying afloat and recover quickly when the country attains herd immunity,” he added.
For Western Visayas, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) will discuss the status of Panay River Basin Water Project, a major flood control infrastructure of Capiz that will irrigate over 10,000 hectares of riceland, and also serve as a reliable source of potable water.
Panay Island has completed its Jalaur River Water Projects I and II, and has now started another mega water project, Carbon said.
He said although there is no single government agency managing the water sector, the NIA and National Economic and Development Authority in Western Visayas completed the Jalaur projects in record time.
In Antique, the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Science and Technology, along with the office of Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda and the provincial government, are pushing for the conversion of farming and fishing communities into an agri-business zone.
For Aklan, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat will soon unveil the roadmap on how to fully open Boracay Island to tourists, he added.
“The above mentioned programs and projects of our NGAs are what matters the most in the Visayas area economic recovery,” Carbon said, adding “the focus is on Capiz, Aklan and Antique so they could catch up with the provinces of Negros Occidental and Iloilo.” (PNA)
