Roi Anthoni B. Lomotan
DUMAGUETE CITY, May 21 (PIA) – The Negros Oriental Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) forges a partnership with the Local
Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED) to
strengthen investment promotion efforts in the province particularly in the
tourism sector.
NOCCI president Edward Du and LGSP-LED field director for
Philippines Francis Gentoral sealed their partnership through a Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA) in a signing ceremony at a local hotel in Dumaguete City today.
LGSP-LED is a cooperation program between the Canadian and
Philippine governments. The Department of the Interior and Government (DILG)
facilitates the implementation of LGSP-LED initiatives in different local
government units (LGUs) throughout the country.
According to Gentoral, the role of LGSP-LED in the province’s
investment promotion is to provide technical assistance to LGUs and private
institutions in the formulation of local investment and incentive codes as well
as facilitate in conducting investment forums and trainings for local economic
investment promotion officers.
For now, the focus of LGSP-LED programs is on tourism sector since
it is one of the identified top economic drivers in the province.
Gentoral said Negros Oriental and its capital Dumaguete City are included
in the tourism map of the Philippines and it is important to ensure that there
is a good infrastructure product development and marketing to make tourist
destinations more attractive to tourists.
“One of the activities to be done is to ensure that the local
governments are supportive of the requirements of the investors by way of
providing them with good information, consistent person or staff to address the
requirement of investors and a good policy that is attracting and retaining
investments in your area,” Gentoral noted.
Gentoral added his role is to help the key players like the
private sector and provincial government work together to ensure the important
ingredient for a competitive tourism destination is present in your area.
Gentoral also disclosed that there will be a Visayas-wide
investment forum in Dumaguete City sometime in July. This will be an
opportunity to promote investment opportunities in Negros Oriental to other
businessmen in the Visayas area.
Meanwhile, NOCCI president Ed Du said he is happy with partnership
of NOCCI and LGSP-LED. The partnership with LGSP-LED is a big help
to NOCCI in fulfilling its mandate to do investment promotions, Du added.
The NOCCI president believed this partnership the
province will be open to more investments thus creating jobs for many Oriental
Negrenses.
“We would like to express to the government of Canada our
steadfast support and commitment in continuing investment promotion efforts to
create more jobs and to promote entrepreneurship,” Du said.
Du also underscored that NOCCI will intensify its collaboration
with local government units in the province to facilitate more businesses as
key to employment generation, poverty eradication and economic growth.
NOCCI will also continue to strengthen its ties with the
Siquijor Chamber of Commerce and Industry for better economic cooperation
between the two provinces.
Gentoral emphasized that Siquijor and Negros Oriental are
connected in terms of tourism development because tourists in Negros Oriental
will also go to Siquijor and vice versa. Therefore development interventions
should benefit both provinces.
Since 2008, LGSP-LED has assisted 17 provinces, 17 cities and
hundreds of municipalities in the country in streamlining their local business
permits and licensing systems, updating their local incentive investment and
revenue code, creating local economic and investment promotion offices, and
strengthening their engagement with private sector for investment
promotion and tourism product development and destination marketing.
According to Stephen Weaver, head of AID of Department of Foreign
Affairs, Trade and Development in Canada, since 2011, partner LGUs of LGSP-LED
have attracted a total of P8.3B investment in the tourism sector, 85% of which
are private sectors.
It also increased the annual tourist arrivals by 50% on
average on all site and registered 1,600 new business and created 5,000 new
jobs in tourism sector.