The town of Dalaguete welcomes its first BPO firm, Dalaguete IT Solutions, on May 30. It is also the first BPO company to open in the southern part of the province of Cebu, and is expected to generate more jobs in the area. CDN Digital photo| Morexette Marie Erram
DALAGUETE, Cebu – Plans to establish a ‘mini-I.T. park’ in the town of Dalaguete, southern Cebu is now gaining ground.
The local government here welcomed its first business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, the Dalaguete IT Solutions, during a ceremony on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.
Those present on Tuesday’s activity included Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Cong. Edsel Galeos of the 2nd District, Provincial Board Members Raymond Calderon and Stanley Caminero of the 2nd District, Dalaguete Mayor Ronald Allan Cesante, and the founders of Dalaguete IT Solutions.
Dalaguete IT Solutions is also the first BPO firm to do its operations in the southern portion of the province, according to local officials.
With this development, stakeholders in Dalaguete expect more jobs to be generated not only in their town but also in nearby localities.
“This will certainly add to the economic development and progress not just Dalaguete (but) all the neighboring towns,” said Garcia.
Dalaguete IT Park
Dalaguete, dubbed as Cebu’s ‘vegetable basket’, is a first-class municipality located approximately 88 kilometers southeast of Cebu City, where majority of the island province’s BPO firms are based.
Dalaguete IT Solutions is currently based in Dalaguete Star Center in Brgy. Poblacion. The property, owned by the municipal government, is envisioned as the town’s first IT hub.
As of May 30, a total of three firms, including Dalaguete IT Solutions, committed to opening up businesses in Dalaguete, one of which is expected to start its operations in September.
Aside from companies themselves, the local government planned to establish a community college, where they want to introduce IT-focused courses to students.
So far, Dalaguete has invested a total of P10 million in its dream of having the Dalaguete IT Park, under its Dalaguete Business Processing Outsourcing Program (DBPOP).
Most of the cost went to equipping the Dalaguete Star Center with fast internet connection, and stable electricity in order to accommodate BPO firms.
A new building to house more BPO locators is also in the pipeline.
The concept of a ‘Dalaguete IT Park’ began during the height of the pandemic, said Cesante, when mass lay-offs and work-from-home arrangements prompted employees to return to their hometowns.
“[Among what we saw] is a new industry or a new line of enterprise where the municipal government could open and work with the private sector to come in, and making sure that the youth would also be able to get a sustainable job,” explained Cesante.
They conducted several surveys and focus group discussions to determine the feasibility of opening a BPO in their area.
Much to the local government unit’s (LGU) delight, the results showed that ‘a lot of BPO employees’ based in Dalaguete would want to work there instead of traveling to urban areas like Metro Cebu.
As a result, the LGU launched the DBPOP, a public-private partnership initiative meant to entice more investors in the IT industry to come to Dalaguete.
Under DBPOP, the public sector would be in charge of hiring talent while private companies pay the lease in using properties in Dalaguete Sky Center.
Dalaguete IT Solutions
Abner Morales, co-founder of Dalaguete IT Solutions, said they decided to invest in Dalaguete upon learning the DBPOP.
The local government’s ability to provide the necessary infrastructure and talent pool were also the biggest factors in opening up in the south, he added.
“As far as I can tell, me and my business partner, we’ve been in this industry for more than 20 years already, we can know that it’s a great facility,” Morales said.
“And it’s prime to take on not just the simple voice and non-voice but technically the most complicated campaigns running in the city. It’s just a matter of getting the right clients and finding the right talents,” he added.
Prior to Tuesday’s ceremonial launching, Dalaguete IT Solutions had begun training potential employees last November 2022.
Around 40 candidates made it to the training session, of which 11 were selected to proceed to take the job.
Presently, hirings are still open in Dalaguete IT Solutions. While the local government gives priority to youth living in Dalaguete, they are also open to accommodating those from neighboring municipalities.
/bmjo
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