The Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communication Technology is seeking registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-stock, non-profit organization, Bacolod City Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, BNEFIT chairperson, said yesterday.

Batapa said 15 incorporators signed the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws during their meeting on December 21.

Through its SEC registration, BNEFIT aims to pursue ICT- readiness and competitiveness and sustain the gains of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental as part of the Philippine Cyber Corridor, she said.

BNEFIT is a collective effort of the academe and human resource development, real estate and business and local governments to undertake projects and programs complementary to the vision of making Bacolod City and Negros Occidental as viable locations for ICT and business process outsourcing services.

Batapa-Sigue said they plan to assist local government units and the national government especially in designing programs that will complement the educational system by integrating ICT into it to produce a more competent and job-ready workforce.

Aside from Batapa-Sigue, other incorporators of BNEFIT are Loida Acha of West Negros College; Teresa Asuncion Borromeo of Ayala Land Inc.;  Julie Gretchen Dizon of Focus Pacific Communications; Dennis Jalbuena of Fernando F. Gonzaga Inc.; Richard Loveland of Teleperformance; Hans Montenegro of Convergys; Raymund Nones of Solegy LLC; Andrew Regalado of ANCorp.; Reymund Sabay of the University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos; Shiegfred Tan of the University of St. La Salle; Michael Tanner of Teletech; Mary Verdure Tolentino of the ITSNET Inc.; Teresa Villanueva of Lasaltech; and Agnes Villar of HERRA Diversified Holdings Corp.

BNEFIT has seventy-five members who agreed to form the federation during the first ICT conference held in Bacolod last November 15 and 16.

BNEFIT is also one of the founding members of the Philippine Federation of ICT Organizations and Councils organized by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology chaired by Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III.*

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