BACOLOD CITY — The three-day 2018 Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC) and Agriculture and Livestock Expo set in two venues kicked off in this city on Wednesday.
The event, hosted by the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) and the provincial government of Negros Occidental, is themed “Government and Business Partnering for Growth and Development: Building Capacities and Finding Solutions.”
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of MBCCI, emphasized the importance of a strong collaboration between the government and the private sector in working towards growth and development.
“We can only do so much without the help of the government. If we work on our own, the impact is minimal,” he added.
The conference, which gathers representatives of businesses, local government units, and academe from Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas, started on Wednesday with a franchising seminar led by Ma. Laureana “Dana” Cuneta, strategic planning franchise consultant of Francorp Philippines, at L’ Fisher Hotel.
The launching of the Philippine Franchise Association Expo and Aspire Forum and Business Matching will follow in the same venue on Thursday.
On Friday, the Agriculture and Livestock Expo will open at SM City Bacolod.
The business conference proper will be held also on Friday at L’ Fisher Hotel. Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. will be the keynote speaker during the opening rites.
Topics during the plenary session will include Philippine Constitutional Review: Proposals Affecting Economy and the Federated Regions; NEDA Briefs: Information Needed by Business and Government Planners; Tourism Sustainability: The Boracay Experience; and Investing in Sustainable Tourism.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) chairman for agriculture Roberto Amores will discuss the Investment and Business Opportunities in Agriculture.
Senator Cynthia Villar, chair of Senate committee on agriculture and food, will talk on Food Security and Government Interventions in Agriculture.
After the sessions, the business chambers from Regions 6, 7 and 8 will present project proposals and plenary resolutions, which they will turnover to Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino. (Erwin Nicavera/PNA)
