DUMAGUETE CITY – Key leaders of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Association of Dumaguete and Negros Oriental are grateful and hopeful of Gov. Roel Degamo’s vow to make coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines available to this sector.
In an interview on Friday, Chary Mae Bacong, secretary of the group, said there is an estimated 12,000 employees in ICT and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies here and other areas in the province who are now back to work after strict community quarantine restrictions are eased.
On Thursday, the group met with Degamo at the Capitol to seek his support in making the ICT sector a priority in the vaccination rollout.
Joslyn Andreai Hartzell, director for Community Relations of Qualfon, Inc., said the governor has “given his commitment to support prioritization of the BPO sector for the Covid-19 vaccination deployment plan of the province as he recognizes the contribution of the industry to the economy”.
“The challenge now is for every company to strengthen its campaign on vaccine literacy so when the opportunity to be vaccinated comes, employees would actually have themselves vaccinated and get us closer to herd immunity,” she said in a statement on social media.
Bacong said “we are indeed happy with the provincial governor’s action towards our request. It is our hope that these vaccines be available and provided for free to our BPO employees, being considered as front-liners of the economy”.
Also present during the meeting aside from Hartzell were ICT Association executive director Danah Fortunato, president Suzanne Lu-Bascara, and other officers and representatives of at least 16 BPO firms. (PNA) -rir
