Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez has marked his first year in office with a number of accomplishments, including the doubling of the city’s tax collection, the development of a green city plan, and the expansion of the city’s BPO workforce.
Benitez, who is a businessman and former congressman, has set his sights on making Bacolod a “super city” by 2025. As part of this goal, he has focused on attracting more investments, improving the city’s infrastructure, and developing its human capital.
In his first state of the city address, the mayor said big developers are pouring in an estimated aggregate cost of P2.7 billion, to develop Megaworld Upper East, Rockwell, and SM at the Bredco area. There is also a plan to develop the old Bacolod Airport, he added.
In terms of local revenue, he disclosed that for the first quarter of 2023 collection had reached P1.08 billion as per data of the City Treasurer’s Office. Meanwhile, gross reported sales of registered businesses in Bacolod increased by 35.31% or a total of P118.78 billion from July 2022 to June 2023.
One of Benitez’s key priorities is also to increase the workforce in the business process outsourcing. Bacolod is already a major BPO hub, with over 30,000 workers employed in the sector.
Benitez believes that there is still significant potential for growth in the BPO industry in Bacolod, and he is working to attract more companies to the city.
In addition to his focus on the BPO industry, Benitez has also made investments in other sectors, such as tourism and manufacturing. He has also implemented a number of initiatives to improve the city’s quality of life, such as a green city plan and a new solid waste management system.
