DTI boosts Western Visayas IT-BPM, creative exports
Officials from DTI Region VI, the DTI Export Marketing Bureau, industry experts and partic-ipating micro, small and medium enterprises gather during the Capacity Building and Market Strengthening Session for the IT-BPM Services and Creative Industries sectors at Diversion 21 Hotel on Sept. 24, 2026. Western Visayas is the first region outside the National Capital Re-gion to host the specialized intervention, which aims to help regional enterprises move beyond traditional commodities and tap higher-value IT-BPM and creative services for export markets.
ILOILO CITY — The Department of Trade and Industry Region VI, in partnership with the DTI Export Marketing Bureau, conducted capacity-building and market-strengthening sessions for the information technology-business process management and creative industries sectors at Diversion 21 Hotel on Sept. 24, 2026.
Western Visayas became the first region outside the National Capital Region to host the specialized intervention.
The three-day initiative brought together micro, small and medium enterprises from the IT-BPM sector, including health care information management services, software development and IT-enabled services.
Creative industries represented in the program included game development, animation, film, comics and related services.
The program began Sept. 23 with a site visit to Carelon Global Solutions, where participants observed talent training, infrastructure capabilities and operational setups.
The second day at Diversion 21 Hotel focused on learning modules and interactive workshops designed to strengthen the export readiness of participating enterprises.
DTI-6 Acting Regional Director Mutya D. Eusores said the agency aims to position Western Visayas as a hub for health care information management services and data technology while expanding support for the creative sector.
Participating enterprises also underwent company assessments intended to identify technical requirements and other needs for entering global markets.
Eusores said the initiative could broaden the region’s economic base beyond traditional commodities such as Aklan’s piña weaving, Antique’s muscovado sugar, Capiz’s cut foliage, Guimaras’ mangoes and Iloilo’s crabmeat.
“This intervention is about creating real value, generating quality jobs, increasing revenue, and enhancing worker productivity for our IT-BPM and creative sectors,” Eusores said.
She said the creative industry cuts across different economic sectors and could open export opportunities for individual firms.
DTI-EMB and industry expert Ariston Aquino, co-founder and chief operations officer of Business Strategy Specialists Inc., led the learning modules and interactive workshops.
Participating enterprises underwent sessions on export readiness assessment, market analysis, requirements, compliance and protection of data assets, compliance assessment, and personalized export profiling and consultation clinics.
The modules were followed by synthesis sessions and action-planning workshops to help participating firms develop their export roadmaps.
The three-day program concluded Sept. 25 with morning enterprise visits to Mulave Studios and Sagility Philippines in Pavia, Iloilo.
The initiative dovetails with the Philippine Export Development Plan 2023-2028, which identifies IT-BPM as a major export sector and calls for expansion into higher-value services such as health information management, animation and game development, and software development.
DTI data in the export plan showed that the IT-BPM sector generated USD 29.5 billion in export revenue and employed 1.44 million Filipinos in 2021.
Through the program, DTI-6 and DTI-EMB aim to help Western Visayas enterprises strengthen their capabilities, scale their operations and compete in international markets.
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