Tacloban City (October 23) -- In connection with the Leyte Province Business Month which is being celebrated this month of October, an IT Forum and Tour was conducted on October 9 at the People's Center by the Provincial Government of Leyte in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Leyte Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Leyte Provincial Government, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Globelines Innove Communications and Bayan Telecommunications Corp.

Dubbed as IT Solutions for business establishments, LGUs, academe, development planners and planning officers, the Forum tackled four topics which were presented to the 60 participants composed of representatives of local government units, government line agencies, academe, students and businessmen.

The first topic was "Increasing Business Productivity and Profitability with Customized Sales and Inventory Solutions" which tackled on solutions for quick and effective information dissemination using SMS (short message service). It was presented by Mr. Jason Pascual, Proprietor Manager of POS Technology Solutions, an incubate-company of the Technology Business Incubator (TBI) for ICT-Based SMEs of Region 8 – a project of the DOST 8, Leyte PLGU, and the Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI-DOST).

The second topic was "Specialization in Engineering and Architecture Thru CAD Technology" which was presented by Engr. Michael Rico C. Yu, Associate Structural Engineer of eDWG Designs Solutions – another TBI incubate.

This was followed by the presentation of Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. Marketing Supervisor Mr. Manuel Abadiano of his company's latest products and services. He highlighted the innovation in the company's corporate image and the readiness to support Region 8's vision to become one of the country's ICT hub.

The last topic discussed was "Supporting Growth of Local IT Companies thru the Technology Business Incubator for ICT-Based SMEs" which was presented by Mr. Rinbert Emmanuel M. Laus, the Manager of the abovementioned TBI. He discussed the objectives of TBI project, enrollment criteria, and the various facilities and services of the TBI.

In the afternoon, the IT Forum participants were treated to a guided tour to the switching facilities of Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. and to the ICoT Park and its facilities such as the Technology Business Incubator for ICT-Based SMEs and a Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) company.