Bacolod Stakeholders Still confident Despite Drop in Tholons ‘Super Cities’
July 3 – Despite Bacolod City’s ranking in the latest Tholons’ list of global outsourcing cities dropping to 97th from 85th, the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation of Information and Communications Technology (BNEFIT), remains happy that the city is still part of the top 100.
BNEFIT executive director Jocelle Batapa-Sigue said the drop in ranking is a signal to push the efforts harder to further develop the outsourcing industry in Bacolod. She also admitted that Bacolod has not embedded fully a system that will sustainably provide continuous support to the growth of the IT-BPM industry. Aside from Bacolod, other Philippines cities, including Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Sta. Rosa, also saw their rankings drop this year.
Cebu City to Address BPO Talent Pool Concerns
July 4 – Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said his administration will try to address the concerns of both the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and employees in the development of the industry in the city. During his State-of-the-City Address on 04 July, the mayor said BPO companies in the city currently have a shortage of at least 50,000 call center agents because many of those who are qualified do not apply, and about 4% of those employed quit their jobs every month.
He said security concerns and lack of convenient transportation to and from work are two of the main reasons that have prompted call center workers to quit. The mayor said the Cebu City government will address security and transportation issues and will implement programs that will make it easier for call center agents to finish college or pursue masters’ degrees while working.
NICP Leader Calls for More Economic Zones
July 5 - Lawyer Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, trustee and head of the public sector and policy committee of the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP), said there is a need for more economic zones accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).
She said economic zones designed for information and communications technology enterprises will help local ICT companies because these facilities provide incentives through Peza. ICT enterprises within such zones can enjoy incentives like 100% exemption from corporate income tax. Firms can also be exempted from payment of any and all local government imposts, fees, licenses or taxes.
Online IT-BPO Hiring Up 23% in May
July 5 – The latest Monster Employment Index (MEI) showed that online hiring for the IT, telecommunications, and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines grew 23% in May from a year earlier. The rate of increase is higher than the 13% year-on-year growth in Singapore and 9% in Malaysia.
The growth is also a three percentage point increase from the 20% annual growth in April. Despite a double-digit growth in online hiring for IT, telecoms, and BPO, there is a growing sense of job insecurity among tech professionals, according to Sanjay Modi, managing director Monster.com in Asia Pacific and Middle East. The MEI is a monthly analysis of job hiring activity of employers in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Filinvest Still Bullish on BPO industry
July 7 – Philippine property developer Filinvest Land Inc will continue to build office projects as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms pursue their expansion plans, said Cyberzone Properties President Joseph M. Yap at a press conference. Cyberzone Properties Inc, a unit of Filinvest Land, is building more BPO buildings as it remains bullish about the prospects of the industry despite the slowdown in absorption from this market segment.
Cyberzone remains bullish as it believes that increasingly market perceptions of the threat from the protectionist policies of US President Donald Trump translating into a significant effect in the BPO industry are now diminishing.
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