PGMA says BPO jobs form part of her legacy
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MOLO, Iloilo City -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today stressed that the 500,000 jobs created in the
business process outsourcing (BPO) industry are part of the legacy she will leave behind when she steps down
this June, after nine years of steering the country to progress.
In her message delivered at the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University here, the President said she
created and developed what is today a global powerhouse: the Philippines BPO industry.
“From $24 million in 2001, our BPO industry has grown to earn $7.3 billion in 2009, not far behind India's $9
billion,” the President said.
The President said that in developing the BPO sector, her administration invested in strategic digital
infrastructure, formulated the appropriate policy, created the legal environment, and developed human capital.
According to the President she also encouraged the establishment of broadband services in cities and
identified growth areas; created the Commission on ICT, which is guided by the market with minimal
government interference; and invested in technical education and skills development by providing schools with
computers and Internet connection.
''We invested in technical, vocational, and skills training three times more than that of three previous
administrations combined. A very large portion of this investment went to scholarships for call center training,''
she said.
On the third leg of her week-long tour of the country’s Cyber Corridor, the President hailed the university for
offering courses for call center agents.
“Iloilo City has been identified as having great potentials for ICT because of its ICT academy,'' the President said.
During her visit, the President observed an ongoing English proficiency class of 20 students and a computer
class for potential call center workers.
The President also noted that the university offers TESDA (Tecnical Education Skills and Development Authority)-
registered courses and was able to produce 400 Pangulong Gloria Scholars for call center agents. To date, 252
of these scholars are employed in BPOs.
The Cyber Corridor, identified and periodically updated by the private sector, the academe and government, was
originally confined to Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.
Over the years, it has expanded so much that it now includes ten ''New Wave Cities, notably Metro Laguna, Metro
Cavite, Metro Pampanga, Metro Bulacan, Central Bulacan,Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, Lipa, Metro Laguna,
and Iloilo.
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PGMA credits good business climate for BPO fast growth
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SILAY, Negros Occidental --- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today cited the local business environment
here for making the city among the country’s fastest growing business process outsourcing (BPO) destinations.
The President addressed an audience of about 200 major locators, call center agents, and media at the
Teleperformance Phils. facility beside the Luxur Hotel.
Silay-Bacolod is part of the Cyber Corridor, which traverses the country from Baguio to Davao.
As defined by the private sector, the academe, and government, Cyber Corridor is composed of ideal locations
for information and communications technology (ICT) firms engaged in call centers, software development,
medical, accounting and legal transcriptions, engineering design, animation, and game development.
“From only 2,400 workers in 2000, we have created what is today a global powerhouse: the Philippine BPO
industry. We have achieved this by investing in digital infrastructure, formulating appropriate policy, creating the
legal environment, and developing human capital,” the President said.
“The 500,000 jobs created in information and communications technology (ICT) are part of the legacy I will
leave, a legacy of hardwork, a strong and stable economy, renewed global engagement, major investments in
healthcare and education and dramatic improvements in physical infrastructure like the Bacolod-Silay Road, the
Bacolod Airport, and RORO (roll on roll off) ports,” the President said.
“The Philippines with its 90 million population is closing in on India, which has one billion people in the ICT
world,” the President said.
“Much work remains to be done but I am determined to turn over to a new government a new Philippines ready
for the challenge of bringing the nation to the verge of first world in 20 years,” the President stressed.
The President was accompanied here by Commission on Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Secretary Ray Anthony Chua, Press Secretary Crispulo Icban Jr., Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Ricardo
Saludo, and Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) Chairman Augusto Syjuco.
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4 IT sites eyed in Negros Occidental
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SILAY, Negros Occidental - Four major IT (information technology) sites are scheduled to rise in Negros
Occidental, thanks to the support extended by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the industry
In a briefing at the Teleperformance Phils. facility near the Luxur Hotel here, Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, president
of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental National Federation of Information Technology, disclosed that work will soon
start in the 50-hectare industrial economic zone in Silay and in the 13-hectare IT and tourism zone in Bacolod to
prepare them as sites for IT and BPO (business process outsourcing) firms.
And training programs are now being conducted in anticipation of the arrival of these companies.
"We have six call center training providers identified with TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority),” Batapa-Sigue said. “Likewise, most of our colleges and universities have their training programs that
address the need for more talents."
All this, Batapa-Sigue acknowledged, became possible after President Arroyo established the Commission on
Information and Communications Technology (CICT), the Philippine Export Zone Authority, and the local ICT
councils and federation.
"We have become cyber leaders inside the cyber corridor that President Arroyo has created,” she said.
The President is stepping down in five months, Batapa-Sigue observed, “but before she does, we would like to
thank her for all she did for the industry.
“We also would like to inform her that we fully support the pending bill in the Senate that seeks to institutionalize
the CICT.
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