PIA Press Release
Thursday, January 05, 2012 BPO sector to sustain growth in 2012 despite U.S. billby Precie Catherine C. CuartoQUEZON CITY, Jan. 5 (PIA) -- The business process outsourcing (BPO) sector shall sustain growth this year despite the pending bill in the United States Congress which aims to discourage US companies to outsource their operations, said Central Bank of the Philippines Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo. Guinigundo said the Business Process Outsourcing sector in the Philippines is expected to maintain its 15 to 20 percent growth this year. If the U.S. Congress bill (House Bill 3596 entitled Call Center and Consumers Protection Bill) is put into effect, Guinigundo said, it will be disadvantageous to the U.S. economy. He said, “If the business is going bad, it would be more convenient to outsource (services) because it would be cost-efficient. When the economy is going well, outsourcing would still be needed to be more competitive than other business players.” Guinigundo said the labor cost in the U.S. is higher than the labor cost in the Philippines. Thus, the U.S. government would only have to pay a Filipino call center agent a fraction of the appropriate compensation for the same services of an American. “Not only that, Filipinos --based from our sources-- are more favored because they are not so argumentative, which is (deemed) true by some BPO countries,” he added. Guinigundo said sustained growth of BPO is a great help, however, he clarified that the idea is not meant to encourage students to focus solely on BPO opportunities. Meanwhile, Labor and Employment Spokesperson Nicon Fameronag said the government have earmarked P500 million for the training of those applying for jobs in the call center industry, signifying the government’s confidence in BPO sector. Guinigundo and Fameronag were guests yesterday at the Communication and News Exchange forum aired over People’s Television Channel 4. (ASB/PCC/PIA-GHQ) | 
