BPO sector reiterates optimism in continued growth

CEBU, Philippines - The Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) has reiterated its confidence that even if the bill in the US against outsourcing will be passed, the industry will continue to grow.

BPAP chairman Bong Borja said that although industry players believe that this move of the US government to dis-incentivized companies that do outsourcing outside of their country is “something political”, the industry in the Philippines is also taking the threat seriously.

According to Borja, outsourcing firms have their own contingency plans if ever the bill will be passed into law, he however said that such possibility is farfetched.

Borja said outsourcing is here to stay, companies all around the world are now doing everything to cut-cost and improve efficiency, outsourcing is one of the most effective ways to lower operational cost, and heighten competitiveness.

Borja, who is also the President of one of the country’s largest call centers, Aegis Philippines, said that the outsourcing market is not only limited to the United States. In fact, his company is even starting to tap the domestic market, while local companies are also doing outsourcing some of their operations such as customer service, among others.

Besides, he said even if the US government will decide not to give incentives to companies that throw their services off-shore, it’s very difficult for the “business or companies” to be dictated upon.

“Cost efficiency is the name of the game now,” Borja said and policies cannot even stop this phenomenon.

Meanwhile, he said outsourcing players also believe that the economy in the United States is showing improvement saying “indicators are looking good.”

“I don’t think this is a threat to the outsourcing industry. Although we are taking the issue very seriously. We believe that outsourcing will still win, because of its economics of globalization,” Borja said.

House Bill (HB) No. 3596, the “Call Center and Consumers Protection Bill” was filed by Reps. Tim Bishop (Democrat, New York), David Mckinley (Republican, West Virginia) and Mike Michaud (Democrat, Texas) last December 7.

Under the bill, companies that have call centers overseas would be ineligible for grants and guaranteed loans from the federal government. It also proposes a $10,000 a day penalty on US call centers that fail to report its relocation to an offshore location within 60 days to the Labor department.

Also, call center operators will be required to identify their location. Callers will also be allowed to choose an operator who is based in the US.

Many American companies have been outsourcing their call center services to the Philippines and India in recent years, since wages here are much lower than in the US. The monthly salary of an entry-level call center worker is about P14,000-P20,000 ($325-$465).

Cebu on the other hand, was able to take a step ahead to cushion the negative effect if the Bill will signed into law in the US.

The Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) announced earlier that it has started to work hand in hand with European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) to mount an aggressive promotional campaign to attract European firms to open up outsourcing offices in Cebu.

CIPC managing director Joel Mari S. Yu, for Cebu, a number of European-based companies have already opened outsourcing offices here, with Cebu’s position as an emerged BPO destination in the world, the number is expected to rise in the coming months or years. (FREEMAN)