GMA envisions RP to become outsourcing hub

CEBU — President Arroyo wants the Philippines to become the world’s top business process outsourcing (BPO) hub as she announced here yesterday that the country would hold a summit on national competitiveness in September to achieve such goal.

Mrs. Arroyo plans to create a National Competitiveness Council that would monitor the programs that would come up after the summit on Sept. 28 and 29.

Mrs. Arroyo met with the country’s International Board of Advisors here last Friday. The board saw the country’s potential as a top BPO haven.

"The international board of advisers recognize the huge competitive edge we have and we should really maximize this potential," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo ordered the Task Force on Competitiveness, headed by Trade and Industry Peter Favila, to come up with a "master plan" promoting the Philippines’ prominence and popularity in the call center and BPO industries.

"We have to ensure that we will not have shortage in manpower and we are working on that," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said the advisers discussed about going up "the value chain" to improve the country’s competitiveness in the BPO industry.

"That’s the wave of the future, that’s already part of the 21st century and the Philippines is very competitive in this area," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said that with renewed investments in the logistics hubs of Clark and Subic, "the country is in the position to become truly global players in the third party logistics support."

"Our location, English-speaking skills, education level and service culture are natural advantages that we must accelerate through more investments in education, infrastructure and international promotion of our unique attributes," she said.