By Rene Martel
CONVENTIONAL wisdom used to be that overseas workers ruled supreme when propping up the economy of the Philippines. But there is now an increasing belief that, given the right government backing, business process outsourcing could move ahead as the premier source of the country’s economic salvation.
In this respect Sen. Edgardo Angara, for one, believes that the government needs to swiftly boost the country’s competitiveness in the digital information age through the creation of the Department of Information and Communication Technology and the adoption of data privacy laws which seek to protect personal information and ICT systems in the public and private sectors.
These moves in turn will be instrumental in transforming the Philippines into a knowledge-based economy.
The BPO industry can bring in more money than remittances from overseas Filipino workers by 2016, claimed the Business Processing Association of the Philippines during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, which Angara chairs.
Angara stressed that key pieces of legislation will be needed to sustain the growth of the country’s BPO industry. These include safeguarding sensitive personal data and having a single ICT-dedicated government entity to implement strategies for competitiveness.
“In order to create a knowledge-based economy in the Philippines, we must first put in place measures that will uphold the integrity and security of data, information, communication and technology-based systems,” explained Angara, who is also sponsoring the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
He said it is about time the government pushes for its own DICT, as the country has already fallen far behind its Southeast Asian peers in this regard.
Only the Philippines, Myanmar and Timor-Leste do not have a department dedicated to the development of ICT. “It is a pity that we have allowed our country to be overtaken by our historical contemporaries in development”, Angara said.
The BPO sector is worth $9 billion and employs about half a million Filipinos. BPAP believes that based on modest estimates, it has the potential to grow to $26 billion by 2016, employing 1.3 million people. Remittances stood at approximately $18.8 billion in 2010.
Angara is all for the government’s ICT-related functions to be consolidated into one agency. Otherwise there would be a lack of focus and efforts to support the industry would be disjointed.
“A dedicated DICT will streamline the implementation of functions and prevent confusion in the industry. BPO companies won’t have to jump around from agency to agency looking for the right government office to liaise with,” he added.
The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines has also thrown its support behind the creation of the DICT, which they said would become a one-stop shop for the ICT sector.
In addition, the National Economic and Development Authority recommends the creation of the DICT under the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan. [email protected]
For the original article by the Manila Times, click here.
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