Philippine BPO sees growth amid US outsourcing pressure

The business process outsourcing industry in the Philippines is seen to be buoyant this year although it is yet to experience the impact of President Obama's incentive reduction policy on US firms outsourcing their jobs overseas.

According to a report by The Manila Times, Commission on Information and Communications Technology Commissioner Monchito Ibrahim said that they are still uncertain of what or how much the impact would be if such effort by the US government is implemented. However, he said that it would definitely affect the Philippine BPO industry since the US is their largest market.

Pres. Barack Obama mentioned in his State of the Union address that it was time to cut the tax breaks from the firms that send their jobs offshore in order to encourage more jobs in the US and for the businesses to remain within their borders.

Meanwhile, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) said that the industry should not be alarmed by the announcement of Obama. BPAP's Executive Director Martin Antonio Crisostomo was quoted by the Times as saying that they believe it would not have an impact on the outsourcing industry in the Philippines.

Crisostomo added that the cost effectiveness of outsourcing in the Philippines could not be outweighed by the incentives provided by the US government.

He also said that 80 percent of the accounts of BPO firms in the country are from the US.

The Philippine BPO sector also targets a double-digit revenue increase and employment for 2010 amid a possible pressure on outsourcing by the US government, said officials.

Crisostomo also said that the outsourcing industry expects a 26-percent growth this year.