Full development of ICT sector to expand BPO market in RP - Gordon

With the dawn of the computer age, Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) has highlighted the need for further development in the country's information and communications technology (ICT) sector to enable the Philippines to get the lion's share in the global ICT market.

Gordon, in his keynote address at the 7th Youth Congress in Information Technology, said the Philippines could become number one in the ICT-business process outsourcing (BPO) industry worldwide and bring in more employment opportunities if the sector would be developed to its full potential.

"Napakahalaga ng computer industry sa panahon ngayon, Ang opportunities ngayon ay nandiyan. ICT will equalize opportunities for the people. That is what ICT will bring to all of us, it will enable and ennoble the people. Speed and information are the names of the game. Kung mabagal tayo, matatalo tayo ng ibang mga bansa, mapag-iiwanan tayo," he said.

Based on data from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the BPO, which is part of the ICT sector, is a fast-growing industry.

Records show that the Philippines has the third largest share, 15%, in the BPO market. India has the highest share, with 37%; followed by Canada, with 27%.

In the country, workers in the BPO industry increased from 101,000 in 2004 to 372,000 in 2008. Revenue from the industry also increased, from $1.3 billion in 2004 to $6.1 billion in 2008.

Gordon stressed that the ICT industry could help the government address the unemployment problem in the country and reduce dependence on the dollar earnings remitted by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) if the government would ensure the industry's full development.

"Imagine ang OFWs, kapag nawala bigla ang mga iyan, nandiyan ang BPO na nagdala sa atin ng over P292 billion na pumasok sa ating bayan. Kaya napakahalaga ng industriyang ito sa panahon ngayon," he said.

Recognizing the importance of information technology (IT) in the country's development, the senator delivered a sponsorship speech on Senate Bill 2546, which proposes to create a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

"We need a coordinating department that will make sure that we take great leaps forward to see to it that our people benefit from the wonderful strides being made through IT. It is timely and the task of this new department is to make sure that we become an important player in the field of competitiveness in the new world of Information Technology," he stressed in his speech.

The DICT shall serve as the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating and administrative entity of the executive branch of the government that will plan, promote and help develop the country's ICT sector.