Press Release
March 12, 2018

Sen. Bam on threats to BPO jobs
(Transcript of media interview)

Question: Senator, nabanggit mo kanina about the *inaudible* the scale. We talked about this last hearing in terms of there are plans, there's training from scaling pero ang rapid kasi ng *inaudible*

Senator Bam: Tuloy-tuloy ang threats sa BPO industry. Isang napag-uusapan natin ang artificial intelligence, which I think a lot of experts are saying within 3- 5 years it could be hundreds of thousands of jobs in our country. Second is the changing policies of other countries. Napag-usapan din kanina yung kagustuhan ng America na panatilihin iyong mga kompanya sa kanila. This is something that has come up only last year. Third, I think is yung TRAIN. Some of these provisions in TRAIN according to our BPO industry are affecting them negatively.

These threaten the 1.4 million jobs in the BPO industry.

Isa itong industriya na kailangan pangalagaan, kailangan tulungan, kailangan mas palakihin pa. Huwag natin babawasan ang trabaho sa industriyang ito na napakaraming natulungan na.

Now, one clear way to be able to solve the problems is to get our training centers and academic institutions to start offering courses para sa mga higher- skilled BPO jobs. And if government can support through scholarships or through the TESDA vouchers mas maganda so we can move our lower- skilled BPO workers up the chain.

Whether mangyari yung pagkawala ng trabaho dahil sa artificial intelligence o hindi, kailangan naman talaga natin i-upgrade yun. These are higher paying jobs, mas mahirap matanggal at mas malaki ang pwedeng kitain ng ating mga kababayan.

I want to see some urgency in our agencies to really move this forward and, unfortunately, we had this hearing seven months ago at parang hindi pa din kalinaw na urgent ito.

Tinanong ko nga kanina, 'kami lang ba yung kinakabahan dito na ang daming threat sa industriyang ito?' We are hoping that with the TWG and we are hoping that with this hearing, we will be able to see more actions from our agencies also.

Question: Sir, clarification. 30,000 jobs yung pwedeng mawala by the end of the year?

Senator Bam: Well, in 2017 nabanggit nila 44,000 jobs but now they are recomputing and it might be higher than that. Kaya magkaka- third hearing tayo sa April, they'll be able to present the actual figures for 2017 kung lumiit nga iyong industriya ng BPO.

This is the first time it will shrink in maybe six or seven years. So, gusto natin makita ano ba talaga ang estado ng industriya, ilang trabaho ba talaga ang nawala at potentially, ilang jobs pa ba ang at risk.

Mayroong jobs na pwedeng makuha, I think iyon yung positibo dito. There are jobs that we can get but we need to have our BPO workers trained for these types of jobs. And that is something I think na hindi mangyayari overnight. Kailangan ginagawan na natin ng paraan ngayon.

Question: Good senator, those jobs won't wait for us...

Senator Bam: They won't.

Question: Sinabi nyo na kanina na China and Russia ang in the play, dati ang kalaban lang natin India. English-English lang iyong laban eh ngayon...

Senator Bam: Yes. Plus the artificial intelligence. So, marami talagang threats dito and we want to see from the TWG ano ba talaga yung road map natin dito? Where are we moving our workers? Are we just moving them up the chain or are we moving them to other industries? Ano yung ginagawa natin para pangalagaan ang BPO industry?

This industry created millions of jobs in the Philippines, huwag natin payagan na lumiit na lang ito at mawala sa ating bansa.

At some point, in the last couple of years, we were number one in the world and we don't want to lose this. This is an industry na maraming natulungan. Gusto natin na palakihin pa ito, hindi paliitin dahil sa mga polisiya natin na mabagal o nakakabawas sa industriya.

Question: From what you have heard today, how do you feel personally in terms of...

Senator Bam: Ako kinabahan ako. I am worried.

You ask technologies, you ask people in the IT industry, they are really saying na at risk yung mga trabaho natin. Now, I want an honest assessment and I think we'll get that in April kasi tinatapos pa nila yung 2017 figures.

I want an honest assessment, how can we protect this industry? Ano yung kailangan nating gawin para hindi ito lumiit bagkus lumaki pa. Unfortunately, yung TRAIN, the IB POP said that naka- apekto ito sa kanila. We want to see ano ba yung magiging epekto din nito at kung kaya ba itong ma- correct sa susunod na TRAIN package.

Question: And the colleges and the universities pati rin yung CHED?

Senator Bam: I don't think it will be colleges and universities because that will be primary here. It will be the training centers...

Question: the existing ones?

Senator Bam: of the existing ones because we are looking at 3-6 months. Kumbaga in 4 years, huli na. So we are looking at 3-6 months training, re-training, re-tooling. And thankfully, marami naman tayong ganyang institution sa Pilipinas, we just need to support through the vouchers probably from TESDA at yung curriculum nila na talagang matched doon sa pangangailangan ng merkado.

So, these are some things I think that are very doable. Wag sana tayong mahuli, ma-overtake tayo ng ibang bansa, ma-overtake tayo ng artificial intelligence. Kailangan masigasig tayo na ginagalaw natin yung industriya para hindi din tayo mawalan ng trabaho.

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