Philippines building 63 new IT parks

• IT parks seen as ‘powerful drivers of jobs creation, consumption and overall economic growth’
• Will provide the extra infrastructure and connectivity needed to support rapid expansion of the BPO industry

THE Philippines is developing a total of 63 new information-technology (IT) parks nationwide, House deputy majority leader Roman Romulo said recently, with 41 of them in the provinces and 22 in the National Capital Region.
 
“We strongly favor the advancement of new IT parks in highly urbanized corners outside Metro Manila. This will spur balanced economic growth all over the country,” said Romulo, who also represents the lone district of Pasig City.
 
BPO (business process outsourcing) firms are the predominant locators in tax-advantaged IT parks registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
 
Romulo described IT parks and BPO firms as “powerful drivers of jobs creation, consumption and overall economic growth.”
 
“It would not be fair to restrict to Metro Manila (pic) the potential growth opportunities that come with every new IT park,” said Romulo, also vice chairman of the House information and communications technology committee.
 
He cited the mandates of the 1987 Constitution for all regions of the country to be given optimum opportunity to develop; for a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income and wealth; and for the full and efficient use of the nation’s human resources.
 
The new IT parks in the provinces would provide the extra infrastructure and connectivity needed to support the rapid expansion of the BPO industry in the years ahead, Romulo said.
 
“In terms of human resources, we have several cities outside Metro Manila that produce thousands of college-educated, fluent English-speaking professionals every year,” he pointed out.
 
Romulo is author of the Data Privacy Act, which is anticipated to further encourage global corporations to either establish in-house back offices in Manila, or relegate their non-core, business support activities to independent BPO firms operating here.
 
Signed into law by President Aquino on Aug 15, Republic Act 10173 commands all entities, including BPO firms, to protect the confidentiality of personal information collected from clients, in compliance with rigorous international privacy standards.
 
The booming IT-enabled services industry encompasses contact center services; back offices; medical, legal and other data transcription; animation; software development; engineering design; and digital content.
 
The industry is projected to produce US$27 billion in revenues and directly engage some 1.3 million Filipino workers by 2016.
 
This year, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines sees the industry generating US$13 billion in revenues on a labor force of 764,000. – Newsbytes.ph