Leaders promote Leyte for IT-BPM investments

PALO, Leyte, Nov. 11 (PNA)-- Industry leader are eyeing Eastern Visayas as alternative investment destination of Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) companies.

Indeed, the National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) picked Eastern Visayas as the venue for 8th ICT summit on November 10 to 11 to help investors see the potential of the region for IT-BPM.

“This is not only to showcase what the province can offer, but also boost the confidence of future investors to consider the whole region for their next ventures,” said Department of Science and Technology Regional Director Edgardo Esperancilla, chair of the regional ICT council.

National ICT Confederation of the Philippines President Jun Sa-a is optimistic that the summit, joined by 500 stakeholders from different regions, will revive the IT-BPM business in the province.

“This summit will help bring investors back to Leyte. We bring people here for them to see that Leyte is now back to business,” Sa-a told reporters.

The official recalled that when super typhoon Yolanda struck, the IT-BPM locator with about 1,000 workers in this town has suffered losses, prompting them to close their operations here.

Sa-a noted that the province has huge potential in supplying manpower requirement of ICT firms considering that many workers Manila and Cebu call centers are from Leyte and Samar provinces.

Esperancilla estimated that there are about 3,000 workers in the region engaged in ICT-related jobs, including home-based businesses. There are only four major ICT firms in the province. All are engaged in non-voice outsourcing.

Palo town is the seat of the 6.8-hectare Leyte ICT Park and the 22-hectare Leyte Mikyu Economic Zone.

Under the IT-BPM roadmap 2022, the industry aims to grow outside the National Capital Region with 500,000 new job offerings in provinces.

Currently, there are about one million workers employed in IT-BPM with 30 percent of them work in firms operating outside Metro Manila. (PNA)
PGL/SARWELL Q. MENIANO