Iloilo, Bacolod cities in the league of top BPO sites
BACOLOD CITY – Iloilo and Bacolod cities were among the three cities in the Visayas excluding Cebu that are included in the list of "Top 10 Next Wave of Locations for Outsourcing in the Philippines."
The list was released by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) under the Office of the President, Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Iloilo City ranked third with the score of 80.93% while Bacolod City ranked fifth with the score of 78%.
Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, chairperson of Sangguniang Panglungsod Committee on Communications and Technology and the prime mover of IT Industry in the city, welcomed the positive development. She said that in 2004, it was just a dream to be included in next wave cities for outsourcing in the country but now, records showed that the city shines in this field with the help of various sectors.
The CICT-BPAP-DTI scorecard computed the scores using the following criteria: Availability of Talent - 50%; Infrastructure – 30%; Business Environment – 15% and Cost – 5%.
Bacolod topped the business environment category with the score of 96% while Iloilo got the second place with 92% score. The category includes availability of PEZA accredited sites, peace and order, absence of travel advisory, crime rate, out from calamity area and presence of IT council/organization.
"Bacolod is very conducive to outsourcing with its very business-friendly environment," Sigue said.
Out of 11 PEZA accredited sites in the city, 7 has presidential proclamation while another one will enter Bacolod soon situated in 15-hectare property with a big mall.
"I thanked the real estate developer for converting their property into IT economic zones," Sigue added.
The Metro Laguna comprising the cities of Sta. Rosa City, Calamba, Los Baños and San Pablo City was cited as the best outsourcing location in the Philippines outside Metro Manila and Cebu with the score of 88.35% while Metro Cavite composed of Damariñas, Bacoor, Imus and Cavite City was ranked second with 85.47% score.
Ranked fourth is Davao with 80.40%, while cities of Angeles-Clark-Mabalacat – 77.10% ranked sixth followed by Baliuag-Marilao-Meycauayan – 73.53%; Cagayan de Oro – 73.13%; Malolos-Calumpit – 72.93% and Lipa – 72.53%.
Iloilo topped Bacolod in 'Availability of Talent' scoring 72% viz-a-viz Bacolod's 70.40%, because of the number of schools generating graduates for human resource in the area.
'Infrastructure' on the hand includes hotels, domestic/international flights, availability of real estates, power infra, telecommunications and availability of internet connections and fiber optics. 'Cost' composed of labor – the minimum wage, power rate and real estate rate.
"With facts presented, we can say that Bacolod City is now in the league of top BPOs in the Philippines and better if we will not only venture in call centers but others in the IT industry like animation, medical transcription, non-voice and back-office outsourcing for accountants, etc.," Sigue stressed.