Gov’t to help reduce power cost, improve bandwidth for BPOs
President Benigno S. Aquino III vowed to strengthen the growth of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector by reducing power cost, increasing power availability and ensuring that telecommunication companies upgrade their technology for call centers.
In a speech during the inauguration of the Convergys facility Friday at Vertex One SM San Lazaro, the President said he has ordered Secretary Ivan John Uy of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) to ensure that telcos (telecommunication companies) upgrade their technologies to expand the bandwidth available to BPOs without resulting in prohibitive data costs.
The BPO, he said, is a beacon of opportunities to the communities they operate in such as providing jobs to their immediate environs, including the academe. The BPOs, he added, bring in investments for every facility they open and bring business clients to market their products in their Philippine facilities, thereby creating more jobs.
The President cited the “stellar role” of BPOs in the country’s economy accounting for 80 percent of outsourcing business from call centers, employing 557,000 Filipinos. The BPOs continue to attract investments from overseas and the industry can expect remarkable revenues of $9.1 billion for 2010.
“The duties and taxes you contribute to the national account redound to more funds that the government can use to build more schools and in providing basic health care to our people,” the President said.
He cited Convergys’ growth and expansion in the Philippines, making it win numerous industry awards that include the Hall of Fame distinction from the Philippine Export Zone Authority.
Present at the launch of Convergys’ expanded facility were Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, CICT Secretary Uy, Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, Manila Congresswomen Zenaida Angpin and Tricia Bonoan David, Convergys president/CEO Jeff Fox, Convergys president for Customer Management Andrea Ayers, Marife Zamora, Convergys Philippines Manager and Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, business partners and clients of Convergys and Manila Councilors.
Convergys set up shop in the Philippines seven years ago and has grown its agents and workforce to 22,000 in 12 facilities throughout the country. It will open three more until the end of 2010. Only last month, it opened its third Command Center—the two being in Cincinnati, USA and India—an indication of its continued faith and confidence in the country.
As Zamora said “Convergys is the largest contact center and largest private employer in the Philippines and continues to invest, grow and prosper in this country. Just last month we opened a state-of-the-art command center.”
Fox said he has talked to big multinational clients of Convergys in America. “They advised me to keep expanding in the Philippines and not to heed the negative advisories arising from the recent hostage-taking crisis, he said.” (PCOO)
Palace studying pay compensation for hostage kin
Malacañang is studying the possibility of giving compensation to the families of the eight tourists killed in the tragic August 23 hostage incident following reports that the Hongkong legislative council is demanding public apology and compensation from the Philippine Government.
In a radio interview, Secretary Hermino Coloma of the Presidential Communications Group pointed out that giving assistance to the bereaved has been mentioned by President Benigno Aquino III in a press conference earlier.
Reports have mentioned that Hongkong lawmakers have passed a motion demanding “public apology and compensation to the deceased and injured during the hostage crisis at the Quirino grandstand in Manila.
Coloma maintained that the primary concern of the government is to get to the bottom of the bloody incident through the ongoing probe headed by Justice Secretary Laila de Lima.
He stressed that the important thing is that the government has offered its sympathy and condolences to the people and government of Hongkong. (PCOO)
EO imposing cap on pay/perks of GOCCs execs out next week
President Benigno S. Aquino III today said the executive order imposing a cap on the salaries and perks of executives of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) will be issued next week and “would become part of the law of the land.”
In an interview following the inauguration of the expanded facility of Convergys Philippines in Sta. Cruz, Manila, the President said he is waiting for the draft from the Department of Budget and Management “on how to tighten up” the existing Administrative Order No.103 of 2001 adopting austerity measures in government.
He said the draft EO “will prevent the excessive pay benefit packages that some GOCCs have been basking in for such a long time.”
The President said he expects resistance to this EO “from those who have gotten all of these fat pays, but we will insist that their positions and benefits are due the government and the people.”
The government is making an inventory of all the GOCC executives, the pays and bonuses they have been getting and the legalities of how they managed to afford themselves all of these.
He said the EO will be all-encompassing, and will rationalize, put a cut and limit the pay packages for government nominees.
The President earlier this month told reporters that the draft EO will reiterate the cap that is already contained in an existing order of the previous administration but which was not enforced. (PCOO)
Aquino cites NDCP role in leadership formation
President Benigno S. Aquino III today commended the important role of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) in the training and formation of new leaders, policy makers, and military officers against the challenges of internal and international security threats.
The President made the commendation during the conferment ceremony for the NDCP’s 22 new graduates in Master in National Security Administration (MNSA) at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacanang.
In his speech, the President said the NDCP, for the past 47 years, had contributed to the formation of the country’s leaders who are tasked to strengthen national security.
“As a nation, we have a duty to defend the state and insulate it from both national and international security threats. To achieve this, we need leaders who possess the skill and abilities to make the right decisions in tough and unexpected situations,” he said.
The President said the unfortunate hostage-taking incident last week “was a wake up call for our security agencies.”
“The hostage situation revealed our deficiencies in providing the tools and training needed by our police force to ensure the safety of our people and that of foreign nationals who visit the Philippines,” he said.
The President said NDCP, which was established to produce graduates who can respond quickly in times of crisis, has an important role in preventing similar incidents from happening.
He said his administration will fully support NDCP programs to produce more quality graduates as the continuing partnership between the government and the private sector can achieve so many things in bringing peace, security and progress to the whole nation.
The President led the distribution of diplomas to the new MNSA graduates composed of military officers, as well as career civil servants and leaders from the private sector.
The new MNSAs are Lt. Col Arnfin Arce (Philippine Air Force), Khan Bin Mohamad Khan Ayub (Royal Malaysian Air Force), Medardo Deacosta Jr., Tai Peng Ee (Royal Malaysian Navy), Mariciel Estacio, Col. Ramon Estela (Philippine Army), Elvira Flores, Dr. Franklin Gali, Victor Mendoza, Lt. Col Conrado Sadsad (Philippine Army), Edna Salaguban, Bayani San Juan, Kenneth Santos, Robert Simon, Commander Rudyard Somera (Philippine Coast Guard), Capt. Ibrahim Umaru (Nigerian Air Force), Venicius Villasenor, Supt. Alejandro Yanquiling (Philippine National Police), and Francis Raymund Martin Yulo.
The three outstanding graduates who also received special awards were Christine June Carino (Academic Excellence Award), Norman Biola (Leadership Award) and Aiza Alzate (Best Thesis). (PCOO)
Aquino puts a stop to blaming on hostage-taking incident
To put a rest to the hostage-taking incident of Aug.23, President Benigno S. Aquino III Friday took responsibility “for everything that has transpired.”
The President made this statement in an ambush interview after the launch of the expanded Convergys San Lazaro facility when told that Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo would be given a difficult time at the Commission on Appointments.
“In taking responsibility, the President is emphasizing the principle of accountability as enshrined in the Constitution that a public office is a public trust,” explained Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Sonny Coloma.
“He is also demonstrating his determination to bring about institutional reforms,” Coloma commented.
The President said he visited Bicutan and Camp Bagong Diwa the other day to investigate certain (disturbing) leads that have reached him. “We are now in the process of documenting the findings that we have and getting supporting documentation as regards the findings there.”
He said he has ordered the Director General of the PNP to make sure that certain people engaged in questionable practices be prevented from inflicting any more of such actions on the people.
“Those who are still in service have been suspended in holding their present position. By Monday, he said, “I hope to be able to demonstrate the capacities of our security forces in securing our people.” (PCOO)
