SMX Convention Center, Pasay City
08 February 2010
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo keynoted today (Monday) the opening of the two-day 10th e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition at SMX Convention Center.
In her speech, President Arroyo declared that for the past ten years of her administration, the Philippines has indeed created economic wealth by developing the labor-intensive, skills-intensive services such as Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
“From scratch, with only 2000 workers and $24 million in revenues in year 2000, we created what is today a global powerhouse: the BPO industry - almost half a million workers last year and an expected 600,000 this year, with more than $7 billion in revenues last year, expected to exceed $9 billion this year,” she said.
The country has been awarded by the UK’s National Outsourcing Association as the “Best Offshoring Destination of the Year” for 2007 and 2009. Cebu, on the other hand, was named as the number one in the “Top 50 Emerging Outsourcing Destination” in the world by Global Services-Tholons while Iloilo and Davao were included in KPMG’s list of “31 Emerging Outsourcing Destinations”.
During the occasion, President Arroyo was presented a tripartite Memorandum of Agreement of Philippine contingents of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry and Science and Technology; the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering; and the Siicon Valley Chapter of Science and Technology Advisory Council. The MOA aims to enhance cooperation among government agencies and the private sector in uplifting Philippine ICT especially in e-services.
President Arroyo was joined by Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro, CICT Chair Secretary Ray Anthony Chua, Science and Technology Advisory Council President Christina Laskowski and Phil. Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE) Board Member Fabian Dayrit.
The event was organized by the Department of Trade and Industry through the Center for International Trade Expositions (CITEM) to promote the Philippines as the premiere outsourcing destination.(MDF)
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