The head of the country’s ICT initiatives has called on the Philippines to be on the alert to catch the new wave of investments in the information and communications sector.
Undersecretary Alejandro Melchor III, head of the Commission on Information &Communications Technology said that the conditions are ripe for the Philippines to reap the benefits of a “perfect storm.”
In a speech before the delegates of the 2nd Negros Oriental ICT Expo at the Negros Oriental Convention Center last Thursday, Melchor said Dumaguete stands among the top 10 “Next Wave” Cities in the Philippines. Dumaguete’s ranking as one of the top 10 Next Wave city was given by the players of the ICT sector in the country, which rated local government units on the basis of its available manpower pool, support services and bandwidth, among others.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is preparing and projecting itself as the hot growth area for ICT and the Philippines could end up as the premiere ICT country in the ASEAN, Melchor said.
Investments in the ICT sector have made the Philippines overtake India as the number one outsourcing destination for call centers.
India and the Philippines, Melchor said, are the two countries in the world today who can produce the highest quality at the lowest labor cost for the ICT Business Process Outsourcing sector.
“What we do this year and next year can dramatically change our future,” he said, adding that according to economic forecasts, poverty in the Philippines is expected to drop to one percent in the year 2030, largely due to investments in the ICT sector.
The Negros Oriental ICT Expo was held from Thursday to Saturday and was organized by the Department of Trade and Industry and the ICT-Dumaguete Council.
