CLARK FREEPORT — Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Sec. Mario Montejo on Wednesday named this Freeport as “ideal” site for the growing business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology (IT) industries in the country with the national government aiming to decongest Metro Manila of the same businesses.
Montejo, who was among the guests at the Clark ConEx 2012 International ICT Conference and Expo from October 10 to 11, said at least 75 percent of the total BPO and IT firms are in the National Capital Region (NCR). The 25 percent, he added, are mostly in Cebu and Clark.
He said they aimed to put at least 40 percent of the total industry outside of the NCR.
Montejo cited the tremendous growth of the BPO and IT businesses in Clark over the past two years. He said this Freeport is one of the “best sites” outside of the capital region for the same industry.
Montejo said they launched programs to help the host province of Pampanga to produce the workers needed by the BPO and IT Industries numbering at least 61.
He said the trainings are concentrated on “English proficiency and analytics.”
Dr. Francisco Villanueva, president of the Metro Clark ICT Council, said they have started meeting with schools and training centers in Angeles City, Clark and Pampanga to help them promote job-matching for the growing IT and BPO-related industries at Clark.
Villanueva said there were at least 4,000 direct BPO and IT workers at Clark in 2010, jumping to some 11,300 as of September 2012.
As of latest data from the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), there are more than 70,000 workers here.
George D. Sorio, chairman of the Metro Clark ICT Council, said the August 7 torrential rains that paralyzed the BPO operations in Metro Manila had shown the advantages of Clark.
Sorio of the Cyber City Teleservices, pioneer BPO firm at Clark, said that since the recent flooding in Metro Manila this year, there had been “large additional inquiries” on affected and potential investors wanting to locate at this Freeport.
The two-day conference and expo is one of the projects of Sorio and other groups, including the CDC and MCICT, in promoting Clark as haven for the BPO and IT industry.
