Believing on its noble cause and capability to safeguard the welfare and best interest of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) family across the nation, a group of industry leaders have thrown their all-out support behind Bangon Philippine Outsourcing Inc.(BPO) Partylist in its historic quest to represent call center workers, IT professionals, and online freelancers among others in the halls of Philippine Congress.
For the very first time since the partylist election was first contested in the country’s political arena back in 1998, a band of well-meaning individuals under the banner of BPO Partylist (#120 in the official ballot) will make a bold attempt to represent the Information Technology-BPO sector in the national government come the May 2022 elections.
Wanting to serve its community with unbridled passion and dedication, the BPO Partylist headed by its President and First Nominee Mike Cubos has laid down various programs for the people such as access to free call center training specially for solo parents and displaces workers to each LGU, free internet access specially in urban areas, more IT, call center and online jobs, and protection for online freelancers.
The BPO Partylist’s target for the economy is as relevant and proactive as it is committed to push for homegrown BPO entrepreneurship and incubation, countryside development, and innovation and digital cities to name a few.
For the stakeholders, it is but high time for the BPO Industry to be given a concrete platform to raise their issues and air their concerns, something that it truly deserves since time immemorial being one of the biggest contributors of the country’s economic growth and prosperity for the past three decades now.
“Given the contribution to the GDP and its major economic impact, it’s surprising that only in 2022 will there be a formal representation of the BPO sector in Congress,” said Ryan Tan Yu, owner of Mataverse, a homegrown corporation that specializes in the application of Virtual Reality (VR) in business and tourism.
Gerald Yuvallos, President and CEO of AtoX Business Solutions, and Kimson Wong, Managing Director of KODA Kollectiv Inc., echoed Tan Yu’s sentiments.
“It is about time this sector, which is one of the top employment and economic contributors of the country, get real representation in government,” shared Yuvallos.
“The BPO sector has grown strong and now ready to attempt a seat in Congress. This is the beginning of the work and effort to better the lives of those it represents through the government,” Wong chimed in.
On the other end, the trio were unanimous in admitting that there are a lot of problems from the IT-BPO circle that needs to be addressed by the government. Having said that, they fervently hope that the industry will be accorded with the long overdue support in the near future.
“This (problem/concern) varies from company to company but as an example, it doesn’t get the same amount of attention and support as the tourism sector. This, despite providing a much more stable and linear contribution to the economy. It has proven to be more resilient and has been providing more stable jobs despite the pandemic and calamities,” Yuvallos pointed out.
Highly motivated by what they aspire for, these industry leaders pledged to make the necessary steps to advance the cause and help the advocacy of the BPO Parylist, which is their brightest chance to have a solid voice in the Congress.
“We are one of the top economic drivers of our country yet it seems that no one understands us, hear our needs, and look after our welfare. We have lots of issues and challenges but we don’t know where to turn for help,” said Joslyn Canon, the group’s director for community relations. “It’s really ironic that until now don’t have a platform to bring our concerns in the national level. That is the very reason why we are very happy and in full support of this initiative being undertaken by the BPO Partylist of Mike Cubos. Simply put, we want our voice be heard!”.
