by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
The city government of Davao under Mayor Sara Duterte will consider granting incentives to firms providing electricity to the city.
The mayor gave the hint in answer to a question asked by this reporter on the power crisis here and other parts of Mindanao.
Earlier, Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) president Robert Quinto said that one of the major problems that government and private sector leaders cannot ignore is the energy crisis, as even Luzon is beginning to experience rotating brownouts.
Quinto told Edge Davao that the situation will not be totally solved even with the normalization of the operations of hydro-electric power plants in Iligan City and other parts of Mindanao, because these plants don’t have enough reserve energy to supply new industries or meet emergency situations like the El Nino phenomenon.
Although Mayor Sara acknowledged that the power crisis is more of a national problem, she said she was consulting with the staff of the city’s investment promotions center if it can come up with incentives for power generators. It was not clear if the power generators the mayor was referring to includes Hedcor, Inc. which wants to establish a hydro-electric plant at the Tamugan River or was only confined to small-time power companies such as providers of emergency power generating sets and suppliers of solar panels.
It may be recalled that the lady mayor opposes any amendment to the Davao City Water Code which would lead to the harnessing of Tamugan River by Hedcor as its hydropower source and by the Davao City Water District for supplying potable water to the city.
During a brief talk with media persons after opening the PHILCONSTRUCT Mindanao 2010 exhibition and technology forum at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas last week, Mayor Sara said that her administration will focus on building and repairing roads and bridges, before turning to construction of city government buildings.
The mayor also said the local government is open to partnering with the private sector in constructing buildings, but said her office would first carefully scrutinize the proposals.
The private sector mentioned the need to improve and add infrastructures in the city, considering the expected increase in information technology-business process outsourcing companies following the citing of Davao as number one among the top 10 next wave cities in BPO-information technology. The mayor had led a delegation of officers of ICT Davao and BPO owners to Cebu City to receive the citation last June 22.
Meanwhile, when interviewed by Edge Davao, BPO-IT players, businessmen and professionals in Davao City made varying suggestions on how the city can maximize on its latest accolade.
City IT park pushed
Ray Rubio, owner of Cubepixels Design Studio that caters to BPO-IT companies, said having an IT park will make the city more attractive to investors.
Similarly, Jorge N. Marques, president of the Philippine Marketing Association, Davao chapter, said the private sector can help the city administration persuade utility and service companies to provide better infrastructures and facilities.
Wilfredo H. Guerzon, Jr., president of the Davao Constructors Association Center Inc., said his company is planning to propose to the mayor projects pursuant to the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
“PPP is a new concept, a private and public partnership,” Guerzon told reporters covering the mayor during the opening of the construction exhibition. “Mosugot gyud si mayor, sigurado mi ana (The mayor will surely approve it. We are sure of that),” he added.
When asked if her office is open to projects in partnership with private sector, Mayor Duterte said, yes, but she will first read the proposals.
Competency of labor pool
Having pointed out the need to address the energy crisis in the city, Quinto said schools should prepare graduates to have the capability and competence fit for the industry.
Gerardo S. Dumael, site director of the Concentrix, one of the leading BPO companies in Davao City, said “Davao City should focus on training and competency building programs to accommodate business opportunities in the city and improve the Dabawenyos’ quality of life.”
Dumael said the passing rate of call center agents is only 7%, showing the reality that there is a need to improve the competence of graduates. As a way of bridging the gap, Dumael said, Concentrix Institute was put up to provide specialized trainings for those who are interested to work in IT-BPO industry. Some review centers in the city also offer short courses with TESDA certification for call center agents.
Individual growth in BPO
Referring to the career path of those who are working in BPO companies, particularly call centers, Dominique Cimafranca, Ateneo de Davao faculty member in the Computer Studies Division, asked, “How do you grow beyond that?”
He said that only a few among call center agents will be promoted to supervisors and operations managers, others will be transferring from one call center to another in search of firms that offer better salary and perks. He said some people work in BPO companies to achieve something else, say for example, finish college or save money to buy or do things that they really desire.
Cimafranca helped sell Dumaguete as a BPO location in 2004. He said that in Dumaguete, call centers lay off their people if they lose a certain account. He said there is no job security in this kind of industry because BPO companies may relocate anytime.
However, Rubio said that, particularly in his own company, there are a lot of clients seeking their services and that it is impossible to lose the BPO industry in the country.
Cimafranca said the country “should not be gearing its people to work in BPOs but to be competitive in the global market.” He said, unlike India, the Philippines is meeting other countries’ need. “We’ve not developed skills locally. We lose competitive advantage in our own country. We’ve always been playing in someone else’s field,” he said.
Noting the low salary rates in transcription and animation, and “horror stories” in call centers like deductions for SSS contribution which are not really paid for by the company, he said one’s work must be adding value to himself or herself as a person.
Purchasing Power
Kahlil A. De Pio, who had worked in a newspaper agency in Cebu for six years and then in Dubai in the next four years, said that everyone has a choice. He said, it is up to the person how he or she will take advantage of his employment. Many young individuals in Cebu, he said, already have the capacity to purchase goods that cater to their real interest or hobby because of working in BPO companies.
The increase in purchasing power of people in Cebu and Manila due to employment provided by the BPOs can also happen in Davao City, according to Quinto.
“Once people here can avail of more jobs, they will have better purchasing power. Magkakaroon na ng repercussion yan because they will spend (There will be a repercussion because they will spend). They have more money. They will buy houses… Money will come in because of the BPOs. When the money is here now, there will be more businesses among locals,” he said.
Quinto added that even in India, in a town called Bangalore, its middle class improved when BPO companies came in.
