SBMA plans to turn Subic into BPO hub in Zambales

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) revealed Thursday its plan to develop Subic into a business process outsourcing (BPO) hub in the mold of the University of the Philippines-Ayala Techno Hub in Quezon City.   “We believe we can already provide BPO services here because we now have a workforce that’s well-trained in ICT,” SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said in a statement released on Friday.   Garcia said the technical infrastructure in the former U.S. naval base “are all there already” and projected that the BPO city will employ at least 20,000 people in five years.   “We have already surpassed India in the field of BPO, and because of this the future looks very bright for the Philippines’ [BPO industry],” Garcia claimed.   In 2011, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) said their industry earned $11 billion and employed 640,000 people.   The BPAP has aimed for $25 billion in revenues and 1.3 million jobs by 2016. — with Rouchelle Dinglasan/ELR, GMA News