BPO firm Atento to set up first call center in Iloilo

WASHINGTON - Business process outsourcing company Atento will establish its first call center in Madurriao, Iloilo, the Presidential Communications Office said on Tuesday, Washington time (Wednesday, PH time).

The PCO said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. met with Atento president Fili Ledezma Soto and chief delivery officer Josh Ashby at the Blair House wherein the chief executive emphasized that the firm made the right decision because "Filipinos speak and write the best English.”

“I know it will be successful because it has been successful in the past. It has been a go-to industry for the Philippine government for quite a long time now,” Marcos said.

“I don’t see how it could be a problem since this is really a line of work that has become well established in the Philippines,” he added.

The said company is eyed to provide employment opportunities for around 554 workers in the first year and 665 workers in the second year, bringing in an investment worth P21.4 million.

Atento officials, meanwhile, assured the Philippine government of their commitment to start the call center in Iloilo.

Atento had already met with the Philippine Board of Investments on July 15, 2022 to discuss its plans to establish a BPO company in the Philippines as it continuously coordinated with the BOI to discuss its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Atento is a customer relationship management and business process outsourcing company operating in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay and the US. 

Optum

Meanwhile, American healthcare services provider Optum will also invest some P800 million in medical BPO in the country, which is seen to provide around 1,500 jobs.

John Prince, president and COO of Optum, said the firm is committed to the Philippines as he lauded the "strategic partnership that we have for a very long time."

"I’m a really big believer that great things happen to great teams and we have a great team in the Philippines,” Prince said.

Since 2011, Optum has invested P5.1 billion in capital expenditure for the operation of four sites in Taguig, Muntinlupa, Quezon City, and Cebu City. —KG/RSJ, GMA Integrated News