Industry, not PNoy, improved their lives, BPO workers say

For workers in the Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry, their lives improved during the six-year terms of the Aquino administration.

But it's all because of the benefits inherent in the industry, and not through the efforts of the government.

“Being a BPO worker granted me my personal needs, whether be it financially or intellectually,” said Geneva Galvez, a customer support executive in a financial services company in Taguig City.

“I don’t think the changes that took place in the BPO industry is in any way a result of the government’s initiative. The availability of opportunities as granted by several companies is because of the pool of talent, which Flipinos offer,” she said.

Kemze Amores, an information support representative from Teletech Philippines, noted how his life improved in terms of financial stability.

“The compensation I received was always enough, sometimes more, to address my family’s needs,” Amores said.

The BPO sector registered $22 billion of revenues in 2015, according to the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (ITBPAP). The industry also registered 1.2 million employees last year.

This year, ITBPAP expects the industry to generate $25 million in revenues and match the remittances of overseas Filipinos.

“The BPO industry paved way to opportunities for Filipinos. A huge number of the labor force now belong to the earning class because of the industry,” said Dave Pobleta, an advance support executive in another BPO company.

Growing the economy

The BPO boom helped grow the economy into one of the fastest in Asia.

The Philippine gross domestic product growth (GDP) was driven by the services sector, which includes the BPO industry, in the first quarter of 2016.

“I would not give all the credit to the Aquino administration, but if we are going to base it on numbers, the Philippine economy is in a better place. As a result, I can say that a hint of improvement can be seen on my financial capability,” Pobleta said.

In the six years of Aquino administration, the economy logged 6.2 percent in annual GDP growth.

However, critics labeled the growth as non-inclusive, the benefits not felt by all sectors of society.

“Kayo ang boss ko,” Aquino declared in his inaugural address on June 30, 2010, packaging himself as the people's servant.

However, many BPO workers – among his bosses – were dissatisfied with his service.

"The only thing I can think of is the fact that he does not want to push through with lowering our taxes," Galvez said, noting its impact on earnings.

"What I can say is that there were more job mismatches that happened during his administration. I mean, it's as if fresh grads have very limited options in terms of the careers available to them. Thus they end up working in BPO," Amores noted.

Traffic congestion

For his part, Erickson Reyes, a senior information technologist at United Health Group, noted how traffic congestion has turned for the worse during the Aquino administration.

"For a commuter, like me, I think the traffic is even worse than before... MRT or LRT lines are even worse," Reyes emphasized.

In 2015, the last year of the Aquino administration, Numbeo's traffic index placed the Philippines fifth on the list of countries with the worst gridlock in the world.

Passengers of the decrepit Metro Rail Transit (MRT), mostly office workers, endure daily woes such as long queues, malfunctioning trains, and broken equipment.

At this point, BPO workers are nurturing the hope that the incoming administration would fulfill its promise of ending criminality and reducing tax rates.

"I wish that the incoming admin would be able to provide wider career option, economic stability, reasonable taxes, peace and order, and show a genuine concern to the whole Filipino community," Amores said.

"Peace and order is really a good focus since the industry requires employees to work any time of the day. This makes the BPO workers prone to... street crimes," Galvez said.

Reyes said that if it's not possible for the Duterte administration to lower the income tax, he hopes the government would make the taxes workers like him pay worth it.

On the other hand, Poblete is keeping his fingers crossed that the Duterte administration would continue to develop and improve on what the outgoing Aquino administration started. – VDS, GMA News