Google sets up Manila office

SEARCH engine leader Google announced on Wednesday the opening of an office in the Philippines, making it the fifth site in Southeast Asia after Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Reports said the office might be put up in Makati City, the country's main business district, as the California-based Google said it is hiring employees.

Appointed as country manager is Narciso Reyes, who brought with him over 16 years of digital marketing and finance experience in Asia and the United States.

“The Philippines is a key country in Southeast Asia in terms of its digital economy and tech-savvy population. This new office will allow us better engage with our local users, partners and advertisers,” said Julian Persaud, managing director of Google Southeast Asia.

Independent surveys reported that over 33 million Filipinos access the Internet regularly to study, shop, search for ideas, opportunities, create news businesses, and connect to each other.

To cater to the growing online population, the company, among others, launched Google Maps in 2011 with a Filipino user interface, allowing the public to better access the search platform and find local geographic information -- from online maps to satellite imagery and even driving directions -- on their personal computers and mobile phones.

In 2012, the Department of Education (DepEd) made the leap on to the cloud with Google Apps for Education, which allows 600,000 teachers across the Philippines to stay connected using a common email, chat and calendar and to collaborate on the cloud with tools like Google Docs, Google Sites and Google Groups.

"We hope that Google's entry will encourage more local businesses to go online and tap into international markets. We are looking forward to collaborating with Google more in the future," said Palace Communications Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)