Government, BPOs deny cybersex claims

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

THE government’s information technology body as well as outsourcing companies denied that commercial cybersex crept into the country’s “sunshine industry.”

Ivan Uy, chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), said media reports highlighting the involvement of BPO firms in the illegal trade had no basis.

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"It is not being off-shored to the Philippines, so we should not attribute or compare cyber porn with our flourishing BPO industry,” he said.

The 320-member Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) echoed Uy’s pronouncements, saying the illegal practice is “certainly not all connected with BPO.”

Both CICT and BPAP issued the clarification following media reports that compared the illegal practice to "outsourcing" and "BPO."

“BPAP and CICT with the rest of the Philippine BPO industry denounce and condemn online sex trade and believe that any involvement in such practice should be criminally prosecuted,” they said.

As they found the reports malicious, both organizations said they are more concerned about the possible adverse effects on the growing industry.

BPO firms in the country currently hold accounts for the world’s largest banks, insurers, stockbrokers, hotel chains, airlines, travel operators and newspaper publishers as well as providers of health, telecommunication, Internet, and satellite or cable TV services.

According to IBM’s latest Global Locations Trend Annual Report, the Philippines emerged as the world’s largest recipient of new outsourcing business in 2009, besting India.

The BPO industry has been growing at an average of 26 percent per year and is expected to deliver some US$9 billion in revenues by year-end.

It has already provided jobs to more than half a million workers in customer care; back offices; medical, legal and other data transcription; software development; animation; engineering design; and digital content services. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)