CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is hoping that the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the city will not be affected following Donald Trump’s victory in the United States’ (US) presidential elections.
“We just hope and pray that with the new administration in the US, we’re not going to take a beating,” he said.
During the campaign trail, Trump had said he will reassess America’s trade deal and prioritize bringing jobs first to his country.
Osmeña, in his news conference yesterday, said the BPO is a booming industry in the city. It is home to more than 20 call center companies, which are owned by US businessmen.
Based on the records of the Cebu Economic and Business Unit, a new office that he established, Osmeña said the BPOs presently employs 160,000 call center agents.
He estimates it will reach 200,000 by the end of the year.
Quoting a study, he also said the BPO companies are spending around P7.6 billion every month to pay for the salaries of their employees.
Osmeña then said President Rodrigo Duterte must be careful with his mouth so as not to drive the US businessmen away from the country.
“I hope he watches his mouth because Trump also fights back,” he said.
Osmeña said he seeks to make Cebu City number one in the world’s best outsourcing cities.
He said the City Government is now conceptualizing a special program to prepare job seekers for call centers jobs.
The city currently ranks 7th in the Tholons International’s Top 100 Outsourcing Destinations for 2016.
The top spot is being occupied by Bangalore in India.
The mayor said he intends to meet with the BPO leaders in the city on Friday to discuss how to maximize the employment potential of the BPO industry.
The meeting will be held at the Sinulo g Hall of the Rizal Library at 1:30 p.m.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, in a separate interview, hopes that Trump will continue his mutual cooperation with other countries, including the Philippines, despite his “America First” policy.
“We should give him a chance to lead. I look forward that he will succeed as president because taking a cue from his first statement, he is a devoted family man and it’s an important virtue of a leader,” he said.
Labella said he was not disappointed that Trump won, although he was rooting for Hillary Clinton to win the race to the White House.