THE Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) has expressed optimism that the Asean economic integration would benefit the local industry, its official said.
Genny Inocencio-Marcial, executive director for external affairs of IBPAP, said the association expects that the "free trade" will provide more opportunities to expand businesses.
Inocencio-Marcial said it will also allow local information technology - business process management (IT-BPM) industry players to explore potential lines of businesses and clients especially with the way the country has been digitizing and how technology evolves.
"Another benefit is the globalization of workforce. With the free movement of people or labor, Ibpap expects that we can gain exposure to global work practices," she added.
The IBPAP official was in Bacolod City to talk on the opportunities for IT-BPM in the Asean and global market as well as on business intelligence and trends during a capacity-building seminar for enterprises in Negros Occidental earlier this week.
Inocencio-Marcial said that economic integration has already been allowing local industry workforce to experience more advance technology in other countries.
When they comeback to the Philippines to resume work or build their own businesses, they bring with them these knowledge and expertise, she said.
"It is already happening now, some professionals who left work in big companies in other countries like Silicon Valley came back to the Philippines and started putting their own companies here," Inocencio-MarciaI said, adding that they are actually giving Filipino youth, the future workforce, opportunity to also develop.
Amid these opportunities, the organization recognized the need to still hurdle various challenges hounding the industry today.
IBPAP said that the "rhetoric" of the administration, during the early part, like separation from the United States have created negative perception among potential foreign investors towards the Philippines.
When martial law was declared in Mindanao, "we saw how a private Australian business took a step back and made a wait-and-see move," the IBPAP official said.
"There are also some uncertainties brought by discussions on tax reforms. It is not very good when you talk about uncertainties on taxes and incentives for the industry," Inocencio-Marcial added.