Embassy to Malaysian firm: Explain anti-Philippines video

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Monday demanded an explanation from a Malaysian business process outsourcing company that recently released a video depicting the Philippines as undesirable for business.

The three-minute video produced by Aegis Malaysia and uploaded on YouTube presented Malaysia's so-called advantage over the Philippines, which it claims to have poor infrastructure and security, threats of natural calamities and lack of government support.

Malaysia, on the other hand, is depicted to have effective governance, better security and friendlier climate in an apparent effort to lure investments away from the Philippines, seeing it as a rival in the BPO industry.

The video angered Filipinos who cried foul over the comparison of Malaysia's business climate with that of the Philippines and called it racist and unethical.

In its letter, the embassy conveyed its "deep concern" about the release of the video.

"[The Embassy] considers Malaysian companies as friendly and active partners in furthering bilateral and regional trade and investment," the embassy said in its statement Monday.

It also asked the firm its next steps in preventing the spread of the video even after it has been pulled out from YouTube.

The embassy also assured potential investors that the business environment in the country has "remarkably improved" and that the Philippine government is working to enhance the ease of doing business.

The country's booming BPO industry, meanwhile, is considered "brand ambassadors" showing other foreign firms that the Philippines is worth investing in.

"It is heartening that many foreign companies and investors are coming to the Philippines in big numbers, particularly in the business process outsourcing industry, which is now one of the leaders in the world," the embassy said.

Previous reports say that India, the former leader BPO, is losing 70 percent of all domestic BPO businesses, particularly call centers, to the Philippines estimated to be worth $30 billion in foreign exchange earnings.

India business chamber officials noted Filipino BPO workers' "neutral accent" and English fluency as an edge over those in other call center sites abroad.