PCCI-Visayas official to Gov't: Rethink plan to withdraw peza business incentives

TAGBILARAN CITY – Francis Monera, vice president for Visayas of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), has called on the government to reconsider its proposal to withdraw the PEZA incentives it is now extending to developers and locators in Manila and Cebu.

This could send the wrong signal to investors that the country had policies that can be changed mid-stream anytime, said Monera as he warned that it could set back the booming ICT and BPO industries in Manila and Cebu. “We should protect the core, if we want the rest of the country to grow,” he said.

 “You can just imagine how they (investors) are feeling right now that they would be in a country where policies can easily be changed midstream,” said Monera in reaction to a pronouncement of Monchito Ibrahim, director for ICT development of the DOST, about the proposed withdrawal of PEZA incentives to encourage incoming investors to turn their attentions to the so-called “next wave cities.”

Ibrahim, plenary speaker of the PCCI’s 21st Visayas Business Conference that will wrap up today in this city, underscored the country’s place of being the world’s number one in voice services, with still more room for growth to wrestle the top spot on data services from India.

Ibrahim said he Aquino administration is targeting that, by the year 2016, the country should have at least 1.3-million people directly employed by BPOs, half of them dispersed in the countryside, aside from Manila and Cebu.

Named the “next wave cities” were Tagbilaran itself, Davao and Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, Bacolod and Iloilo in Central Visayas, Tacloban in Leyte, those in Samar island and others in the National Capital Region.

Ibrahim explained that the new plan would spread the sunshine industry and its spillover benefits around the country. The strategy would be to withdraw or stop the PEZA incentives to force investors to look into the other areas or the “next wave cities.”

Monera however reacted by contending that “the way to move forward is to move together,” recounting how Cebu leaders had to overcome their differences just to attract BPOs over. Cebu’s move to unify efforts opened the doors of opportunities to the country, enabling it to position as one of the world’s top KPO/BPO destinations, ranked number eight, as reported by Ibrahim himself. 

 “The key is collaboration, and you don’t disperse the opportunities and kill the core. Cebu has put the Philippines and Visayas into the global picture, but if you look at the figures, Cebu only has about 30 percent of the market,” said Monera.

Cebu’s potential, he said, has not yet been maximized and a withdrawal of PEZA incentives can create a backlash. “Cebu is still trying to (fully) capture the market… It will not mean that if Cebu declines, the other areas will grow,” he argued.

Monera further contended that while Cebu is still the favorite BPO destination of investors, the benefits it bring are not limited to the island. During the construction phase alone, they have to bring in workers from other regions, and the BPOs themselves recruit workers from other regions, he said.

These “next wave cities” can only capture the market if they have the right infrastructure that the KPO/BPOs need, he said, citing Tagbilaran where investors, while already looking at the city for their BPO businesses, have been concerned over reliable internet connections and the city’s alleged reluctance to take in PEZA-registered businesses that would affect tax collection as a result. (FREEMAN)