As
an economist, I have to applaud Mar Roxas for the projects that he spearheaded,
monitored and accomplished. Dubbed as
the “Father of the BPO Industry in the
country”, he was one of the pionerring figures who established the now
extremely successful IT-BPO industry. This industry alone already topped the
remittances our OFWs send from all over the world.
So how did
it start?
In the recently concluded ASEAN
financial crisis where the economy of the entire region was down, presidential
candidate Mar Roxas was talking over the telephone with a call center agent.
The conversation was about a product that he bought. Then, just like any other
once in a lifetime moment, a brilliant idea began to blossom in the mind of the
humble yet capable Wharton-educated economist. He thought “this has great
potential, why not bring it to the country?”. He thought that these off shore
business, meaning off from the American soil., can be relocated here in the
country. And so he did.
Then the Department of Trade and
Industry secretary, he contacted the key leaders that would help promote
foreign investments in the country, from there, he helped shaped the IT-BPO
industry as we know it now. He devised
and oversaw the implementation of his 5 points strategic plan.
First major step that he took was
the strengthening of telecommunication infrastructure in the country. Interconnectivity
is the primary key to attract these investors. With agreements with the nation’s
top telecom providers – Globe and PLDT, they set up the cables and optic fibers
as needed.
Second and a crucial task is the
education of people. Roxas, who was also the chairman of the Task Force for
Personal Computers for Public High Schools Projects headed the distribution of
PCs to enable the Filipino youth to be computer literate. The computers were
used in both technical and practical skills such as hardware and software
development. Reaping the rewards later in life, these students became part of
the global pool for skilled workers hired by international and large
corporations. He also met with the representatives from the country’s top universities
such as the University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University regarding training
for the people.
Third, during the earlier years the
country was bereft with both data and privacy protection, Roxas resolved this
problem. Under his administration as the Chairman of the Information Technology
and Electronic Commerce Council, he passed the E- Commerce Law or the Republic
Act 8792 in the year 2000. Together with this, programs and policies that
promote IT services were implemented.
Fourth, Roxas lobbied the revision
of the Republic Act 7916 in the congress. This means, that to attract more businesses,
both buildings and floors in buildings are free to register as an ecozone
therefore they can automatically receive the incentives. Not only that,
promising BPO industries were immediately exempted from paying taxes – both local
and national. The only crux is that they have to pay 5% of the company’s gross
income as tax.
When all
the needed stages were properly laid out and open for businesses, promoting the
Philippines as an up and coming IT hub with top notch facilities, skilled pool
of labor capital and attractive environment for business, was the final step. Indeed
the world recognized the Philippines as the place to settle in when it comes to
BPO-IT industry.
So, with
this impressive history, how does Roxas fare as a probable president of the
Philippines?
I say very well. The history of BPO
industry alone reveals a lot about the character of this Mr. Roxas. First, he
has a vision. The light build moment of his while talking to a call center
agent is now worth $25B. That $25B is brought about by roughly a million of BPO
agents across the country. Statistics show that our revenues from these BPOs
already exceeded that of the revenues from the millions of OFWs scattered
around the world. That amount of foreign reserves will strengthen the position
of the Philippine peso against the American dollar. That’s just the start of
it.
Next, Mr. Roxas has the consistency
in terms of planning. He aligned his strategies and actions towards the vision
of a Philippines with millions of employed Filipinos. All his programs, from
being the Department
of Trade and Industry secretary, Chairman of the Information Technology
and Electronic Commerce Council and Chairman of the Task Force for Personal
Computers were geared toward a specific goal that is the strengthening IT
skills and foundation for the labor force to be highly employable. His works
were an elaborate system of projects that paved way to the BPO-IT industry, as
we know it.
Finally, Mr. Roxas is the type of candidate
that under promises but over delivers. Among all presidential candidates, he
remains humble and quite, letting his work for the past decades to do the
talking for him. His credentials are full of actual accomplishments – tangible
and intangible, back upped with figures that are non refutable, not unlike
other candidates whose claims are baseless and empty.
So why would I, a first time voter,
choose him as my president? He has the vision, he is consistent in implementation,
and finally, he produces concrete results. That is what the country needs now.
That is why we need Mar Roxas.
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