The new Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will contribute to the BPO industry growth as the ICT law contains rules and standardized policies related to the ease of doing business in the outbound and overseas industry.

With the measure recently signed into a law creating DICT by outgoing President Benigno Aquino III, this will form a dedicated department to improve IT services and to promote digital literacy which will help further the BPO sector. It will also help in promoting strategic partnerships between local and international ICT that will eventually encourage foreign investors to choose the country as one of their investment destinations in the field of BPO.

Joey Cuyegkeng, a senior economist at ING Bank Manila, pointed out that DICT would enhance the outsourcing industry’s prospects, and the telecom sector must improve internet speed and infrastructure. “Revenues from the BPO sector would expand by up to 16 percent to around $24 billion this year,” he added.

As DICT supports the BPO industry growth here in the Philippines which is one of the drivers for office space demand, the department will also benefit the office property market by sustaining the demand for office space by BPO companies, this is according to Colliers International. They also added that the law helps ensure the development of manpower with skills that are aligned with the BPO companies’ needs.

However, one ranking government official who requested anonymity, said in an interview with the Inquirer that some problems might come out since there is a possibility for DICT to eventually use its power to regulate IT-BPO industry.

“What if the DICT official decides that we should curtail access to certain information due to security risks? What if that official questions the different standards being implemented by the IT-BPO industry? Regulatory bodies are not promotive bodies. We must ensure that this [proposed] agency will not end up regulating the IT-BPO industry,” the official warned.