Some 10,000 workers will be hired as soon as newly-approved information technology (IT) projects open nationwide.

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II said the approved IT investments reached P1.7 billion or 11 percent of the total investments of P15.14 billion posted from January to April this year.

But the projects would generate 35 percent of some 28,000 jobs to be created by the investments the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) approved in the four-month period, Roxas said.

The BOI and PEZA grant incentives like tax holidays to all approved project investors.

Roxas noted a 4.72-percent rise in job generation from new investments, compared to the 26,645 expected jobs in first four months of 2001.

He said the rise in jobs opened from January to April this year was mainly due to labor-intensive investments, particularly on IT projects.

On the average, an investment of P542,593 could create a job in the period under review. In contrast, investors had to sink in some P1.66 million to create a job for projects proposed in the same period last year.

Roxas said IT projects slated this year needed only an average investment of P177,506 to create a job.

He said the country continued to be attractive to IT investors, particularly in the fields of animation, call centers, medical transcription, shared service centers, engineering design and software development.

About 150 companies offering IT-enabled services are operating in the country.

The biggest recent IT investment in ecozone areas is the P143-million project of Soluziona Philippines, Inc. (SPI), a Spanish-Filipino firm providing innovative solutions. Expected to generate 308 jobs, SPI will locate in the Eastwood City Cyberpark in Quezon City.

SPI aspires to capture market shares in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Spain, Romania, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as in local electric company Meralco.

BOI, on the other hand, approved the P244-million IT expansion investment of Sykes Asia Inc., one of the world’s leading providers of end-to-end customer care management solutions.

Four years ago, Sykes chose the Philippines as a hub for its centralized Asian call center with 500 existing seats.

The firm will add 350 seats to its call center operations. This will allow Sykes to link the Philippines with the rest of Sykes anywhere in the world.

The new facility will serve as a key hub for its global IT and telephony connectivity worldwide. 

The Philippines offers a number of advantages over other Asian countries as possible sites for IT-enabled services.

Roxas said "the Philippines has various IT parks or zones equipped with all the infrastructure needed by an IT company."

"Another advantage is our language ability. The Philippines can outpace other countries for voice-based call centers in view of our capability to adapt the accent of the West," he noted.

Close to 30 call centers are operating in the Philippines doing mostly inbound calls.

The industry started as provider of e-mail response as well as handling and technical support and has since developed capabilities for almost any customer interaction, ranging from travel, financial, technical support, education support, consumer services as well as online business-to-consumer support and online business-to-business support.

Most of the call centers are located in Metro Manila.

Roxas said 12 prospective investors have expressed interest in locating in the country and several others have started doing their due diligence.

Further, more companies are implementing shared service centers worldwide and the scope of services is expanding to include several functions beyond finance and accounting.

Roxas said that the Philippines has become host to 13 companies offering shared services and is also carving its niche in outsourcing for software development.

"A number of major Wall Street companies are diversifying their global outsourcing for software development," Roxas reported. So far, 42 firms are in software development.

DAET, Camarines Norte--President Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo today exhorted all sectors here, particularly the local governments, to unite behind the government’s stepped-up campaign against terrorism and all forms of criminality so that the province can attract investments and tourists.

The President arrived at the Daet Airport at about 10:30 am. She was met by local officials led by Camarines Norte Governor Jesus Typoco, Jr.

In her speech at the formal opening of the "Pinyasan Festival 2002" at Bagasbas Beach here, the President urged the provincial and municipal governments of Camarines Norte to fight those who would try to destroy the peace and order condition in the province.

Aside from attending the 10^th Pineapple Festival in this town, the President also turned over livelihood assistance projects to qualified beneficiaries, including core shelter units under the government’s Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program.

The visit here of the President is part of the consultation process that she had adopted upon assuming the presidency in January last year wherein she vowed to bring Malacanang closer to the people in the countryside.

The President congratulated Daet Mayor Tito Sarion for a job well done in maintaining peace and order in his municipality.

As a gesture of her appreciation, the Chief Executive gave Mayor Sarion P1 million from the President’s Social Fund to be used for the purchase of patrol cars for the Daet Police Force.

She noted that despite the lack of a patrol car, the local government and the local police were able to maintain the town’s peace and order. With a mobile unit, the police force could further safeguard the peace in the town, the President said.

The President also held a private meeting with the local officials, police and military leaders in this province to further fortify the government’s campaign against criminality and terrorism in the province.

"If we want tourists to come here, if we want to have more plane arrivals in your airport here in Daet, then what we need is peace," the President said.

DAET, Camarines Norte—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today directed the Department of Tourism (DOT) to seriously look into the possibility of developing the Bagasbas Beach here as a surfing paradise and a major tourist destination in the country.

In her remarks at the formal opening of "Pinyasan Festival 2002" at Bagasbas Beach here, the President recalled that some 30 years ago, she and First Gentleman lawyer Jose Miguel Arroyo used to surf in Dagupan City, in Pangasinan and in Baler, Quezon

"Daet is a promising place for tourism especially during the surfing season," the President told Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, who was with her official party.

The President explained that tourism is very important to the national government because with information and communications technology (ICT), tourism will lead in the human resource intensive-skills service sector where the country’s advantages can be found.

The President told the crowd here at the Bagasbas Beach that she and her husband were the ones who introduced surfing in the country some 30 years ago.

Bagasbas Beach, according to the President, provides a good setting for beginners in surfing. Unfortunately, this is not a surfing season but the President assured the people of Daet that she will be back to surf here as part of her efforts to promote eco-tourism in various parts of the archipelago.

"We will look for good opportunity to surf because my husband is already too eager to see if he can still surf after 30 years from the last time we surfed," the President said.

The Chief Executive said Bagasbas Beach provides a good ambience and she was not surprised that the local government of Daet decided to hold this year’s pineapple festival on the beach.

Bagasbas Beach is the most popular beach in the province of Camarines Norte and is also one of the most beautiful beaches in the country.

It is haven for swimmers and beach party enthusiasts due to its fine sand and cool waters.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appointed Daniel Fajardo, Editor in Chief of Panay News, as executive director of the National Book Development Board (NBDB).

The President appointed Fajardo as NBDB executive director on May 28, 2002 vice Ms. Nellie Apolonio. Fajardo’s appointment paper was forwarded to NBDB Chairman Dennis Gonzales on June 5, 2002.

Fajardo, a product of Central Philippine University in Iloilo City and Siliman University in Dumaguete City where he finished his AB political science, hails from Mina, Iloilo.

A regular writer of the Manila Bulletin, Fajardo is president and chairman of the board of Panay News, the biggest daily newspaper in Western Visayas. He was former president of the Iloilo Press Club and executive vice president of the Publishers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PAPI).

A veteran journalist, Fajardo is a recipient of several awards from international media and civic organizations.

DAET, Camarines Norte—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today lauded the local officials of this capital town for finding innovative ways on how to fund local projects such as the soon-to-rise public market near Bagasbas Beach.

In her speech at the formal opening of the "Pinyasan Festival 2002" at the Bagasbas Beach here, the President announced that the local government under Mayor Tito Sarion has already coordinated with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) for the immediate launching of the "WOW Daet Bonds."

The program entails the floatation of bonds not exceeding P80 million, and redeemable in 10 years at 100 percent face value.

Proceeds of the program shall augment the P5 million Local Government Social Economic Fund (LGSEF) available for the construction of the Daet Public Market, which has an estimated construction cost of P77.6 million.

The town’s bond floatation program has already been approved by the BSP, LBP and BLGF, with the Land Bank as the prospective trustee.

The President recalled that when she was still a senator, she was able to contribute her own countrywide development fund (CDF) in the construction of Daet’s public market.

Also in her speech, President Macapagal-Arroyo said she is hoping that the various local governments would appreciate her efforts in releasing their Internal Revenue Allotments (IRA) in full unlike during the previous administration when local officials were being made to beg for their IRAs.

"I don’t want that kind of politics, that’s politics of patronage," she said, adding that the full release of IRAs to various local government units is the thrust of what she called "new politics."

Instead of politics of patronage, the President said it should be "politics of empowerment of the local governments."

The President said what she would like to ask, in return, is for the LGUs to be self-reliant in funding their needs similar to what the Daet local government has done in the floatation of WOW Bonds.

The President said she has ordered the LBP, BSP and the BLGF to immediately approve the release of the WOW Bonds to speed up the development of the rural communities.

After her speech, the President turned over a P2 million check to Camarines Norte Governor Jesus Typoco, Jr. for various social development projects in the province.

She also distributed 50 units of gill nets and various construction materials to different organizations in Camarines Norte.

Under her core shelter project, which is implemented by the Kapit-Bisig sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program, the President likewise turned over 159 certificates of house and lot ownership to 159 urban poor families in Barangay Alawihao here in Daet.

DAET, Camarines Norte – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today called on the local government officials here to work for the possible export of the famous Bicol pineapples to China or South Korea.

The President made the call in her remarks at the opening of the "Pinyasan Festival 2002," held at the Bagasbas Beach here.

She proposed that Camarines Norte Gov. Jesus Typoco Jr., who comes from a prominent Chinese family and very good in business, should collaborate with the Department of Agriculture (DA) on a marketing project that would propagate the Bicol pineapples for the Chinese and Korean markets.

"Siguro pwedeng magtulungan si Gov. Typoco at ang DA na gumawa ng marketing project para sa China at Korea ng pinyang produkto ng Daet (Perhaps Gov. Typoco should collaborate with the DA to have a marketing project for the Chinese and Korean markets for Daet’s pineapple products)," the President said.

The President said that the DA has been devolved and that the local government is the one that serves as the DA in the provinces. "The DA’s role in the regions is just to assist the local government units)," she added.

The Chief Executive also assured Bicolanos that they would benefit from the coconut levy fund, which would be used as fund for micro-finance program for coconut farmers.

She said that she has instructed the Philippine Coconut Authority and the DA not to overlook the province of Camarines Norte in their micro-financing packages.