By Manuel T. Cayon / Mindanao Bureau Chief
DAVAO CITY—The power problem in Mindanao and the political conflict in the southern section of the island have prevented the growth of the business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry, which continued to be the country’s leading employer in the service sector.
“If not for the problem of electricity in Mindanao, cities like Tagum [in Davao del Norte], Digos [Davao del Sur] and General Santos [in South Cotabato] would have already their own BPO industry,” said lawyer Samuel Matunog, president of the Software Industry Association of Davao City.
He said Zamboanga City may already have its own industry as its Spanish-speaking population could have provided the easily-trainable pool for companies serving Spanish-speaking clients. “But the serious power problem in the city has discouraged companies to operate,” Matunog said.
The Cotabato City area has been easily stricken out of the list because of the serious peace problem related to the insurgency war still being waged by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Matunog said he was inclined to believe that the passage of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL), the set of laws and policies to govern the new autonomous region in the area, “would help change the perception of mostly foreign-owned BPO companies and persuade them to invest in the area.”
Cagayan de Oro City, the lone city with neither of the two problems, would have a better position because of its location away from conflicts in the northern Mindanao area, but Matunog said that its proximity with Cebu City in Central Visayas, has also become a liability.
“Cagayan de Oro easily loses out for hold of its manpower because its ICT [information and communications technology] workers are easily drawn into Cebu City,” he said. “If the problem with adequate power and the passage of the BBL would be addressed, then we may be seeing a good industry in Mindanao.”
While Mindanao would be seeing the entry of three coal-fired power plants in the next two years, current power problem has become untenable for many areas, including Zamboanga City and many rural economies which has been experiencing seven to nine hours of power blackout.