THE information technology (IT) industry, one of the country’s chief dollar earners, has suffered a double-digit decline in first-quarter investments, as it failed to shield itself from the series of calamities that struck the Philippines.Data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed investments in the IT industry in the first quarter slumped by 42.02 percent to P2.32 billion, from P4.01 billion during the same period last year.
The IT industry is heavily relied on by the government to deliver employment and dollars, as it is one of the largest contributors to the country’s services sector.First quarter capital flowed into the IT industry translated into 30 projects, a quarter down from the 40 projects put up last year.
In spite of the slide in both investments and number of projects, exports by IT firms amounted to $1.14 billion as of January, up by over 15 percent from $0.99 billion during the same month last year.Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) Director General Charito B. Plaza told the BusinessMirror she plans to require economic zone firms, especially IT and business-process outsourcing (BPO) firms, to build sleeping quarters within their sites.
This will allow them to continue operating in times of calamity like under this pandemic. Plaza argued it is important to keep the IT industry running, as it is the largest job provider among all sectors in economic zones.
“IT-BPOs are the biggest job providers of Peza employing 1 million out of the 1.6 million directly employed by our zones and companies,” Plaza explained.
“With these quarantine measures required like provision of housing/sleeping quarters, which is not available in the premises of zones and factories and scarce outside —and the primary reason why some companies suspended their operations as they find it costly and scarce in the localities—Peza will now require these facilities be built part of each plant and economic zone premises,” she added.As of last week, only 78 percent of economic zone firms in Luzon are operating under the island-wide lockdown that has been extended up to April 30.