Press Release
November 15, 2007

The Philippines Moving Toward its Market Niche
CAPITALIZE ON ICT, BPO AND MEDICAL TOURISM -- ANGARA

Knowledge and innovation are the world's heartbeat. The Philippines, through better education, must move to this rhythm.

This was the challenge reiterated by Senator Edgardo J. Angara at the People Competitiveness Summit 2007 today at the Dusit Hotel.

The Senator emphasized ICT industry, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and medical tourism as the Philippine market niche in this globalizing world.

He added that the BPO alone has already cracked the problem of the global migration for jobs.

"In 2005, we generated US$2.1 billion from offshore service revenues, placing us third after India and China and ahead of Malaysia . Expected revenue for this year is pegged at US$4.9 billion. The number of employees likewise increased from 2,400 in year 2000 to 200,000 in 2006," Senator Angara said.

The Roadmap 2010 by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) foresees the creation of 600,000 new jobs and up to 1.5 million indirect jobs in the ICT and BPO industries in the next 3 years.

According to the Senator, the cost-effective telecommunications network and English proficiency of Filipinos is our competitive advantage in the US$3.6 billion-worth ICT industry. The ICT industry currently employs 235,000 Filipinos.

"Filipinos can likewise be the potential leader in software-backed-low-end technologies," said Angara citing a study by the UP Open University. "We will continue to design and develop software packages and content delivery systems for individual users and consumers."

In the field of medical tourism, the Philippines can expect to earn $300 million per year. "This will provide opportunities for our doctors, nurses and medical practitioners right here in the country," said the Senator.

The market for medical tourism and retirement is expected to spend $2B in the next 5 years. At present, there are 25 partner hospitals offering medical tourism services and they expect 175,000 medical tourists each year.

"We should capitalize on the uniquely Filipino brand of hospitality, care and compassion - and at the same time develop our pool of medical professionals for this very promising industry," he added.

This is a very promising age for the Filipinos and we need to make the most of our education to benefit from this age.

"It will take leadership, guts and vision to reinvent education and achieve its strategic mandate: to prepare our people for the future - a future that is already here."

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