The Department of Finance has assured the information technology industry that the government is committed to boosting its growth, an official said.

"The government stands ready to support the continued growth of Information Technology and Business Process Management companies by building an enabling business environment in order to boost the country's competitiveness in the field of business processes and services," Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said during the Contact Center Association conference recently.

Chaired by the DOF secretary, the Fiscal Incentives Review Board has made the decision to allow the transfer of registered IT-BPM companies to the Board of Investments to resolve the sector's longstanding issue on tax incentive claims while performing business activities beyond their zone limits.

"The FIRB understands the motivation behind work-from-home setups as new business models amid changes in the business landscape," Diokno added.

Given the global contact center and business processing services markets' exponential growth in the past 15 years, the DOF recognizes the need to integrate new, adaptive, and sustainable workforce models to boost the Philippines' competitiveness in the field of business processes and services.

Projections

The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines projects that the IT-BPM industry is expected to generate up to 1.1 million direct jobs by 2028.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines remains one of the most preferred locations for delivering business processing and contact center services.

Moreover, with various firms employing new techniques and work models, the IT-BPM sector has effectively set the stage for digitalization to flourish in the Philippines.

Diokno cited the Covid-19 pandemic as a catalyst for the industry to evolve even faster –– resulting in a dynamic, reliable, and significantly more agile IT-BPM industry that is aligned with the DOF's push for a sustainable and digitally-powered economy.

As head of the economic team, the secretary said he is one with the need to reimagine the future of work. The increased relevance of the IT-BPM industry in today's economy has enabled digitalization to flourish in the Philippines.

"Let me assure you that the Department of Finance and the FIRB are one with the Contact Center Association of the Philippines in promoting the country as an industry leader and top investment destination in the contact center sector," Diokno added.