For third time, Lipa City among ‘next wave cities’ for BPO sector

MANILA, Philippines (The Filipino Connection) — For the third time, government and an industry association of firms in the business process outsourcing sector have included Lipa City in the group of “next wave cities” for the BPO sector.

The Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO) and the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) named eight cities in Luzon, including Lipa City, in the list of the Next Wave Cities for the growth of the country’s information technology and BPO sector.

Others in the list are the cities of Baguio (Benguet province), Cagayan de Oro (Misamis Oriental), Dagupan (Pangasinan), Dasmariñas (Cavite), Dumaguete (Negros Occidental), Malolos (Bulacan), Naga (Camarines Sur) and Sta. Rosa (Laguna) and the municipality of Taytay in Rizal.

While Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao are the top hubs of the BPO sector in the country, four areas in the NWC list — Lipa City included — are at least an hour and a half away from Manila by land.

Lipa was first named in the NWC list in 2009 and 2012. The cities of Baguio, Dumaguete, Iloilo and Lipa, as well as a cluster of cities and municipalities in Metro Bulacan (Baliuag, Calumpit, Malolos City and Marilao towns and Meycauayan City), Metro Cavite (Bacoor Dasmariñas City and Imus cities), Metro Laguna (Calamba and Sta. Rosa cities and Los Baños town), Metro Naga (Naga City and Pili) and Metro Rizal (Antipolo City and Cainta, and Taytay towns), were on the 2012 list.

The 2016 list also showed what DOST-ICTO and IBPAP call “new emerging locations.” Batangas City, the capital of Batangas province, is part of the list, which includes the cities of Balanga (Bataan province), Iriga (Camarines Sur), Laoag (Ilocos Norte), Legazpi (Albay), Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Roxas (Capiz), Tarlac (Tarlac), Tuguegarao (Cagayan) and Zamboanga.

The next wave cities are assessed on talent availability (40 percent), infrastructure (30 percent), business environment (20 percent) and cost (10 percent).

Talent availability was assessed given a city’s number of graduates that are within the 25-kilometer radius of the city.

Lipa City, a 78-km. drive from Manila, has long been the site of US-based firm Alorica, whose Alorica Philippines is the company’s largest BPO site in the Philippines.

The Filipino Connection is a Philippine community news organization based in Lipa City, Batangas.