14 BPO companies to hire over 3,000 workers in Clark

MANILA, Philippines - More than 3,000 new jobs will be opened up at the Clark freeport zone as a wave of business process outsourcing (BPO) firms settle in the area in the next three months, officials said yesterday.   

Clark Development Corp. (CDC) assistant vice president for business development Bernardo Angeles Jr. said that at least 14 BPO companies have committed to opening 3,225 jobs, mostly for customer service representatives and call center agents.

He said that NCO Philippines and Sutherland Philippines are hiring 1,000 customer representatives each.

Other firms looking for applicants are Cyber City Teleservices, 500 customer services agents; 320 apprentices and 300 engineers and production staffers (regular positions) at Texas Instrument Philippines; 50 customer services agents at UPS Clark Philippines; 41 production staff positions at Apex Intec Philippines, C. Ltd. Inc; 25 casino managers, supervisors and staff at Hotel Stotsenberg; 10 administrative staffers and engineers; nine cutters and other positions at O&G Leather Manufacturing Inc.

The Clark freeport now has a total of 55,500 workers compared to only about 20,000 during the time of the United States Air Force up to 2001.  

Earlier, CDC president Benigno N. Ricafort said that a total of P4 billion worth of new investments is expected to come in the Clark freeport zone after the government lifted the building height restriction in the former United States military instillation.

Ricafort said the issue on height clearance permits inside the Freeport has been pending since 2007. He said that in March this year a team of experts from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conducted an aerodrome survey of the Clark airport.  

He said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) this year has approved 32 building and expansion applications filed by various locators. CAAP, formerly the Air Transportation Office, is a government agency mandated to keep aviation complexes safe from structural obstructions.  

Ricafort said the CDC and CAAP signed a Board-approved Memorandum of Agreement for the following: CAAP will draft an operational guideline to ensure an acceptable procedure and time frame for future applications, and for the conduct of the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) so that indicative height limitation values can be determined for every area in Clark.