Ormoc targets BPO, tourism investments

CEBU, Philippines — Ormoc City in Leyte is now preparing to capture a sizeable share of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) investments, following the deployment of internet connection infrastructure in the city.

“Ormoc is very business-friendly. We’re expecting more investors to come in, one of them is the BPO sector. Apart from the malls and the buildings, connectivity is also very important to them," said Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez.

Gomez recently met PLDT and Smart Communications executives to express the City's serious stance to attract investments in BPO and tourism to improve its employment generation.

With a population of about 200,000, Ormoc is home to universities and colleges like the Eastern Visayas State University, Western Leyte College, and STI College Ormoc, among others.

Graduates of these universities and colleges do not need to go to Cebu to get high-salary jobs in outsourcing sector.

“PLDT already has existing fiber-to-the-home connections in Ormoc to address the needs of homes and enterprises in the city, and by the end of the year, we will triple their capacity to address the growing need for high-speed internet,” said Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT-Smart Senior Vice President for Network Planning and Engineering.

“We also have existing fiber-in-the-loop (FITL) and we are increasing its capacity to address the requirements of incoming BPOs as well,” said Tamayo, adding that fiber will also be rolled out to more areas across Ormoc this year, including key areas like the Ormoc District Hospital, Sabin Resort Hotel and SM Ormoc.

To improve the mobile data experience of residents in the area, Smart has also fired up Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced sites around the city, as LTE and LTE-A are the best technologies to help bring fast, affordable, and reliable mobile internet services to customers.

In a courtesy call with PLDT and Smart representatives, led by SVP and head of Consumer Business for Customer Development Alex O. Caeg, Gomez also discussed possible partnerships between the Ormoc City government and PLDT-Smart in education, sports, health and tourism programs.

“We also hope that with improved connectivity and more investors coming in, our tourism and hospitality industry will also grow further,” Gomez added.

Smart’s LTE roll-out goes hand-in-hand with PLDT’s fiber roll-out, which includes both fiber-to-the-home and hybrid fiber technologies.

This modernization and expansion of PLDT’s fixed and mobile networks is supported by a massive capital expenditures program amounting to P58 billion this year. (FREEMAN)