IT-BPM must tweak revenue, jobs targets W HILE the IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry is seen to grow in 2025, the industry will have to recalibrate revenue and employment targets of its roadmap by mid-2025 in order to factor in the “macro environment” impacting global demand. In a Viber message, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President Jack Madrid said the industry is seeing a “recalibration [of targets] in mid-2025.”
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Asked to cite the factors that the industry would have to consider in revising the targets set in the IT-BPM Roadmap 2028, Madrid replied, “Macro environment that affects global demand.” While the industry is yet to revise its revenue and employment targets, he expressed confidence the industry will still grow in 2025, banking on “US clients and other regions.” The IT-BPM industry is still hounded, meanwhile, by issues on “talent-skills gap to meet demand
and ease of doing business.” At the IT-BPM Summit 2024 held in October, Madrid revealed in his speech that according to IBPAP’s midyear survey, talent and skills gap remains the top challenge, with 21 percent of respondents identifying it as critical. He earlier said the demand for advanced digital skills like data ana ly tics, programming, and machine learning, as well as soft skills and domain-specific skills in healthcare, accounting and banking, outpaces the country’s workforce’s current capabilities.
A lso at the IT-BPM industry event last year, Madrid underscored, “As we continue to push forward, we must acknowledge that the environment has changed. These numbers were established more than two years ago, and context is evolving fast, and the situation continues to unravel.” The IBPAP chief noted that the headwinds the industry faces “require different interventions that we must increase.”
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Friday, January 17, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 97
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 days a week
By Cai U. Ordinario
R
@caiordinario
OBUST household consumption and the upcoming midterm elections are expected to fuel the country’s economic growth this year, according to an economist. Bank of the Philippine Islands Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri Jr. said the country’s GDP could grow by 6.3 percent this year, which could potentially outpace the economy’s growth in 2024. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will release the official GDP growth numbers for the fourth quarter and full year 2024 toward the end of the month. “Consumer spending is expected to show stronger growth this year with inflation now at manageable levels. This improvement will likely be most apparent in discretionary spending after a period of slower growth caused by high inflation, as consumers focused more on essentials,’ Neri said in a statement Thursday. See “Consumption,” A2
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque lead a joint market inspection at the Mutya ng Pasig Mega Market in Pasig City on Thursday (Jan. 16, 2025). The Agriculture chief also announced that the P40/kilo of rice under the DA’s Rice-For-All program will be reduced to P38/kilo. Also on Thursday, Laurel told reporters the Department of Agriculture will declare a food security emergency to allow the National Food Authority (NFA) to sell rice buffer stock to agencies. Story below. NONOY LACZA
NOV FINANCIAL SECTOR RESOURCES GROW 8.82%
T
OTAL resources of the financial sector grew 8.82 percent in November 2024, according to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Data showed the total resources of the Philippine fin a nc i a l s y stem a mou nted to P33.076 trillion as of November 2024, higher than the P30.394 trillion posted in the same period of 2023. Majority of the resources was accounted for by resources
held by banks, which rose 9.56 percent during the period. Resources held by banks amounted to P27.55 trillion in November 2024, higher than the PP25.147 trillion recorded in November 2023. The BSP said the resources held by banks were largely accounted for by Universal and Commerc i a l Ba n k ( UK Bs), amounting to P25.786 trillion in November 2024. See “Nov,” A2
Food security emergency to let NFA sell rice buffer stock By Ada Pelonia
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@adapelonia
HE Department of Agriculture (DA) will declare a food security emergency to allow the National Food Authority (NFA) to sell rice buffer stock to agencies. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. issued the statement after the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) approved a resolution urging the DA to declare a food security emergency as retail rice prices remained high despite declining global rice costs and tariff reductions.
“Wala pa sa akin yung official recommendation ng NPCC because nasa working group pa yung detalye. [I still don’t have the NPCC recommendation because the details are still with the working group]. But once it comes to my table, the chances are we will declare [food security emergency] so the stocks of NFA can be released,” Laurel told reporters on Thursday. Laurel noted that the grains agency is in a pickle with 300,000 metric tons (MT) of rice stored in its warehouses. See “Food,” A2
NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION/S FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT/S (AEP/S) Notice is hereby given that the following companies/Employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s: ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.
NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION
QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE
CAPGEMINI PHILIPPINES CORP. 12f, Ten West Campus Bldg., Le Grand Avenue, Mckinley West, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig MANCHIKANTI, VENKATA NITESH Release Change Manager 1.
Brief Job Description: Responsible for working with client to gather business requirement finalization, and setup workshop with the product team and development team.
Basic Qualification: College graduate, with previous work experience in a similar role and with excellent technical and communication skills. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999
See “dole ncr” on A11
PESO exchange rates n US 58.6570 n japan 0.3749 n UK 71.8431 n HK 7.5330 n CHINA 8.0002 n singapore 42.9124 n australia 36.5198 n EU 60.3581 n KOREA 0.0404 n SAUDI arabia 15.6302 Source: BSP ( January 16, 2025 )