Should she win as president in the May 2022 polls, Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday, Feb. 28, told the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector that she will prioritize improving the e-government services for easier access.

Robredo also wants to have central hubs for essential services such as dental consultation for the sector.

The Vice President said she understands that most BPO workers on graveyard shift would lose sleep when they need to comply with government requirements or consult with a doctor or dentist.

“In all my discussions with members of the industry– representatives of your industry, lagi itong natatanong (this is always being asked)...and you know I feel for you, na itutulog mo na lang, kailangan mo pang pumila kung saan (that you still have to line up somewhere when you could sleep already),” she said in an online discussion with IT-BPO leaders and employees.

Robredo lamented that a lot of existing e-government services such as passport, driver’s license, and birth certificate are lacking.

“Papaano ba natin sisiguraduhin na may mga pockets na (How can we make sure that there are pockets of) available services in certain hubs na (of) people who go out of their work do not have to spend so much number of hours just to access services,” she said.

But the Vice President clarified this can’t be done across the country “all at the same time,” and that she plans on identifying pilot areas where there is a concentration of workers with graveyard shift.

She also suggested to bring in the private sector, adding that the government can incentivize those that would “take the extra mile.”

READ: Robredo seeks decentralization of BPO industry, improved internet service

Meanwhile, Robredo shared her belief that the IT-BPM will propel the Philippine economy to “greater heights” as it proved its resiliency during the pandemic.

“Ang expectation ko talaga (My expectation really), we are able to build a vibrant team – government and representatives from your sector... with the expectation that this team will, as I have said earlier, not just untie all the knots, pero (but) be able to plan policies that will boost the industry even more,” Robredo said.

The event was organized by the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the flagship organization of the IT-BPM industry, as part of a series of industry round table discussions with the presidential candidates.

Robredo underscored the industry’s contributions to the economy, despite the challenges it faces from COVID-19, government regulations, and competition from other outsourcing centers like India.

She called the IT-BPO sector “one of the most resilient” industries that immensely contributed to the growth of the economy during the pandemic.

The Vice President committed to improve ease of doing business in the country by enacting legislation that support the IT-BPO industry and its employees with more flexible hybrid or “work from home” arrangements.

She also backed upskilling and reskilling graduates and workers to enable them to earn higher salaries by performing higher-value jobs and strengthen the country’s deficient digital infrastructure, saying it will be “the cornerstone” of her administration if she’s elected.

"Kailangan mas compassionate 'yung programs, mas 'yung empathy dagdagan ng pamahalaan (The programs have to be more compassionate, more empathy should be added by the government) to provide the most basic of the services,” she said.