Davao has been named the Philippines’ top "next wave" city for business process outsourcing (BPO).

The city, located in the province of Davao del Sur, was tagged by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), and the Department of Trade and Industry as heading a list of top outsourcing sites.

Rounding up roll were the cities of Sta. Rosa in Laguna; Bacolod in Negros Occidental; Iloilo in Iloilo; Metro Cavite (Bacoor, Imus and Dasmariñas cities); Lipa in Batangas; Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental; Malolos in Bulacan; Baguio in Benguet; and Dumaguete in Negros Oriental.

Sta. Rosa, Metro Cavite, Lipa, Malolos and Bagiuo are located in Luzon. Bacolod, Iloilo and Dumaguete are in the Visayas, while Davao and Cagayan de Oro are in Mindanao.

BPAP chief executive Oscar R. Sañez said Davao ranked the highest for availability of graduates and talented workers and also had good scores in terms infrastructure and cost.

Davao -- along with other cities in Mindanao -- suffered in terms of their business environment scores due to advisories issued by other countries against travelling to the island.

"Davao was penalized by two points due to the travel advisories of countries like the United States; it scored a three from the possible five. Other cities in Mindanao were also affected. What we should do is make sure that investors are informed that troubles are far from Davao and Cagayan de Oro," Mr. Sañez said.

Davao currently hosts 20 outsourcing companies with 6,500 workers. Read more...

By Emilia Narni J. David (www.bworldonline.com)