It is not surprising that both the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector of the Philippines and the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) reacted to the filing of the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 which was filed in the United States Senate, as reported separately by BusinessWorld, BusinessMirror and the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
For the newcomers reading this, the Philippines BPO sector (sometimes referred to simply as the call center industry even though many local firms have gone beyond taking calls) is now a major part of the national economy with more than 1.7 million Filipinos employed, $35 billion in annual export revenues and the United States of America (USA) alone is the single largest market with 2024 export revenues reported at $25 billion (reported by BusinessMirror).
In the Filipino perspective, call centers are very important because they offer a lot of high-paying jobs for Filipinos who badly need employment. The so-called call center effect on local society and economics includes new stores and food vendors opening up nearby, the opening of new convenience stores operating 24/7, the established restaurants nearby serving customers around-the-clock, and the opening of new branches of banks. Of course, the income Filipinos earned from their BPO jobs enabled them to acquire new things, pay their bills, subscribed to digital services, and move into better residences while helping their families make ends meet.
Having been a call center agent myself a very long time ago, I have witnessed such socio-economic developments happen whenever a call center is present and I was in Cebu province.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news article of the PNA highlighting the reaction of the DTI. Some parts in boldface…
Diversification will help cushion the possible impact of the proposed “Keep Call Centers in America Act,” aimed to protect local jobs by removing federal grants to companies that have call centers outside the United States.
The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry contributes a big part to the Philippine economy, with employment of around 1.4 million in 2024 and revenues of about USD38 billion. Around 70 percent of clients are based in the US.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque said there are no discussions yet with officials of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) but expressed openness to talk about possible measures to help the sector.
“But for us, (the) DTI, of course, we’ll continue to help the IT-BPO (and) IBPAP businesses in whatever they need from us. Of course, we’ll assist the same way we’ve assisted in the past,” she said.
“We can’t just look at the US as the only market. The world is the market. If you look at their population as compared to the world, it will show you that we should really find other avenues to explore.”
Next, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) confirmed it is still evaluating the potential impact of the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025. For insight, posted below is an excerpt from the BusinessWorld report. Some parts in boldface…
THE IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said it is still evaluating the potential impact of the proposed Keep Call Centers in America act.
“It talks about US call centers so I really do not know who that will affect with the way that it is worded,” IBPAP President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan R. Madrid said on the sidelines of an ECCP AI Forum.
“We need to understand it a little bit more. I think I know what their intention is. But I don’t know the likelihood of this passing. Obviously it is something we are monitoring, and with the way that it is worded, we need to study it more,” he added.
Introduced in the US Senate last month, the bill aims to impose restrictions on US firms outsourcing their call center operations.
In particular, the bill, if signed into law, will render employers outsource call center work overseas ineligible for new federal grants or guaranteed loans.
“I am speaking to the American Chamber of Commerce; we are discussing it and we will see. But we are all aligned on how we will manage this,” he said.
“While the bill is still in the early stages of the legislative process, we remain committed to keeping our stakeholders informed, providing timely guidance, and ensuring that the Philippine IT-BPM industry is well-positioned to adapt and thrive in a changing regulatory environment,” he said.
Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow John Paolo R. Rivera said that the proposed bill poses a “clear risk to the Philippine IT-BPM industry, especially in the call center segment.”
“By restricting access to US federal grants, contracts, and loans for companies that offshore customer service jobs or do not properly disclose them, the bill raises the regulatory and reputational costs for offshore operations,” he said via Viber .
He said the Philippine industry has been evolving beyond voice-based call centers, which are less exposed to call center-specific legislation.
“We now see strong growth in high-value services such as finance, healthcare information management, legal process outsourcing, software development, and data analytics,” he said.
With the US Senate’s proposal to bring back call centers to the US, he said that the Philippines must continue to move up the value chain to reduce exposure to such policies.
“While the bill underscores vulnerabilities in our call center export model, it also reinforces the importance of accelerating investment in high-value, tech-enabled services where the Philippines can maintain global competitiveness,” he added.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the bill could be “a potential drag on future growth of the industry.”
For this year, the IT-BPM industry is expected to generate $40 billion in export revenue and increase its workforce to 1.9 million.
To examine the details of the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025, click here and here.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to the recent developments? Do you think the IT-BPM sector of the Philippines has what it takes to protect itself from whatever effects the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 could create if ever it gets signed into law? Do you personally know anyone who is working in a BPO firm or a call center here in the Philippines? What kind of assistance do you think the national government will offer to the IT-BPM sector? Do you think the existing call centers should search for English-speaking clients in England, Ireland, Scotland, Israel and the like?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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