Credit rating agencies including Fitch Ratings believe that the Congress — prone to political disruption — is not giving fiscal and economic issues the attention it deserves. "(There are political issues) that are taking away legislature’s energy and focus away from economic issues," Fitch senior director and head of Asia sovereign ratings James McCormack said. "And a good example," he stressed, "is that the (national) budget this year still has not been passed. That’s not a great testament to legislature’s ability to focus on fiscal and economic issues. We’re almost into June and we don’t have a budget. That tells us that legislation is on other issues." McCormack said they are not convinced debates would be resolved soon. "It will linger and that ‘lingering’ heightens political noise and security issues … it remains a risky environment one that we have to monitor closely." Although Fitch said political concerns have eased somewhat it does not mean it has gone away. Besides the delayed budget, other constant worries are impeachment and moves to change the structure of the government to a parliamentary system. "We still believe there’s a risk of political disruption." Sources said there is a strong possibility that the reenacted budget would again be reinstated. It is already June and the sentiment is that the new P1.05-trillion budget will not be passed.

Washington Mutual Inc. (WaMu), the largest American savings and loans holding company and the eight biggest bank based in the US in terms of assets, intends to offshore up to 6,000 jobs to the Philippines within 18 months "in line with a series of initiatives to significantly reduce administrative costs." Former senator Ernesto Herrera, general secretary of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, disclosed this over the weekend. Citing US regulatory filings by Seattle, Washington-based WaMu, Herrera said the jobs would be "outsourced to a vendor based in the Philippines." Many of the jobs that would be transferred involve "handling telephone sales and service for the banks mortgage and consumer lending units," according to Herrera, former chairman of the Senate labor, employment and human resources committee. WaMus decision to move jobs out of the US forms part of "a strategy to relegate back office jobs to lowercost locations." The banks in-house call centers and back offices in several US states are now handling many of the jobs that would eventually be entrusted to a vendor in Manila.

ExcelAsia Training and Development, Inc., one of the fastest growing BPO training centers in the country, opened its Makati office last May 26. Secretary Arthur Yap, presidential adviser for job creation and head of presidential management staff, joined call center industry bigwigs in welcoming the much-lauded training arm of top contact centers. ExcelAsia provides customized training and development services to large international and local call centers. ExcelAsia Makati, its second location, offers English and Communication Skills Training for Call Centers, Near-Hire Training for Call Centers, Customers Service Training for Business Corporations, Supervisory and Managerial Training for Call Centers and Business Corporations, English and Comprehension Skills Training for Nurses, Foreign Nationals and Filipinos and Basic Computer Skills Training. The training center in Makati has 8 large training rooms and can expand up to twice that size. ExcelAsia produces almost 500 graduates monthly consisting of employees and nearhire applicants sent by its partner contact centers. ExcelAsia president Rita Trillo Ugarte said the company will continue its drive and mission to become the largest and most effective Human Resource Development Company in the Philippines and Asia. ExcelAsia will also open in Bacolod, Ortigas and Libis soon.

To reduce records of power line shutdowns, the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) is embarking on a strategy to improve its live-line maintenance works. A component of the program is setting up more comprehensive training for linemen on hotline maintenance works and to enable them to detect potential troubles occurring in the transmission lines. Being the backbone for the transmission of electricity to customers, it is very crucial that the TransCo lines would be run well and efficiently maintained to avert any threats of massive power outages. "The corporation already saved at least P4.7 million for the first quarter of the year in Mindanao alone," TransCo president Alan T. Ortiz, as he noted that the training program it initiated for linemen have injected some efficiency in their operations. He further explained that hotline maintenance work is a proven technology in the electric transmission industry that allows line repairs without shutting down power lines.