Philippine BPO gets one Tatler slot in 21 — Remotify’s Maria Sucgang
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Tatler Philippines has published its 2026 Front & Female Awards nominees — 21 women shaping the country’s future across seven categories. Exactly one comes from the Philippines’ $42 billion outsourcing industry: Remotify Co-founder and CEO Maria Sucgang, shortlisted for the Innovation Award alongside the Philippine Space Agency’s Gay Jane Perez and Parlon’s Kristine Claire Ongcangco.
Sucgang is the only private-sector workforce-platform founder on the full list — a notable representation gap for an industry employing nearly 2 million Filipinos.
The nomination is a milestone for Remotify, but the shortlist itself tells the wider story.
The Philippines’ IT and business process management sector is projected to generate $42 billion in revenue in 2026 and employs about 1.97 million people, according to the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), ranking among the country’s largest export earners.
Yet across Tatler’s seven categories — Business Leader, Education and Development, Founder, Innovation, Rising Champion, Social Impact and Well-being — Sucgang is the sole founder drawn from that workforce.
Founded in 2021, Remotify is one of the Philippines’ Employer of Record (EOR) platforms, helping international companies hire, pay and manage Filipino staff without setting up a local legal entity.
The Front & Female Awards select nominees through a vetting process weighing achievements over the previous 18 months, and Tatler placed Sucgang in the Innovation category for pairing that technology with compliant, benefit-backed employment for remote workers.
“Our mission has always been bigger than simplifying global hiring,” Sucgang said, adding that the company wants Filipino professionals to build careers without leaving home while letting employers hire compliantly in the country.
The recognition differs from the industry honors Outsource Accelerator has tracked this year — IBPAP’s SOLAIA awards, the 2026 Excellence in Customer Service Awards and Clutch ratings — which originate from inside the sector.
Tatler’s list instead reflects how mainstream Philippine business and lifestyle media see the industry. The same platform earned a Founder Institute FI 50 place in May; prestige-media recognition has been slower to follow.
Tatler Philippines will announce its Front & Female Awards winners later this year. For now, an industry generating a projected $42 billion and employing close to 2 million Filipinos holds a single seat at one of the country’s most prominent celebrations of women leaders.
