AI a bigger threat to BPOs – DOF chief
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said artificial intelligence (AI) poses an imminent threat to the Philippines’ business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. He said the government’s tax reform measures aren’t threatening the industry, yet AI is. Dominguez made the statement amid concerns that the second package of the administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), which focuses on lowering corporate income tax and rationalizing fiscal incentives, will remove perks granted to BPO companies. It also aims to formulate a three-year Strategic Investments Priority Plan (SIPP) to ensure that only industries that provide positive spillover into the economy are given incentives. Dominguez, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, and Senator Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ Aquino IV have warned about the implications of AI. Aquino earlier said 1.4 million BPO jobs in the country were at risk because of AI and automation.
