Some news that are printed on national dailies may be unfounded, and not only on a few occasions. Like the one buzz item buried in the inside page wherein it said some BPOs are planning to leave the country and may do business elsewhere.
It is being reasoned that our president cannot zip his cussing mouth in barking against the US, United Nations and the European Union. It’s shocking to many of the age-old allies of our country. We don’t have to wait for bad consequences. Don’t panic though. But it’s a cause for worry.
In Clark Freeport alone and in the adjacent city of Angeles, thousands – mostly young people and fresh graduates – are currently employed in these BPOs and their money earnings cascade and enhance the business climate. No wonder Angeles City has more banks, fast food chains and high-end restaurants compared to other metropolitan cities of its size.
Of course that will send shivers to tens of thousands of workers now employed in the many outsourcing companies scattered all over the archipelago. And definitely if that will happen, it will have a great negative effect on our GDP (gross domestic product) and may further lead to a double digit unemployment rate.
Some may take the investors’ threat as a form of blackmail if it’s real. Methinks it is some kind of a business politics inorder to pressure Malacanang to be more circumspect, and for our President to quit bad mouthing leaders of these institutions.
The interference of leaders of other countries like the United States and institutions like the UN may be unjustified but the response of our President is oftentimes repeated and quite alarming, that even some ardent followers are praying that Malacanang advisers or maybe the people closest to him should give him a much-needed unsolicited advice.
And Malacanang should not ignore the fact that the satisfaction rating of President Duterte in his first 100 days in office has started to fall. From a high 91 it went down to 83. It is not dramatic, but nonetheless a decrease.