As dusk settles over Angeles City, Justin Cunanan prepares for another long night. While the rest of the Philippines sleeps, he joins millions of his compatriots powering a global industry that is now facing threats from both Washington and Silicon Valley.
For the next nine hours, the 33-year-old will field customer service calls for a company based in the United States.
The night shift is gruelling, but for Cunanan, who previously worked in hospitality, the benefits of a business process outsourcing (BPO) job are worth it. He has a five-day work week, premium pay for nocturnal hours, health insurance for himself and his family and a monthly wage of 45,000 pesos (US$770).
“I realised working six days a week wasn’t for me, so I quit my job and applied as a customer service representative,” he told This Week in Asia. “I had friends working in the BPO industry, and I knew that they only worked five days a week, so I thought I would give it a try.”
Cunanan is one of nearly 2 million Filipinos employed in the country’s outsourcing sector – a US$30 billion industry that accounts for about 7 per cent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product and commands 15 per cent of the global market. But this economic success story must now confront existential threats from US political manoeuvring and the inexorable rise of artificial intelligence.
