35,000 new jobs expected in Paranaque

By Jaymee T. Gamil
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Parañaque government sees brighter employment prospects in the city in the following year, with a casino resort and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies expected to open in the next 12 months.

“We expect 15,000 new jobs in the BPO sector because the three SM malls in Parañaque, namely SM Sucat, SM Bicutan and SM BF Homes, are all planning to open BPO centers that will need 5,000 workers each,” Mayor Edwin Olivarez said, in a statement.

SM BF Homes, located along Dr. A. Santos Avenue, is currently under construction and is slated for opening this December.

Olivarez added that around 20,000 jobs would be created with the opening of all four casino resorts at the Pagcor Entertainment City.

At present, only Solaire Resorts and Casino has opened at the Entertainment City along Manila Bay, but another hotel-casino complex is expected to open in the next six months.

“What we are doing is making Parañaque business-friendly to attract more investors, which in turn will translate to more jobs. We aim to be competitive, and we shall continue to offer incentives to businesses that are setting up shop in the city,” Olivarez said.

Last week, the city government held a one-day job fair at the city hall compound, which drew more than 3,000 applicants vying for jobs in 80 companies, including the SM Group, Asia Brewery, Cavitex Tollway Corporation, property developers, food chains, retailers, apparel makers, hotels and BPO firms.