Roxas in meet and greet with Cebu City BPO workers

DILG Sec. Mar Roxas meet BPO agents at the Cebu IT Park. (INQUIRER PHOTO/ MARLON RAMOS)

Interior and Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas embarked on a charm offensive during his whirlwind visit in Cebu City yesterday.

Roxas, who was chosen to become the Liberal Party’s standard bearer in the 2016 elections, met over breakfast with a group of call center agents at a branch of a fast food chain  in Cebu IT Park.

Later in the day, the interior secretary attended the celebration of the Farmers’ Day at the Capitol building and the annual convention of the sugar industry sector in Waterfront Cebu Hotel.

Wearing a checkered polo, he spent a few minutes shaking hands with 20 employees of business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, including start-up companies owned by middle-aged local entrepreneurs.

Between sips of coffee from a paper cup, Roxas held an hour-long informal dialogue with the BPO workers as he asked them about the current working conditions in their companies.

Roxas, a former congressman and secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is credited with developing the $25-billion BPO industry.

Roxas recalled to BPO workers how he helped entice investors to start the BPO business in Cebu more than 15 years ago.

“Who’s in inbound? Are you all in voice? Who’s in non-voice? Do you do customer support?” he asked them, referring to the kinds of services offered by call centers.