(Conclusion)
Big technology companies abroad have taken advantage of the “brilliance” of Filipinos for decades, thus there’s no reason why the Philippines cannot be a tech giant itself.
SARTiNE CEO Renezar Deunida, having immersed himself deep in the IT sector, including a long stint with the United Nations, said that companies like Facebook, Google and Big Bank Theories have been employing numerous Filipinos.
He averred that many breakthroughs and innovations can be credited to Filipinos working abroad, although most are not given the recognition to occupy richly deserved top positions.
Deunida made the observation during a recent interview by Gising Na!, Daily Tribune’s digital show simulcast on RJTV.
“As I’ve seen it, many of our countrymen are at the core of tech companies, but they are denied the opportunity to reach the top even if without their skills many companies would flop,” Deunida said.
“It just so happens that there are limited opportunities in the Philippines, thus many are forced to work overseas. When I was in the United States, IT experts really have high regard for Filipinos,” he added.
Philippine Statistics Authority data on overseas Filipino workers released this year covering the year 2020 showed there were about 1.7 million documented Filipino workers abroad.
Adaptability
Of the figure, only 2.9 percent occupied managerial positions, 16.9 percent were categorized professionals and 15.7 percent were in technical and allied posts.
The 45-year-old Deunida said that among the traits of Filipino workers in the technology sector are their adaptability and willingness to acquire new skills.
“Given state-of-the-art tools, Filipinos abroad really shine, including those employed in Singapore, about 17,000 IT specialists at one time,” he said.
He emphasized that the issue of brain drain is very real, adding government should provide the impetus to help the local tech sector and spur reverse migration.
On the metaverse, Deunida said that while others may look at it like it’s still science fiction, the truth is that it’s a “working environment already.”
TechnoGizmo could not help but agree with Deunida.
As this sees print, the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange and Yield Guild Fames Alerts partnered to bring De La Salle University to the metaverse.
From 3 to 9 October, PDAX and YGGA had DigitX hosted by Decentraland metaverse to showcase webinars, exhibits and guided tours in a completely virtual rendition of the DLSU Manila campus.
3-D works
Participants were able to create their own avatars and engage other attendees in exploring 3-D works such as those from DLSU’s first-ever batch of BS Interactive Entertainment, Major in Game Design, graduates.
Deunida explained that forms of metaverse are already being enjoyed by ordinary people like TikTok users who use face-swap technology to present improved versions of themselves.
“In a virtual world, you can change your face, you can be sexy, with a high-bridged nose. You can also dress up in fancy clothes,” the SARTiNE executive pointed out.
“At its most basic definition, metaverse is where you work, live, travel and play inside the virtual world. Shopping at present requires you to go to Shopee or Lazada and swipe to purchase,” he said.
“In the metaverse, you can already wear the clothes you want to buy so you can see how they would look on you virtually. I can also be a hologram in your show here at Gising Na! That’s just some of the applications of metaverse.”
Deunida said local companies would be well advised to invest in the metaverse and Web3 as what companies abroad like HSBC, JP Morgan, Gucci and Coca-cola are doing.
Web3 as host
“You know in the next three to four years, accessing Daily Tribune online may no longer involve going to https://tribune.net.ph/ because www will already be supplanted by Web3,” he said.
He said that as the metaverse via Web 3 changes the way people interact and act as consumers, so must companies embrace the virtual world if they want not only to keep their business but to expand and grow, through paradigm shifts in business-to-business, business-to-end users and advertising activities.
“We, Filipinos, love new things and trends, but I do not see the metaverse as a fleeting fad. It’s going to be so immersive in such a short time that blurred would be the lines between reality and the virtual world.”