Meanwhile, Back in the Philippines
The Philippines is like a ship navigating between Scylla and Charybdis – the ancient sea monsters that Greek sailors feared more than death itself.
On one side, Chinese vessels play an aggressive game of maritime chicken in waters the Philippines has called home for centuries. Nine-dash lines drawn on maps in Beijing somehow trump fishing rights passed down through generations of Filipino families.
When your neighbor decides your backyard pool is actually theirs, things get complicated fast.
Conversely, the US-China trade war sends economic tremors through every supply chain that touches Philippine shores, but smart negotiations could make the island nation a relative winner.
For Filipino businesses these are realities that affect everything from client contracts to currency fluctuations. When the peso wobbles because someone in Washington sneezed in Beijing's direction, that directly impacts the take-home pay of every virtual assistant in Cebu.
As territorial disputes heat up and trade wars fluctuate, Philippine-based enterprises need new muscles for uncertainty.
What this means for outsourcing: companies that once chose the Philippines purely for cost advantages now value something more precious—resilience.
Fear & Loathing: West Philippine Sea Edition
Only in the Philippines. In 1999, the government made a desperate move: deliberately grounding an antiquated warship, the Sierra Madre, on a reef 120 miles offshore to block China's territorial expansion. This New York Times piece eloquently captures the heroism of Filipino troops who've manned this rusting outpost against overwhelming odds.
We Made This
Recently, we did some Translation Industry research for our friends in South Florida. We were surprised to learn how big (and how fragmented) the industry is, with a global market value of $41-57 billion and 7-9,000 language service providers in the United States.
China Adjacent
If the Philippines contends with China's expansionism and American reset-global-financism, Taiwan's precariousness is 10x. Considered a renegade province by China and the El Dorado of global chip manufacturing, Taiwan lives in the shadow of invasion and subjugation.
One Service Industry to Rule Them All
While the world wonders if services will land in the tariff crosshairs, the Philippines' booming business process outsourcing industry has more to consider than finding qualified staff and the AI-ification of remote services work:
- Pandemic-proof growth of 41.8% revenue growth during COVID years ($26.7B to $37.87B).
- The Philippines delivers 10-15% global BPO market share as the world's #2 outsourcing destination.
- As a byproduct of the BPO industry, the Philippines is the #6 fastest-growing freelance market, with an estimated 1.5 million Filipinos registered on international online platforms.
Peso/Dollar Exchange vs Inflation
- The peso's 3.2% gain is welcome – unless tariffs slash outsourcing budgets or the weaker dollar impacts remittances.
- Inflation at 1.4% helps Filipino teams breathe easier.
- Currency swings of ±7% prove you need resilient partners.
Hidden Histories
I have an abiding love of Tiki. It might be the stylized skull mugs of debilitating rum drinks or the mash-up of real and imagined Polynesian cultural artifacts.
Filipino bartenders are the unsung masters of the genre, behind every theatrical pour of flaming rum and precisely balanced cocktail.
When Donn Beach opened the first tiki bar in 1934, he hired the Filipino friends who'd housed him during his broke years, inadvertently creating a tradition.
The irony: an imaginary Polynesia built on real Filipino expertise, a fantasy sustained by the people the fantasy tried to erase.
Dolla, Dolla
Economist Kenneth Rogoff's new book argues that the U.S. dollar's dominance in global finance is declining. While the dollar will remain important, it may not hold the unique status it once did.
