MANILA, Philippines - The much-talked-about "jejemon" culture does not pose a risk to the reputation of the Philippines as a top outsourcing destination, with a highly-skilled English-speaking labor force.

Secretary Ray Anthony Chua, chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology, said that companies abroad, particularly in the US, still prefer to outsource their call center operations to the Philippines, despite the fast-growing popularity of "jejemons", who distort the use of the English language.

Jejemons excessively misspell words and phrases, making it hard for people to understand. Many have speculated that this pop culture came to exist because of text messaging.

Chua noted they were more concerned about an attempt by US lawmakers to pass a bill imposing higher taxes on American firms resorting to offshoring. However, he said even this will not pose a risk to the expansion of the local outsourcing industry.

"We are constantly monitoring the situation and it is up to our bilateral relationship with US to avert any adverse effect of such a move."

Chua said the outsourcing industry will continue to be a major growth driver for the service sector, which grew 6.1% in the first quarter.

The industry grew 19% last year, generating $7.2 billion in earnings, and 440,000 jobs.

With the global economy recovering, Chua expects the industry to grow 26% this year. - Report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News