MANILA, Philippines--More than the uncertainty of the upcoming elections and the weakening dollar, business process outsourcing industry players in the country are concerned about Malacañang?s penchant for long weekends as this affect their business costs.

Business Processing Association of the Philippines president and chief executive Oscar Sanez said the industry?s cost of doing business remained high, and this was exacerbated by the many holidays that required companies to pay their employees extra.

?It?s good that (Malacañang) gives us a list of the holidays in advance as this gives companies a chance to include these extras into their planning. It?s the unannounced holidays that we?re concerned about,? he said in an interview.

BPAP external relations director Martin Crisostomo said it would greatly help the industry if Malacañang could give them reprieve from paying extra every time there was an unplanned holiday.

For example, he said the BPO sector was exempted from giving holiday pay to their employees last month when President Macapagal-Arryo declared the funeral of Iglesia ni Cristo head Eraño Manalo a nonworking holiday.

He said that it was not that the industry did not want to pay their employees extra. It was just that too many holidays significantly increased BPO firms? costs, as they were highly ?employee-intensive.?

Malacañang has declared two long weekends in November: Nov. 1-2 in observance of All Saints? Day and All Souls? Day, and Nov. 27-28 in observance of Eid?l Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, a Muslim holiday observed after the hajj or the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Nov. 30, the Monday after, is Bonifacio Day, a regular nonworking holiday.