NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines – Loren Legarda, Deputy Speaker, urged the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) on Thursday to temporarily lift its April 1 deadline for business process outsourcing (BPO) workers to physically report to work.

Legarda stated in a statement that the work-from-home (WFH) arrangement has been shown to be effective at mitigating health risks and preventing the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) without negatively impacting the economy.

“Despite the WFH arrangement, the Philippine economy has survived the last two years, and our economic activity is now more active than ever, owing to the growing number of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. “We believe that the WFH arrangement will enable us to maintain this momentum,” she stated.

Legarda added that this remote setup would also assist approximately 1.3 million BPO employees in coping with rising fuel and transportation costs, by providing them with the same mitigating opportunities as other sectors impacted by the current crises.

“Unfortunately, we now have to consider additional factors in addition to Covid-19: the unexpected increase in oil prices caused by the Russo-Ukrainian crisis, which has impacted the prices of our basic commodities, and the climate crisis, which is expected to worsen unless we take drastic measures such as reducing our total carbon footprint,” Legarda said.

She stated that the changes implemented in workplaces during the pandemic years allowed workers to “rethink the way they live, interact, and perform their jobs.”

“Many have remained steadfast in their commitment to ensuring that productivity and business operations are not jeopardized or compromised. Thus, we must take measures to ensure and prioritize the comfort and safety of our employees in general, and specifically our BPO employees,” she explained.

The FIRB denied a request by the Philippine Economic Zones Authority (PEZA) and the information technology and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry to extend the WFH scheme to the PEZA-registered IT-BPO firms last week.

PEZA Director General Charito Plaza said in a statement earlier this week that maintaining the hybrid work model is efficient in light of rising fuel prices and the need to decongest Metro Manila traffic.

“The recommendation is consistent with the telecommuting law (Republic Act 11165), which predated the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act and recognized working from an alternative workplace through the use of telecommunication and/or computer technologies,” Plaza said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) stated that employers are free to enforce flexible work arrangements in the private sector.

“The proposal for a four-day workweek eliminates the need for a new law or Department Order. We recently issued a Labor advisory regarding flexible work arrangements. Labor Undersecretary Benjo Benavidez stated in a virtual forum that the four-day workweek is a “flexible work arrangement.”

However, Benavidez stated that this work arrangement does not include overtime pay.

Although the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) has accepted the industry’s fate, it will continue to explore ways to incorporate WFH or a hybrid work model into the sector’s operations.

“We believe that the economy must be fully reopened. However, because IT-BPM employees strongly prefer a balanced, hybrid work arrangement, we are collaborating with our government partners to ensure a smooth transition from onsite operations to a WFH/hybrid model in the longer term,” IBPAP President and CEO Jack Madrid said in a statement.

Previously, the industry group stated that IT-BPM firms are seeking more flexible work arrangements in light of the pandemic’s demonstration that WFH or hybrid schemes work for the sector.

Additionally, this would aid in increasing employee productivity and work-life balance, lowering absenteeism and attrition rates, decongesting Metro Manila, and expanding talent and hiring pools.

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