Registered Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms and other business enterprises are allowed by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) for a 30% work-from-home (WFH) until September 12, 2022.
PEZA clarified that those BPO firms and establishments that cannot go back to on-site operations beyond April 1, 2022 may pursue a letter of authority for the 70-30 work setup (70% of the employees reporting onsite while the remaining 30% of the employees working from home).
Charito Plaza, the PEZA Director General stated that this hybrid work set up will be permitted until September 12—which is the day when President Rodrigo Duterte declared the PH state of calamity because of the global health crisis.
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BPOs have been seeking to extend the deadline for the approval for their 90% WFH arrangement beyond March 2022, pointing to the presence of health issues and rising fuel prices.
But the Fiscal Incentives Review Board has rejected the petition of the BPOs, citing that the firms itself must let go of the tax perks if they choose to work remotely.
Plaza also addressed the reports indicating the intention to leave by some BPOs and business enterprises, so that they may continue to work from home. He, however, stated that there is no truth behind it.
Aside from this, PEZA Deputy Director General for Policy and Planning Tereso Panga provided an assurance that its Board of Investments are working to institutionalize the WFH set up in its Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP). He believes that this will promote growth in the IT sector and ensure regulatory coherence in the future.
Source: CNN