THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has asked the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) to base the threshold of the work-from-home (WFH) arrangement to gross revenues of the locators again, instead of workforce, to protect the employees amid the pandemic.
In a statement on Monday, the ecozone regulator said that doing so will help the information technology (IT) enterprises recover and safeguard their employees from risks of Covid-19 infection.
Recently, the FIRB approved the extension until March 31, 2022, of WFH arrangements for up to 90 percent of the employees in the IT-business process management (IT-BPM) sector.
Basing the threshold to gross revenues instead will allow IT enterprises to have 100-percent WFH arrangement for workforce but it also means that only 90 percent of the revenues of the activity will be subject to incentives.
The Peza law states that all activities of registered locators must be within the ecozones for them to avail of the incentives.
“The present appeal of the IT enterprises is anchored on the threat posed by the Delta variant of Covid-19 to its employees, which is considered more contagious,” Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza said.
“Many of our locators are reeling from the effects of this pandemic, but they are continuing operations to comply with the global supply and demand. This continues to help us to keep the jobs of our people and our economy afloat,” Plaza added. “The little we can do is to assist them in matters such as this.”
The directive of the recent FIRB resolution maintains at least 10-percent onsite employees, which worries the employees amid the surge in Covid-19 cases and high hospital utilization rate, Plaza said.
“This will defeat the purpose of the extension of the WFH arrangement which is to limit the mobility of workers and lessen the pressure on public transport because they will contribute to the number of people outside even if it is possible for them to perform their jobs within the confines of their respective homes,” she explained.
For its part, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) said they are placing as many employees as possible under the WFH arrangement to reduce the risk of infection.
“Our members are registered enterprises that aim to maintain their export revenue commitments and keep their people to ensure seamless delivery of services,” the Ibpap said. “However, there are factors affecting revenue and employee attrition that are beyond the control of the enterprise.”
With this, the ecozone regulator also asked for leniency on the imposition of related penalties given that locators find it challenging to meet the directive.
“We need to unite all our efforts to combat this crisis and to help revive our economy,” Plaza said. “Let us do our best to provide assistance to our investors and merge our collaborative initiatives for our country and our people.”