PEZA board will have the final say on the WFH extension
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) clarified that they have only approved the work-from-home (WFH) extension “in principle,” but the final approval still depends on the PEZA board.
In a statement, PEZA OIC and Deputy General Tereso Panga said that they need to revise their memo and include inputs from the board that states that the 30% WFH is “a long-standing policy of PEZA and not just as a business continuity plan measure.”
Last Sunday, Panga posted on Facebook that the PEZA board wants to get “further clarification” from the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Board of Investments (BoI) regarding the extension.
However, the OIC noted that they would push for the approval before the earlier resolution expires on Sept. 12.
IT-BPO industry stakeholders have been pushing for an extended WFH arrangement while keeping their tax incentives, citing benefits to employees and productivity.
According to Panga, the PEZA board agreed that the DoF should coordinate with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) regarding the issues affecting the ecozone industry on the application of WFH policy.
At the same time, Panga said that the PEZA board deferred and subjected to ad referendum on the inclusion of ecozone logistics services activity in the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP).
