Request to exclude IT-BPO firms from WFH guidelines denied
The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) denied the proposal of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to exclude the Information Technology-Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry from the recently implemented work-from-home (WFH) guidelines.
According to Department of Finance (DOF) Assistant Secretary Juvy Danofrata, one of the grounds of the denial is that the request is incompatible with the government’s strategy of “progressively and carefully reopening the economy.”
Danofrata added that FIRB’s WFH resolution is appropriate given that activities in PEZA-registered locators should be conducted within their ecozones.
Last month, PEZA Director General Charito Plaza stated that the FIRB directive — which requires IT-BPO companies to have at least 10% of their workforce on-site — poses a problem as employees are hesitant to report to work due to the ongoing pandemic.
PEZA has petitioned the FIRB to change the WFH arrangement’s threshold from the total number of staff to gross revenue.
