About 423 IT and business process management (BPM) firms signed to petition the government to institutionalize the hybrid work scheme after the September 2022 extension lapses, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said Monday.
“As of today, 432 registered business enterprises (RBEs) applied for work-from-home (WFH) through letters of authority (LOA) to PEZA,” said PEZA director general Charito Plaza.
She noted that major IT and BPM companies submitted their respective requests for LOAs, and all of the companies have been actively seeking for a permanent hybrid work ratio since the WFH mode was disrupted with the government asking for more people movement to support economic recovery.
PEZA is continuing to push the hybrid workplace initiative to help IT and BPM companies optimize their operations in the Philippines.
Out of 1,733 locators inside the economic zones, only 423 companies have sought the permanent implementation of the hybrid work program.
The Department of Trade and Industry is currently preparing to expand the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP) to render permanent the proposed 30 percent WFH and 70 percent onsite ratio for qualified RBEs.
The SIPP will institutionalize WFH scheme or the hybrid workplace as an eligible activity with incentives.
PEZA maintained that the 30 percent work from home is permissible activity under PEZA, CREATE and Telecommuting laws.
Plaza emphasized that even prior to the pandemic, the hybrid work model is also being practiced worldwide specifically in India, the Philippine’s top competitor in the IT-BPM sector.
“Thus, recognizing and adapting to this global trend is needed to maintain the country’s competitiveness and flexibility in the new normal,” she said.
As of December 2021, PEZA has 1,274 IT locator companies operating in 297 IT centers/parks and providing 1,017,559 jobs nationwide with exports of $15.797 billion.
The IT-BPO industry has been one of the major contributors and frontliners in keeping the nation’s economy going during the pandemic.