The IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines, Inc. (Ibpap) recently urged the Philippines to follow India’s footsteps of allowing businesses registered in economic zones to keep work from home setups without losing tax incentives.
“It’s high time the [Philippines] follows India at the risk of losing more ground, market share and the opportunity to add more IT-BPM jobs for more Filipinos. The future of work is here…and its hybrid,” Ibpap president Jack Madrid said in a LinkedIn post.
Madrid referred to a news article quoting India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyah Goyal saying their government had decided to allow WFH arrangements in all special economic zones, opining that a WFH culture would create employment opportunities in small cities and increase the export of services.
Philippine Economic Zone Authority officer in charge and deputy director general for policy and planning Tereso Panga has expressed support for the idea, drawing similarities between India’s situation and the predicament faced by local businesses operating in economic zones.
He reiterated his statement that the government could be more proactive and responsive to the needs of ecozone locators if it would extend WFH privileges under a hybrid work setup. Such a policy direction on tax incentives would also put the Philippines on par with India and other “forward thinking” economies that have adopted such work flexibility,” Panga added.
Since April of this year, businesses registered under Peza have been given leeway in their work arrangement, continuing to enjoy tax incentives despite having 30 percent of their employees on WFH. The Fiscal Incentives Review Board and PEZA are set to meet this week to decide on whether or not to extend the WFH policy.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have upended the world, but as humanity adapted, some benefits were discovered and the WFH arrangement has been seen as a game changer by many employees and employers alike. A country that wants to remain competitive as the humanity adjusts to the new normal should at the very least give this new arrangement more consideration and give it a chance to prove its worth, not only for the employees affected, but the employers and the business community in general as well.*
