The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has suspended its inspection and audit of registered business enterprises on their compliance to the return-to-office order of the government, after some companies reportedly experienced harassment and threats of penalties, according to Charito Plaza, director-general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
“Industry locators have been harassed by the surprise inspections and threats of penalties for violating 100 percent on-site work. The good news is BIR suspended the inspections and audits of locator companies,” Plaza said at a dialogue with Sen. Imee Marcos yesterday.
Despite this, Jack Madrid, president of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), sought the help of Marcos, who has been advocating for clear, consistent work-from-home and hybrid setup, in securing a resolution from the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) allowing for 70:30 on-site to hybrid ratio being sought by the group.
“Our investors would really appreciate a…very black and white clarity on the work-from-home, this in the form of an FIRB resolution, just for the 70:30 that we’ve been working hard for,” said Madrid.
In response, Marcos said the hybrid work concern “needs to be addressed in a more nuanced way.”
“We want it to be black and white, we also want it to be more precise and detailed, allowing for greater flexibility as well,” Marcos said. “We can’t just say 30,70 (percent) for absolutely everything under the sun.”
Marcos sought the help of IBPAP in carving out the niches that can be allowed for hybrid even “as high as 90 percent and the other areas where we really can combine work-from-home or work from anywhere to lower percentages.”
Marcos said this is in consideration of the real estate development, hotels and restaurants, shopping malls, among other establishments, to be affected by lower occupancy and foot traffic.
“We also want it to be more precise and detailed, allowing for greater flexibility as well.Because this is all an experiment not only in the Philippines, but I’m sure…everyone in the world is struggling with the right way to do work-from-home and work from anywhere,” Marcos added. – Irma Isip
