The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZAS) has requested the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) to allow a status quo in the hybrid work arrangement for its IT-business process outsourcing (BPO) registered firms as investments plunged 67.93 percent in the first quarter this year.

PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza said during a virtual press conference that investments in the first quarter 2022 dropped to P8.14 billion as against P25.382 billion in the same period last year.

PEZA Deputy Director-General Tereso Panga, however, said that the 6 percent growth in investments this year is still doable. “But in 2023 once we surpass all these issues and crises, we should be preparing for an upturn,” he said.

Plaza said the committed investments in the first quarter were the combined project cost of 29 approved projects by the agency. Once fully operational, these firms could generate 3,160 direct employment.

Majority of the new investors come from Australia, British Virgin Islands, China, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and Taiwan.

In requesting the FIRB for a status quo in the hybrid work arrangement, Plaza urged to let the new administration decide to institutionalize hybrid work model. She expressed hope the new administration come June 30 this year will prioritize the resolution for hybrid work for IT-BPO firms registered with PEZA.

“We hope the new administration to address this immediately to appease the worries of investors,” Plaza said. “It’s few days left only, let’s ask the new administration to institutionalize the hybrid work model and incorporate all laws,” said Plaza as the Department of Finance already stressed that BPO firms under PEZA will lose their tax perks if they continue to work outside of their approved economic zone location.

Plaza noted that all their manufacturing firms are already operating 100 percent onsite but the IT-BPOs still continue to operate via the hybrid work model.

PEZA also supports their registered IT-BPOs, allowing them to operate 30 percent WFH and 70 percent onsite with a promise of no diminution of tax incentives. Plaza said this is based on existing PEZA policy that allows export-oriented firms to sell 30 percent of their production in the domestic market and 70 percent for exports. PEZA is also invoking the Telecommuting Act, which allows workers to work WFH or remotely.

PEZA hosts a total of 1,608 IT locators companies and 297 IT Parks and Centers with total employment of 1,010,332 workers. From 1995 to 2021, PEZA IT firms invested a total of P330.4 billion and generated exporters of $1.389 billion.