"Work-from-home" or WFH is a term that gained popularity due to sheer necessity during the Covid-19 pandemic. But a former congressman in the current 18th Congress thinks that the proper term should be "work from anywhere" or WFA.

“Let us stop living in the antiquities and embrace the gift of technology which can finally allow us to work freely and productively. The performance of our workforce should now be measured not by Bundy clocks but by the quality and quantity of our services and our products,” AP Party-list nominee Ronnie Ong said in a statement Tuesday, April 19.

According to Ong, WFA is a more appropriate term than WFH for workers who render services outside of their office spaces which may not necessarily be inside their homes.

“Technology now allows us to work productively while giving full attention to our children or while enjoying the beach in some island resort. We no longer need to suffer the horrendous traffic or the terrible pollution of Metro Manila just to do the amount of work that we can do better and faster in someplace cozy,” said the former Ang Probinsiyano Party-list solon.

Ong's remarks were part of his pitch to amend and strengthen Republic Act (RA) No.11165, also known as the as Work-From-Home Law, to institutionalize the provision of tax perks for companies that employ WFH arrangements.

He said that instead of withdrawing their tax perks as determined by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), the government should even increase the incentives for companies that allow off-site employment as they contribute a lot in providing employment even for parents who are forced to stay home to take care of their children, senior citizens and persons with disability who have difficulties in commuting.

To avert a disastrous commercial property market bust as feared by government economic managers, Ong said the Philippines can adopt a 50-50 rotating on-site and WFA set-up, especially in industries that do not require physical on-site presence such as the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

Sure would be a good alternative to withdrawing the companies' tax incentives just because they permitted their employers to work off-site.

Ong said that while he understands the apprehension of the country’s economic managers over the impact of WFA on the property sector, he insisted that under the country’s present work environment, it is more beneficial for the government, businesses, and for the employees to integrate off-site work arrangements whenever possible.

The ex-solon also said that WFA arrangements could help reduce the traffic problem not only in Metro Manila but in other metropolitan centers as well, on top of reducing fuel consumption which could potentially decrease demand and bring down the cost of petroleum products.

It will also help reduce pollution, strengthen family relations and improve the overall well-being of the country’s labor force, he says.

By providing more tax perks for companies with WFA set-up, Ong said that government can attract more investments that would require office spaces. He said that many companies around the world that have shifted to BPO-style work set-ups can see the potential of the Philippines as a business destination if the government could provide them with more incentives.

“ Even if these companies would require lesser floor space for their businesses, more companies will be coming in to invest because we allow off-site work arrangements and provide them attractive investment incentives,” he noted.