13 biz groups back end to work-from-home setups

MANILA, Philippines—Some of the country’s biggest business groups and property developers voiced support for the government’s directive to end work-from-home (WFH) arrangements, noting this was necessary for the country’s return to “post-pandemic normalcy.”

In a statement signed by 13 business groups on Monday (March 21), they said that among those most adversely affected by the predominant WFH set-up in the past two years were the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which retained just a fraction of the 5.38 million jobs nationwide across all segments in 2020.

With the vaccination rate in Metro Manila now at 70.4 percent and nationwide at 57.1 percent and with new COVID cases at a very low levels, the group welcomed the relaxation of mobility curbs in the country.

“We now look forward to heightened business activity which will benefit the entire nation and spur its return to economic wellness. The path to recovery, we aver, begins with the presence in the business and commercial centers of our country’s workers,” said the groups.

Among the signatories to the statement were the country’s largest property firms – SM Prime Holdings, Ayala Land, Megaworld Corp. and Robinsons Land Corp. Also represented were top business groups such as the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Association Inc. (CREBA), Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex), Go Negosyo, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Constructors Association Inc., Philippine Retailers Association, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and restaurant association Resto PH.

“Economic momentum has been established and we are now within easier reach of the prosperity we all enjoyed in 2019,” they said.

The mandate to return to physical offices after two years of COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns especially affects the IT-business process outsourcing (BPO) firms registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), as they stand to lose their fiscal incentives if they do not comply with the order to repopulate their offices starting April 1.

As employees return to business centers, the group also hopes that confidence nationwide will improve and help restore tourism and other allied industries. At least 1.1 million tourism workers have been displaced by the pandemic.

They cited other studies estimating that in 2020 alone — the year the pandemic broke out — 423,075 construction workers or 10 percent of those employed by the industry in 2019 had been affected. Similarly battered were: 464,841 accommodation and food service employees (24 percent of those employed in 2019); 492,067 transportation and storage workers (14 percent of those employed in 2019).

The collective also noted that firms in Cebu and other cities affected by Typhoon Odette had realized that WFH arrangements were not for all and were meant to be a temporary measure.

Without the backup and emergency systems found in business and commercial centers, these firms suffered significant losses due to power and water outages.

TSB