Tolentino wants employers to give electricity allowance to work-from-home employees

Senator Francis Tolentino on Tuesday said the burden of work-from-home employees must be alleviated by giving them incentives that would take into account the additional electricity expenses they shoulder while performing their jobs out of their offices.

In a virtual interview with reporters, the senator said it can come in a form of a monthly allowance or as a deductible expense in the taxable income of work-from-home employees.

"Ito isa sa mga proposal lang ha, each employee should be entitled to a P1,000 tax deduction for every month he/she has worked from home... na ise-certify ng iyong employer na talagang sa bahay ka nagtrabaho," Tolentino said.

"'Yung isa namang proposal, ang employer ang magbibigay ng P1,000 [per month] sa kaniyang employee kasi nakatipid din si employer, less na ang gastos niya sa kuryente sa opisina, menos gastos sila subalit deductible expense din 'yun ng kumpanya," he added.

Tolentino opened this suggestion during a Senate hearing of the committee on energy on Monday.

He said he is working with panel chair Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on crafting a bill that would make this possible through an amendment in the National Internal Revenue Code.

The work-from-home set-up became a trend after several parts of the country have been placed under strict lockdowns due to COVID-19.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), which services Metro Manila and surrounding areas, confirmed that electricity consumption of residential customers spiked by 30% during the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ in previous months.

Another bill filed in the Senate seeks to make the work-from-home arrangement a mandatory for employees whose physical presence in the workplace is not necessary to complete their job and who have been with the company for at least a year. -MDM, GMA News