Telecommuting Act up for review this year —DOLE's Laguesma

The country’s landmark law recognizing telecommuting is up for review this year, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma told The Mangahas Interviews.

“Under the implementing rules and regulations, merong review na kailangan in three year’s time, which happens to be this year,” he said.

“Sisimulan natin ang kosultasyon para mapakinggan ang tumututol at sumasang-ayon. Ang laging direksyon, medyo pagsamahin iyong makakatulong magpatuloy ang negosyo at ‘yung manggagawa na mawala ang agam-agam tungkol sa kanilang kasiguruhan sa kalusugan at kaligtasan,” he added.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Laguesma said he would talk to representatives of the information technology and business process outsourcing sectors, which have thousands of employees in work-from-home or flexible status.

Republic Act No. 11165 or the Telecommuting Act, which was signed into a law in 2019, allows working from an alternative workplace with the use of telecommuting or computer technologies.

When the pandemic began and lockdown was enforced starting March 2019, many have shifted work at home, including the BPO sector.

The Labor chief said the enactment of the Telecommuting Act was timely as it guided the government and companies in enforcing the remote work scheme.

“Kung wala ‘yun, can you imagine the confusion, the disagreement, the friction,” he said.

With the COVID-19 alert level brought down to its loosest tier, the government ordered the IT-BPO sector to return to office to help spur business activities, or lose some tax perks they enjoy.

Some firms, however, have opted to forego some of the fiscal incentives they enjoy in favor of continuing remote work arrangements for their employees.

“Iyong batas, pinasa ‘yan pero tingnan mo rin ang intent and spirit, hindi lang dahil sa hindi ka sumunod intently and strictly eh dapat bawasan ka na ng pakinabang o insentibo na nakapaloob sa batas,” Laguesma said.

“Meron tayong nakikitang middle ground,” he said, adding that the order to return to office was aimed at helping downstream business, such as restaurants or eateries near offices.

“Kung nasa bahay ka, gumagastos ka rin naman, so ‘yung pera napupunta sa paligid na kinalalagyan mo,” he said

Laguesma also appealed to companies that have generated savings from the work-from-home scheme to share them with their employees and the community.

“Kung sakali man, kung mayroon mang natipid sa bahagi ng namumuhunan, sana magbahagi sa manggagawa o kaya ibalik sa komunidad. Konti-konti, pero kung pinagsama-sama, lalo na ‘yan ay magiging tuloy-tuloy, malaking bagay siguro,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said health and safety should be priorities among employees and companies as more return to work.

He said protective measures must always be in place and adhered to shield workers from the virus and other sickness, and to continue economic recovery.—LDF, GMA News