After the saga between the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the Fiscal Incentives Review Board regarding the extension of the 70-30 work-from-home arrangement and its legalities, the FIRB finally greenlighted the extension request, but not the preferred dates of the petitioners.

Finance Secretary and FIRB chairperson Benjamin Diokno yesterday issued a memorandum provisionally extending the existing work-from-home arrangement for Information Technology and Business Process Management enterprises.

In a statement, Diokno said he has deemed it necessary to retain the 70 percent on-site and 30 percent WFH arrangement, pursuant to FIRB Resolution 017-22, until FIRB conclusively decides on PEZA's request to extend the WFH setup.

"Considering the 12 September 2022 expiration of the resolution, it is just fair that we extend the WFH arrangement for IT-BPM companies until we finalize a resolution addressing the issue," he said.

On the other hand, Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko said PEZA's WFH extension request is already in the list of agenda items for the next FIRB meeting, which is set on 15 September 2022.

"Given the long-standing issue on the WFH extension for the IT-BPM sector, we hope the decision of the Board will finally bring clarity to the matter," Tionko said, who also serves as the chairperson of the FIRB Technical Committee.

"We listen to our stakeholders and see the WFH arrangement to be the new business model of most of the registered business enterprises. Hence, the discussion on this matter in the next FIRB meeting requires a more permanent measure from the inter-agency body," she added.