READY FOR ON-SITE WORK. Iloilo Federation for Information Technology (IFIT) executive director Joeven Tansi says huge business process outsourcing firms in Iloilo are ready to go back to on-site work. In an interview on Monday (March 21, 2022), Tansi said two to three weeks ago, some firms have already started to pull out logistics for those in work-from-home (WFH) arrangements and return them tentatively on-site. (PNA photo courtesy of Joeven Tansi)
ILOILO CITY – Big information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) firms in Iloilo are ready to work on-site starting April.
Iloilo Federation for Information Technology (IFIT) executive director Joeven Tansi said two to three weeks ago, some firms have already started to pull out logistics for those in work-from-home (WFH) arrangements and return them tentatively on-site.
“We have more or less 10 huge firms with around 13,000 workforce. So far that I know of they are complying,” he said in an interview Monday.
There are around 97 BPM firms located in Iloilo. Other firms have less than 50 workers while others are not crucial voice accounts so they can already work at the confines of their homes, he said.
“In our database, we are about 36,000 (as of) last quarter of 2021 and around 50 percent of that before the pandemic are already working at home,” Tansi said.
He added health protocols are in place, such as proper screening of their workers before they enter their offices.
Other firms opted not to remove the acrylic barriers even if the city government has already declared that it could already take those out.
Based also on their listing, workers in the sector are all vaccinated.
“We have no vaccination hesitancy. There was no adverse reaction,” he said.
Tansi said they are not against work-from-home arrangements, only that the challenge is always on the internet connectivity.
“Much as we want the work from home for the sake of their families, yet, we are concerned about their delivery of service. If they could find alternative ways, then there is no problem, although the government is pushing us to work on-site,” he said.
In a press conference on Monday, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said he understood the point of the Department of Finance (DOF) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in pushing for on-site work.
However, he said it is also possible that they can work from home.
“NEDA and DOF should continue to dialogue with the BPO sector because we are seeing that the BPO sector will continue to increase in numbers like what is happening in Iloilo City even if they continue to work from home,” Treñas said. (PNA)
