hile many developed countries are finding ways to improve the location flexibility of their workers, the Philippines appears to be moving in the opposite direction. A recent CNN Philippines article by Lois Calderon noted that Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez wants business process outsourcing (BPO) workers, who worked from home during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to now return to their offices.

The CNN article points out that Dominguez, "who heads the board that reviews tax perks for economic zones to which BPO companies belong – clarified that BPO employers have the prerogative to continue work-from-home setups. But the Finance chief pointed out that doing so will mean these BPO locators will lose their tax incentives."

For starters, Dominguez's position appears to be short-sited. Instead of providing BPOs with the opportunity to increase their manpower by hiring more workers to fill the empty cubicles of those employees working from home, Dominguez's actions appear to be limiting BPO companies from expanding and hiring more workers.

Secondly—and more important to everyone living in high-density areas like Metro Manila, forcing people not to work from home and instead commute to and from work significantly worsens the traffic situation for everyone. It is important to remind everyone, including the Finance Secretary that every minute spent stuck in traffic is a wasted minute.

A study back in 2014 noted that Metro Manila traffic alone was costing the country ₱2.4 billion in losses every single day. That study—a joint effort by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) —predicted that daily losses would reach ₱3.5 billion by 2017, noted a 2018 CNN report.

JICA now projects that daily losses could reach ₱5.4 billion by 2035 if nothing is done to fix it. This is a staggering amount that the Philippine economy will have difficulty absorbing. The government must explore every option available to mitigate traffic. For this reason, working from home should be encouraged, not discouraged.

Dominguez's myopic policy vis-a-vis BPO workers may end up harming the economy instead of helping it. His actions might bolster a particular sector but crash the entire economy. The Philippines needs a finance secretary who works to improve the country's financial standing, not hold it back.

The next president should choose his cabinet secretaries wisely. He needs individuals who have a whole-of-government perspective. People who will push the country to greater heights and prosperity.

Published 04/02/2022