Senator pushes for WFH law to ease EDSA rehab impact on commuters

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

Villanueva emphasized that countless employees lose hours each day in traffic just to report to offices, doing work that could otherwise be accomplished from home with the proper tools and technology. (Pexels Photo)

MANILA – Senator Joel Villanueva on Friday stressed the need for the implementation of the Work From Home (WFH) law to cushion the impact of the EDSA rehabilitation on workers.

Villanueva, principal author of Republic Act No. 11165 or the WFH law stressed the need to fully enforce the law to protect employees from the daily strain of severe traffic congestion once the rehabilitation project begins July 13, eyed to finish by 2027.

“We have been pushing for the adoption of alternative work setups since January to help our labor force prepare for this long-term rehabilitation effort,” the chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resource Development said in a news release.

Villanueva emphasized that countless employees lose hours each day in traffic just to report to offices, doing work that could otherwise be accomplished from home with the proper tools and technology.

“Kawawa naman po ang ating mga empleyado na nauubos ang oras sa traffic dahil lang kailangan nilang pumasok sa opisina araw-araw para gawin ang trabaho na kaya naman nilang gawin sa kanilang kabahayan gamit ang tamang teknolohiya (Our employees are in a difficult situation, wasting so much time in traffic every day just to report to the office, even when they can do their work from home using the right technology),” he said.

“We need to be more compassionate and innovative in our approach to work,” he added.

RA 11165 allows private employers to voluntarily implement telecommuting arrangements with their employees, provided these meet minimum labor standards such as compensation, work hours, and leave benefits. Written agreements must outline the terms of the arrangement.

For government offices, the Civil Service Commission has issued Memorandum Circular No. 6, s. 2022, enabling agencies to adopt flexible work setups where applicable.