Benise Balaoing

Customers conduct work in a cafe in Quezon City on June 18, 2018. The House of Representatives recently approved a bill allowing employees in the private sector to work remotely with the use of telecommunications or computer technologies through a flexible work arrangement. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Working out of office

Raine Musñgi

ABS-CBN News

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/htWRaHeIwcw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>MANILA — The Philippines is becoming a major source of remote talent for the global economy, but many Filipino remote workers remain shut out of the benefits and financial security that come with formal employment, according to Remotify co-founder and chief executive officer Maria Sucgang.Remote workers can be freelancers doing code, design, business consultancy, or working as virtual assistants to clients abroad.“Remote work has matured while the system supporting it is lagging behind,” Sucgang said in an interview on ANC’s Startup.But Sucgang said the rapid growth of remote work is exposing a major gap between global opportunity and local worker protection.A Remotify study supported by the Department of Information and Communications Technology and involving 1,642 Filipino remote workers found that 7 in 10 receive no employment benefits beyond their salaries. More than half reported inconsistent income, while 45 percent said they do not file taxes. Nearly 40 percent said they struggle to prove their income when applying for credit cards, housing loans or government benefits.“They&#x27;re participating in the global economy, but they&#x27;re left behind. Many of them remain invisible to the local financial system,” Sucgang said.<div>Remote workers want freedom, but they also want security</div>The same survey shows why Filipinos continue to embrace remote work.Eighty-eight percent cited flexibility as a reason for choosing it, while the same percentage cited savings in commuting time and money. Eighty-five percent said they spend more time with their families, while 66 percent reported lower stress.For Sucgang, the appeal is personal.She recalled gaining back hours during the pandemic by eliminating her commute and spending more time with her children.“So much life back,” she said.That experience eventually led her and co-founder Erwin to build Remotify around the idea that Filipinos should be able to build global careers without leaving home.But the survey suggests workers don&#x27;t see flexibility and formal employment as an either-or choice.Seventy-seven percent said they want a formal employment record while continuing to work remotely, while 78 percent said they would consider being employed through an Employer of Record.Sucgang said workers who are effectively full-time employees should not be treated as gig workers simply because their foreign employers have no Philippine entity.“If you&#x27;re an actual employee working eight, nine hours, 40-hour work week for a company, then you should be an employee,” she said.That issue is increasingly relevant as Philippine labor policy accommodates flexible work. DOLE has said work-from-home arrangements may be adopted in the private sector, while emphasizing that flexible arrangements should not result in the loss of statutory worker benefits. <div>Then comes the AI test</div>For Filipino remote workers, however, job security is not the only challenge.Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing what global employers need, putting a premium on workers who can upgrade their skills as quickly as technology evolves.Sucgang said 8 in 10 workers in her survey are already investing in AI and other upskilling, yet only 58 percent feel somewhat prepared for the future of work.That gap matters globally. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2030, technological and other structural changes could create 170 million jobs while displacing 92 million, for a net increase of 78 million jobs. Sucgang&#x27;s view is blunt: AI itself may not be the biggest threat to Filipino workers.“I actually think our biggest competitor is ourselves.”Her point is that Filipino workers cannot rely indefinitely on the same skills that made them competitive in the first wave of remote work.“The future belongs less to people who compete against AI and more to people who learn how to work alongside it,” she said.For the Philippines, that makes remote work a bigger economic question than simply whether employees work from home or return to the office.The country already has millions of people working in the digital economy. The next challenge is ensuring they have formal employment pathways, financial visibility, and the skills to stay competitive as AI reshapes global jobs.

The Philippines is becoming a major source of remote talent for the global economy, but many Filipino remote workers remain shut out of the benefits and financial security that come with formal employment.

The Philippines is becoming a major source of remote talent for the global economy, but many Filipino remote workers remain shut out of the benefits and financial security that come with formal employment.

Remote work boom has a catch: Many Filipino workers lack benefits, formal records, says Remotify CEO

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Remote work boom has a catch: Many Filipino workers lack benefits, formal records, says Remotify CEO

Raine Musñgi,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 26, 2026 12:51 PM PHT

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