Quezon City gov’t, BPO groups sign deal to ‘expedite’ inoculation of 67K employees

MANILA – Several Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) groups have signed a deal with the local government of Quezon City for the vaccination of over 67,000 workers who report in the area, an industry group said Tuesday.

The QC LGU, as well as the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP) and the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding for the program.

In a statement, IBPAP said the local government would “facilitate and expedite” the inoculation of IT-BPM employees who report to offices in Quezon City. Workers have the option to assist in the administration of the vaccine, it added.

The program is in line with the sector’s vaccine procurement efforts, it said. Many BPO firms have also announced they would inoculate their employees for free. 

Some 29 firms have signed up under the program. The first batch was inoculated at the Araneta Mega Vaccination Center, the IBPAP said.

“This is the first partnership of its kind and we hope that this will serve as a template for our ongoing efforts with other LGUs. Early access to the vaccine is really top-of-mind for our sector and as such, we are dearly and immensely thankful to the leadership of the Quezon City Government,” said IBPAP President and CEO Rey E. Untal.

The IT-BPM sector has participated in other tripartite agreements to procure over 1 million doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Novovax COVID-19 jabs, which are expected to arrive starting in the latter part of Q2.

The country’s coronavirus task force earlier approved the recommendation of the inclusion of BPO workers in the A4 priority category due to its contribution to the economy. 

Source: ABS-CBN News