MITCH M. LIPA
The Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center has warned business processing outsourcing firms of penalties for failure to utilize the BaCTrac contact tracing system for their employees.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that the city government has issued a very strong warning to Transcom Bacolod, which logged 41 confirmed COVID-19 cases among its workforce in the past week.
A dialogue is set today, Feb. 5, between executives of Transcom and city officials after the outbreak prompted the EOC to recommend the shutdown of Transcom for 48 hours for disinfection since a workplace transmission had occurred.
City Administrator Em Ang, also the concurrent EOC executive director, said a number of BPO companies are violating the city ordinance mandating the implementation of the BaCTrac system, where everyone is required to register so that they will be issued QR codes.
The EOC noted that BPOs do not have records on their log in activities as required under the city’s BaCTrac System Data Center.
While most employees were already enrolled in the system, Ang said they are not using the same in their office upon entry as their company has its own mobile tracking application.
Ang explained that since company apps have privacy codes, the local government cannot access data regarding the employees’ health status.
The EOC reminded BPOs to use the city’s Bac-Trac System for them not to be penalized, she said.
For BPO employees who have yet to enroll in the Bac-Trac System, they must do so but with corresponding penalty since the deadline has already lapsed in November last year, she added.
Around 60 large and medium-sized BPO firms operating in the city have estimated employees of more than 40,000.
“All of the BPOs in Bacolod are registered with the BaCTrac but some are not using the BaCTrac system for their employees,” said Dr. Chris Sorongon, EOC deputy for medical data assessment and analysis.
Leonardia said that the BPOs failure to use the BaCTrac is “both ironic and tragic” since “using the QR code should have been second nature to them.”
Under Section 13 of the “Covid-19 Contact Tracing System Ordinance of Bacolod City,” any government office or private establishment that fails to scan all BaCTrac cards of clients and visitors and/or maintain a manual logbook for those who have not yet registered with the BaCTrac shall be penalized with a P1,000 fine for the first offense, a P2,000 fine for the second offense, and a P5,000 fine or imprisonment of more than six months, or both, at the discretion of the court, for the third offense.
“I’ve instructed the EOC to also issue reminders and warnings to all call centers to strictly follow all health protocols because they have similar physical set-ups and working environments,” Leonardia said.
He added that what happened to Transcom can happen to any call center if they are not careful. – MML
