National Unity Party (NUP) president LRay Villafuerte is seeking swift congressional action on a slew of measures meant to ensure a better work environment for a great number of Filipinos and provide them with more benefits and privileges, in step with President Marcos’ goal of improving the lives of all our people under his Bagong Pilipinas vision.
On the occasion of this year’s Labor Day celebration, the congressman representing Camarines Sur’s second district said there are at least five measures pending in the Congress that seek to advance the interests of, and provide better protection for, our workers in the fields of education, civil service, military, public health, freelance or gig economy and the media.
“We are appealing to our senators on the occasion of this year’s Labor Day celebration to consider the passage of five measures already approved by the House (of Representatives) that are meant to spell better lives for our barangay health workers (BHWs) and other healthcare providers, public servants, soldiers, teachers and freelance workers along with journalists and other media people—in step with President Marcos’ vow to leave nobody behind in his Bagong Pilipinas vision for a peaceful and prosperous country,” Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte had authored or co-authored these five bills with fellow CamSur Reps. Luis Miguel Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata plus the Bicol Saro partylist.
“With more and more forty-something and younger Filipinos getting side gigs or part-time jobs to make both ends meet, said Villafuerte, “the Senate needs to pass its counterpart measure to the House-passed one—House Bill (HB) No. 6718—seeking to guarantee full protection to these unconventional workers against unfair labor practices amid the fast-growing global gig economy.”
“The steady climb in the number of millennials and Gen Z-ers who have taken on side gigs as extra income sources gives more reason for our senators to pass a counterpart measure to HB 6718 to guarantee full protection for our freelancers who are highly vulnerable labor practices in the absence of job contracts from their employers,” Villafuerte added.
It behooves our senators to pass HB 6718, or the proposed “Freelance Workers’ Protection Act,” given the rapid growth of the global freelance economy and the consequent surge in demand for our so-called gig workers not only in the Philippines but elsewhere in the world as well, as “they are constantly at risk of unfair labor practices in the absence of work contracts with their employers,” Villafuerte said.
“With the ever increasing growth rate of our population, our BHWs are truly indispensable as basic medical frontliners in local communities.”
Hence, he expressed hope that the Senate could tackle this proposal for the benefit of Filipino freelancers—believed to number about 1.5 million at this point—in this sector where its non-conventional setup does not normally require written job contracts prior to the actual hiring of employees.
The House-approved bill had consolidated several same-topic measures, including HB 1087, which was introduced by Villafuerte and the other Camarines Sur legislators.
Ensuring job security through the prerequisite contracts will shield Filipino freelancers from possibly unfair labor practices, he said, because while the gig economy is on a path of high growth, “the web has taken away some of the positives that traditional employment offers such as the right to organize in the workplace and their right to economic benefits due workers under our labor laws based on an a clearly defined territorial jurisdiction.”
Villafuerte is seeking Senate action, too, on the House-passed HB 6557 that proposes job security for BHWs to “de-politicize” their employment in local government units (LGUs).
This way, BHWs qualified to receive a broad set of economic incentives and benefits—ranging from a P3,000 monthly allowance and hazard pay to insurance coverage and free medical plus legal services–will no longer be “at the mercy” of local chief executives who, at present, can fire them “capriciously” over their “perceived adverse political leanings,” Villafuerte, a former governor, said.
He said HB 6557 provides for security of tenure in conferring a first-grade Civil Service Eligibility to every accredited BHW who has rendered at least five years of continuous service as a community health worker.
“With the ever increasing growth rate of our population, our BHWs are truly indispensable as basic medical frontliners in local communities,” Villafuerte said. “They are always in the frontline of providing maternal, newborn and child health care in the neighborhood, and act as health educators and community organizers in promoting the government’s health awareness campaigns down to the smallest unit of our society: the family. Undeniably, the nature of their work is full-time.”
Despite their indispensability in community healthcare delivery, though, our BHWs are sadly treated as mere “volunteers” under Republic Act (RA) 7883, or “The Barangay Health Workers’ Benefits and Incentives Act of 1995,” who each receive about five weeks of training and meager pay, he said.
“Moreover, it is an uncontroverted fact that BHWs are at the mercy of local government officials, in the absence of their security of tenure,” said Villafuerte. “They can be terminated capriciously at the instance of perceived adverse political leanings. Thus, the present system allows them to be politicized. We must put an end to this unscrupulous practice.”
HB 6557 had consolidated numerous pro-BHW bills, including the Villafuerte-authored HB 301.
As regards HB 206, Villafuerte explained that it seeks to, “give our over a million workers in Government the option to retire earlier than currently allowed, so they can, for one, spend more quality time with their respective families even before they join the ranks of the elderly.”
This bill wants to lower the optional retirement age for government personnel to 56 from 60, by amending Republic Act (RA) 8291, otherwise known as “The Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997,” which gave Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) members the option to retire at 60, in lieu of the compulsory retirement age of 65.
Under HB 206, a government worker can retire at the age of 56, on condition that he or she: (1) has rendered service for at least 15 years by the time of his or her retirement; and (2) has not been receiving a monthly pension benefit from permanent total disability.
Villafuerte had authored HB 4003, which was among the bills incorporated into HB 206 that was subsequently passed by the House.
As for HB 454, or the “Media Workers’ Welfare Act,” Villafuerte said this bill aims to guarantee the rights of media workers to self-organization and additional economic benefits due them in their profession; and to create a safe, protected atmosphere conducive to their productive, free and fruitful work.
“Media workers risk their own lives being exposed to the perils and hazards outdoor just so we can receive our needed information. It is unfortunate that the very same people behind it are usually the ones whose labor rights are ignored, such as those pertaining to security of tenure, hazard pay, night shift differential pay and overtime pay, among others,” Villafuerte said.
“Hence,” he said, the measure sets “comprehensive benefits packages for media persons that are at par with the current ones enjoyed by those in the labor force in both Government and the private sector. It seeks to create a safe and protected atmosphere conducive to a productive, free and fruitful media work, as well as to guarantee the right of workers to self-organization.”
He said that the House-approved HB 7240, meanwhile, exempts teachers, healthcare providers, soldiers and other uniformed personnel in state agencies from its proposed plan to rightsize the bureaucracy and pare unnecessary expenses.
This rightsizing proposal shall be carried out over a three-year period, and provides for retirement benefits and separation incentives to would-be affected workers, said Villafuerte.
Otherwise known as “The National Government Rightsizing Act,” HB 7240 excludes the following from this government streamlining move:
• Teaching and teaching-related positions in elementary, secondary, technical/vocational schools, state universities and colleges, and non-chartered tertiary schools;
• Medical and allied-medical items in hospitals and other medical facilities servicing agency clients; and
• Military and uniformed personnel in the Departments of National Defense (DND), of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), of Transportation (DOTr), of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and of Justice (DOJ).
