The nominees of the party-list group CIBAC to the House of Representatives on Wednesday praised the approval by the Committee on Labor and Employment of the substitute bill that would promote the protection and welfare of freelancers.
The still unnumbered substitute bill is a consolidation of several measures—including House Bill 3219 filed by Deputy Speaker Eddie Villanueva and Rep. Domeng Rivera.
In a joint statement, the two said the bill would provide the rightful terms of employment for freelancers so they could rightfully demand from their employers.
“The current rise in technological advancement, coupled with the changing paradigms and standards in employment, causes an upsurge in one sector of the country’s labor force: the freelancers. The approval of this bill is welcome news because it will guarantee the non-negotiable aspects of business transactions between an employer and a freelancer such as the existence of a contract, standard fees, schedule of payments and other benefits a regular job affords.
Likewise, the measure would provide for penalties and sanctions on the hiring parties “that will not comply,” Villanueva said.
Citing a study by the university of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations, Villanueva said it showed the Philippines ranked third in terms of online freelancing in the world, only next to the United States and India. Filipino freelancers are currently pegged at 1.5 million and this figure is expected to balloon in the coming years, especially with the employment landscape brought by the on-going pandemic.
“The approved bill provides, among others, the following statutory terms for freelancers: mandatory execution for a written contract detailing the terms of employment, night shift differential, hazard pay, taxation aspect, the enumeration of unlawful practices and the penalty for such violations,” Villanueva said.
Rivera thanked the committee headed by Rep. Enrico Pineda of 1-PACMAN for acting on and approving the measure with dispatch.
Rivera said the bill was a “timely and badly-needed legislation” for freelancers, which include project managers, app developers, software or systems engineers, technical writers, quality analysts, digital marketing managers/analysts, web content managers or editors, client services specialists, business analysts to name a few.
“This measure will bestow dignity and respect due to the millions of our workers in the economy who frequently experience being short-changed and abused.
“This legislation will put an end to unfair and cruel practices jeopardizing our freelancers like grossly late payment or not payment at all for the services rendered or being paid with amount lower than the rate agreed-upon at the start of a project. Our freelancers, who significantly contribute to our economy, will now have remedy to recourse in case of abuses.”
