MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives in the 19th Congress approved on Monday, February 6, a bill that seeks to promote and protect the welfare of freelance workers.

Salient provisions of House Bill No. 6718 include:

• ensuring there is a written contract that states the terms of the freelancer’s employment
• mandating hazard pay and night shift differential to freelance workers;
• providing a list of unlawful practices for the hiring party, such as giving payment to the worker later than 15 days after the date stated in the written contract;
• imposing a fine of between P50,000 and P500,000 for people found guilty of committing unlawful practices;
• mandating freelance workers to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and instructing the BIR to create a special lane for freelancers for such purpose in every revenue district office;
• granting tax relief to freelancers within the threshold provided under the amended tax code.

A total of 250 lawmakers voted in favor of the measure, with no one voting to oppose or abstain.

A similar bill already hurdled the House in the 18th Congress, but failed to get past the Senate at the time.

A 2018 report estimated that the Philippines has around 1.5 million freelance workers, defined under HB No. 6718 as anyone “hired or retained to provide services, in exchange for compensation, as an independent contractor to do work according to one’s own methods and without being subjected to the control of the hiring party, except only as to the results of the work.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez asserted that the measure, if enacted, would prevent abuse of freelance workers.

“As a sector with an exploding growth spurt in the coming years, they need protective cover under our laws to ensure their transition as a significant driver of our economy,” he said in a statement.

Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel, however, said that while he voted yes to the bill’s passage, he insisted that the rise of the freelancing industry reflects the lack of quality employment in the Philippines.

“The proposed legislation, as it is right now, does not delve into the phenomenon of big foreign companies hiring freelance virtual or online assistants in the Philippines and paying them very low rates compared to the rates they usually pay for the same job,” he said in a speech after the vote.

“We should also stick to the principle of compensating workers for the work they do, rather than where they are based. Companies who exploit workers here in the Philippines using these practices should be covered by this law and mandated to pay the same rates they usually pay a worker for doing the same job,” Manuel added. – Rappler.com