CAMARINES Sur Representative LRay Villafuerte and three fellow legislators from the province want the 19th Congress to accord workers in the media industry security of tenure, hazard and overtime pay, mandatory additional insurance coverage, plus other job-related benefits enjoyed by regular employees in both the government and private sector.

In House Bill (HB) No. 304, Villafuerte along with Camarines Sur Reps. Miguel Luis Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata, and Bicol Saro Rep. Nicolas Enciso VIII have proposed the “Media Workers’ Welfare Act,” which 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 the security of tenure, hazard pay, night shift differential pay, and overtime pay, among others,” Villafuerte and his co-authors said in HB 304.

“Hence,” they added, HB 304 seeks “to ensure that media workers shall be provided with comprehensive benefits package at par with the current benefits 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.”

LRay Villafuerte filed a similar bill in the past Congress.

Under HB 304, media workers in entry-level positions shall receive the minimum monthly compensation determined by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) or the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs), depending on which applies in each case.

A News Media Tripartite Council being proposed in the bill may change or increase the minimum hazard pay.

HB 304 mandates the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to initiate the creation of a proposed News Media Tripartite Council, which may change or increase the amount of minimum hazard pay for media workers.

This council will serve as “a link among various stakeholders, and provide the industry with a platform for both media workers and entities in crafting policy decisions that will affect them and the industry as a whole,” said the Camarines Sur legislators.

The bill seeks the grant of hazard pay of at least P500 per day to media workers assigned to dangerous areas, such as strife-torn or embattled zones, contagion, radiation, volcanic eruption, distressed or isolated stations, disease-infested areas, or in those declared under a state of calamity or emergency, and other occupational risks or perils to life as determined by the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS), in consultation with the DOLE.

Media workers in the government or private media entities who are already enjoying similar benefits equal or superior to the minimum hazard pay shall no longer be entitled to such benefit.

Employers are required by the bill to provide media workers assigned to dangerous areas with basic safety gear and equipment like bulletproof vests and helmets, first-aid kits, fire-protection jackets, medical-grade protective equipment, face masks, safety shoes, and life vests.

The bill also grants overtime and night-differential pay to media workers in accordance with existing labor laws, as well as mandatory additional insurance benefits on top of those provided by the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-Ibig).

Such extra insurance benefits include a death benefit of P200,000 for each media worker who shall perish in the line of duty; a disability benefit of P200,000 for each media worker who shall suffer a total or partial disability, whether permanent or temporary, arising from any injury sustained in the line of duty; and reimbursement of actual medical expenses up to but not to exceed P100,000 for each media worker who shall be hospitalized or who shall require medical attendance for injuries sustained while in the line of duty.

For the four lawmakers, HB 304 has the following objectives:

To ensure that media workers shall have a comprehensive benefits package at par with the current benefits enjoyed by those in the labor force, both in government and the private sector;

To ensure the creation of a safe, protected and atmosphere conducive to productive, free, and fruitful media work, as well as to guarantee the right of workers to self-organization;

To motivate and encourage media workers to perform their duties as truthful and responsible informers of the people;

To ensure the observance and implementation of the principles agreed upon in the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 190 on the elimination of violence and harassment against workers (2019); and

To ensure that the jobs of media workers in their current exercise of press freedom shall be free from any form of harassment.

HB 304 defines media workers as those who are legitimately engaged in news media practice, directly or indirectly, whether as a principal occupation or not, including but not limited to regular employees, project employees, or independent contractors.

As for media entities, these are defined in the bill as persons or institutions, including media networks and operators, that actively gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, turn gathered information into a distinct work, or distribute that work to an audience within the Philippines.

In addition to the existing rights and benefits accorded employees by the Labor Code under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 442, as amended and subject to existing laws, a media worker shall be deemed a regular employee after six months of continuous employment, regardless of the nature of his or her employment.

The bill states that no worker shall be dismissed from one’s employment without just or authorized cause and procedural due process.

It specifies that the computation of employment time shall be cumulative in cases where the media worker is repeatedly engaged for shorter periods by the employer to avoid regularization.

As the primary agency under Administrative Order No. 1 (Series of 2016) tasked with ensuring the protection of media workers’ life, liberty, and security, the DOLE shall be in charge.

The DOLE shall likewise assume the role of a voluntary grievance mechanism on matters stipulated in HB 304 on the additional benefits, security of tenure, and regularization of media workers.

In consultation with media groups, associations, publishers, guilds, and other concerned groups, the DOLE is directed by HB 304 to promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the proposed Act within six months from its effectivity.

Under the bill, any government fund obtained from taxpayer’s money intended to support the public information campaign of all government branches in the form of official advertisement placements, notices, and the like, shall be deemed as a “Public Information Fund.”

“Subject to existing laws, any media entity shall have equal opportunity and access to such fund through such measure or policy adopted by the government unit concerned specifically designed to ensure such equal access,” HB 304 states.

A media entity must show proof of full payment of all relevant local and national taxes, permits, fees and licenses, and the like to be entitled to the provisions of this Act.

For transparency, all information surrounding such fund shall be made available to the public pursuant to the Freedom of Information (FOI) program established under Executive Order (EO) No. 2, Series of 2016.