With an overwhelming 240 votes, the House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill protecting workers and/or independent contractors in the film, television and radio entertainment industry.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said House Bill 1270 or the “Eddie Garcia Act,” would cover thousands of people working in the entertainment sector.
“It would ensure that they continue to have gainful employment and protect them against abuse, harassment, dangerous working environment and exploitation,” he said.
The proposed law was titled after the popular actor who died in June 2019 following a mishap while filming a teleserye for a television station.
“Manong Eddie was a hugely popular actor well-loved by many Filipinos. It was unfortunate that he died in such circumstances. But the accident served as a wake-up call for the industry and for us policymakers in Congress,” Romualdez said.
HB No. 1270 is a consolidation of six related measures, including one authored by Garcia’s congressman-stepson, Mikee Romero of Party-list group 1-Pacman.
Romero said his stepfather, one of the country’s most awarded actors, “tripped on loose cables” on the film set and “suffered cervical cracks and fractures” that led to his death.
For his part, Pangasinan Rep. Christopher de Venecia, one of the principal authors of the bill, said the progress made on the bill now is good timing because it will add momentum to the recovery of the film, television, and radio industries as the national economy loosens up from the many restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic state of calamity.
“Our hope is that the Eddie Garcia bill makes it to the desk of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for his signature within this year 2023, so that full implementation ensures in January 2024,” said de Venecia.
The bill defines an industry worker or independent contractor as “any person engaged or hired by the employer or principal to render services involving the production, distribution, and exhibition of film, television, and radio entertainment content.”
The bill provides that an industry worker or independent contractor “shall be governed by the provisions of the Civil Code on contracts and other applicable laws, but not lower than the standards provided under Presidential Decree No. 442, or the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended.”
The worker/contractor shall execute an agreement or employment contract in a language or dialect understood by both parties before he/she is asked to render service.