Senator Manuel “Lito” M. Lapid filed Senate Bill (S.B.) No. 1889 ensuring that entertainment industry workers are provided opportunities for gainful employment and decent income, and are protected from abuse, harassment, hazardous working conditions, and economic exploitation.
Lapid, who also co-directs and stars in the new FPJ’s Batang Quiapo teleserye, claimed that the lack of or shortage of coverage of the social protection programs in the entertainment industry is due to the weakness and failure of the government to identify and accept the unique characteristics of entertainment work.
“These include self-employment, temporary or open-ended, part-time or full-time work arrangements with one or more employers, or a mix of these. Furthermore, entertainment work is sometimes characterized by unpredictable revenues and a reliance on consumer or audience demand as well as the season, resulting in an irregular nature of work that is frequently linked with regional, and occasionally worldwide, mobility,” the bill’s explanatory note read.
Under SB No. 1889, an industry worker or independent contractor, defined 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” 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.
“Dahil kinikilala natin ang ambag ng mga manggagawa sa pelikula, telebisyon, radyo at ng kabuuan ng entertainment industry sa ekonomiya, kuktura, kamalayan at pambansang kaunlaran, ngayon, higit kailanman, na dapat ipakita ng pamahalaan ang kanyang pagpapahalaga sa kanila sa pamamagitan ng pagkakaroon ng komprehensibong pagsusuri sa kalagayan ng mga nabanggit na industriya gayundin ang pagsisiguro na ang mga manggagawa dito ay may oportunidad, nakabubuhay na sahod, proteksyon laban sa pang aabuso, pananamantala at panganib sa lugar kung saan sila naghahanap buhay at siguraduhing ang kanilang mga karapatan ay iginagalang,” Lapid said.
In Lapid’s proposed measure, the worker or contractor shall execute an agreement or employment contract in a language or dialect understood by both parties before the commencement of service.
“Bilang tayo po ay kabilang rin sa industriyang ito, lalo na’t parte rin tayo ngayon ng higit na tinatangkilik na FPJ’s Batang Quiapo kasama ni Direk Coco Martin, malapit po talaga sa aking puso ang laban para sa mga showbiz industry workers na personal kong nasasaksihan ang kasipagan sa set. Kaya naman ito pong Eddie Garcia Act ay ating isunusulong sa Senado upang masiguro ang pagkakaroon ng proteksyon at seguridad sa lahat ng mga manggagawa sa showbiz industry,” Lapid added.
SB No. 1889, otherwise known as the ‘Eddie Garcia Act’, was named after Eddie Garcia, a veteran actor who died in June 2019 following an accident while filming a teleserye. Eddie Garcia starred alongside Fernando Poe Jr. and Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid in the 1980 film ‘Kalibre .45’.
Source: http://www.senate.gov.ph
