ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House panel approves consolidation of 7 bills seeking to benefit 16M informal sector workers

House panel approves consolidation of 7 bills seeking to benefit 16M informal sector workers

Published Jul 1, 2020 07:33 am

After four hours of virtual deliberation, the House Subcommittee on Workers with Special Concerns decided on Tuesday, June 30, to consolidate the seven bills seeking to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of the informal economy workers in the country.

House of the Representatives (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)

The House subpanel approved the motion made by Deputy Speaker and Laguna 1st district Rep. Dan Fernandez to consolidate the measures that seek to benefit the estimated 16 million workers in the informal sector.

"We pass this consolidated version ," TUCP partylist Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, one of the principal authors urged his colleagues.

It was Mendoza who presided the meeting following the technical glitches encountered by Eastern Samar lone district Rep. Maria Fe Abunda, chairperson of the subcommittee.

Mendoza directed the Committee Secretariat to prepare a "clean copy" of the proposed Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy.

He said there is a need for Congress to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of the informal economy workers who have been hardest hit by the coronavirus-induced economic standstill.

"Let's help each other out, especially for the informal economy. Ito ang parati na nalilimutan (Their welfare has always been taken for granted). Kawawa talaga ang informal sector (The informal sector is in pitiful state)," Mendoza said.

House Committee on Labor and Employment senior vice-chairperson and DIWA partylist Rep. Michael Edgar Aglipay, one of the principal authors of the bill, called on his colleagues to urgently act on the measures and consolidate them.

He laments that the informal economy workers, oftentimes, "are on the receiving end of unreasonable demands, are treated miserably, and are not duly paid despite all their back breaking efforts."

Following Fernandez's motion, his House Bill No. 2025 will be consolidated with Mendoza's HB 3688, Aglipay's HB 273, Deputy Speaker and Sorsogon 1st district Rep. Evelina Escudero's HB 29, Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte's HB 3465, Agusan del Norte 1st district Rep. Lawrence Fortun's HB 2240; and Quezon City 5th district Rep. Alfred Vargas's HB 4203.

During the deliberation, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) "expressed reservations" to the proposed creation of an Informal Sector Development Council (ISDC) which is provided under the bills.

The measure tasks the ISDC to be the primary agency responsible for the protection, promotion, growth and development of the informal sector workers.

"We think that some functions are already being performed by various agencies," NEDA Director Myrna Asuncion told the House subpanel.

She said the ISDC, should be attached to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of Trade and Industry (DOLE), and not to NEDA.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.