Hazard pay, bullet proof vests and personal protective equipment are compulsory necessities that will be granted media workers under a bill approved by a House of Representatives panel on Wednesday.

Authored by ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Rowena Nina Taduran, House Bill 2476 will be presented for final approval by the House Committee on Labor and Employment within a few days.

Asst. Secretary Joel Sy-Egco, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, lauded the swift action taken by the sub-committee on labor standards during the initial deliberation on the measure that was presided over by TUCP Partylist Rep. Democrito Mendoza Jr.

HB 2476 or the Media Workers’ Welfare Act seeks to provide better protection, security and employment benefits for workers in the media sector.

Egco, a veteran journalist who joined the Duterte administration to pursue his advocacy to protect and safeguard media workers, said HB 2476 contains provisions that will redound to the welfare of members of the Fourth Estate and further strengthen the need for free press in the country.

In pushing for passage of the measure, Taduran, a former broadcast journalist, underscored the mandate of the State to protect laborers and promote their welfare.

“Media workers, despite being part of the labor force, are, more often than not, left to fend for themselves especially when making danger-filled coverages,” Taduran stressed.

Together with fellow ACT CIS Partylist Reps. Eric Go Yap and Jocelyn Pua-Tulfo, Taduran filed the measure to address the needs of workers in the various areas of media.

“The least that we can do to show that we recognize the invaluable contribution of media workers to society is to give them their economic due and added protection under the law,” said Taduran.

Under the bill, journalists and other media workers will be entitled to a P500 hazard pay for each day that they are assigned to danger zones such as “strife-torn or embattled areas” or places where there are existing calamity or emergency situation and epidemics or other conditions that jeopardize public health.

Additionally, basic safety gears and equipment such as bullet proof vests, helmets, first aid kid, protection jacket, medical grade personal protective equipment and other items that will protect them are also mandatory for media workers assigned to danger zones.

The legislative proposal also makes it mandatory for owners of media outlets to compensate workers with mandated wages.

Taduran said many radio stations, publishing firms and other media outlets merely give out allowances to reporters for their work.

The lady solon noted that some media workers rely on politicians for financial help because they are not paid by their employers.

“There is an urgent need to professionalize the ranks of the media because right now many of them rely on politicians for financial assistance,” she said.