House of Representatives (PPAB)





A measure seeking to provide mandatory insurance coverage, retirement pay, and other employment benefits to all electrical line workers was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives on third and final reading Monday afternoon, May 8. Approved during Monday’s plenary session was House Bill (HB) No. 7561, or the proposed “Line Workers Insurance and Benefits Act”. Deputy Speaker and and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto, who presided over the session, said 259 House members voted in the affirmative for HB No.7561 during nominal voting. “The power industry is what energizes our economy, lights up our homes and allows us to live in comfort. And behind the energy sector are the line workers who risk their lives and limbs just to preserve and maintain our way of life,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez said in a statement. “It is only right to afford them the benefits and protection due to them and their families for the perils they face in their line of work. This measure is in recognition of their immense contribution to our society and to nation-building,” he added. Under HB No.7561, line workers shall refer to persons “including crew, drivers, and helpers, who are directly responsible for the construction, installation, maintenance, reconstruction, and repair of overhead transmission and distribution electrical systems, including underground cables, electrical substations, and other related electrical equipment and facilities". They also include line workers employed in private distribution utilities (PDUs), electric cooperatives (ECs), and transmission or grid operators, who shall be entitled to life, accident or disability insurance benefits. In the case of electric cooperatives, the insurance coverage requirement shall be calibrated by the following classification: P200,000 for small cooperatives, P400,000 for medium-sized, P600,000 for large, P800,000 for extra large and P1 million for mega large. “For the transmission or grid operator, the minimum insurance coverage shall be P2 million. For Private Distribution Utilities, the minimum insurance coverage shall be P1.5 million,” the measure read. “The coverage shall be effective upon the commencement of their employment until their separation from the company, either by resignation, termination, or retirement. The insurance premium payments shall be shouldered entirely by the employer,” HB 7561 said. The bill also mandates additional benefits for line workers, including retirement benefits, disability benefits, mortuary assistance and reimbursement of medical expenses in case of death, accident, sickness, or disability injury sustained by the line worker in the line of duty. “The Department of Labor and Employment, in consultation with stakeholders, shall provide a comprehensive list of all other benefits that line workers should be entitled to in addition to the above mandatory benefits and the same shall be incorporated in the rules and regulations to be issued to implement this Act,” the bill added. Tasked with promulgating the implementing rules and regulations of the bill, if enacted into law, are the National Electrification Administration (NEA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), in consultation with the PDUs and ECs.