Solon upbeat as bill named after legend actor Eddie Garcia moves closer to enactment
At A Glance
- Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte is hopeful that Filipinos working in the film, television, and radio entertainment industries will enjoy the benefits of the proposed "Eddie Garcia Act" sooner than later.
The late Eddie Garcia
Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte is hopeful that Filipinos working in the film, television, and radio entertainment industries will enjoy the benefits of the proposed "Eddie Garcia Act" sooner than later.
This, after the Senate approved on third reading of its version of the measure, embodied in Senate Bill (SB) No. 2505.
Passed last Feb. 19, SB No.2505 seeks to provide labor protection to all workers in this sector, including independent contractors who are hired to do production work and other services like distribution and exhibition of content.
The House of Representatives' counterpart measure, House Bill (HB) No.1270 principally authored by Villafuerte, was passed way back in February 2023.
At any rate, the pro-worker legislation is now poised to move forward toward its enactment. The House and Senate versions need to be harmonized during the bicam phase and then ratified by both chambers.
The measure seeks to attain full protection for the industry’s workers and independent contractors during all of their work hours, including on-location assignments.
“We are looking forward to the approval soon by both the House and the Senate of the ‘Eddie Garcia Act,’ for all industry workers, including independent contractors hired to do production work and other services like distribution and exhibition of content, and to include out-of-town shoots and/or lock-in production work that require them to stay in location sites for 24 hours straight or even for several days or months,” Villafuerte said.
This bill was named after the late multi-awarded actor-director Eduardo Garcia (screen name: Eddie Garcia), who died in June 2019 following an accident that was traced to an alleged negligence on safety protocols at the site where a new TV series featuring him was being shot on location in Manila’s Tondo district.
The House Committee on Labor and Employment chaired by Rizal 4th district Rep. Fidel Nograles endorsed the plenary approval of HB No.1270 last year.