House panel OKs bill safeguarding freelancers

The House labor and employment panel on Monday unanimously approved the bill providing safeguards to freelancers or those who accept work on a per-project basis.

House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of Gabriela party-list made the motion to approve the consolidated version of similar measures filed under House Bill 615, which mandates written contracts in obtaining the services of freelancers on top of night differential and hazard pay when applicable.

The bill defines a freelance worker as a person, whether incorporated under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), registered as a sole proprietor under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), or registered as self-employed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), who is hired or retained to provide services, in exchange for compensation, as an independent contractor to do work according to one’s own methods and without being subjected to the control of the hiring party, except only as to the results of the work.

Likewise, the measure provides that written contracts, made mandatory under the bill in hiring freelancers, should also include:

•     the itemization of all services to be provided,
•     details of compensation and other benefits, including rate, method, and schedule of payment,
•     period of employment,
•     grounds for breach of contract on the part of both the hiring party and the freelancer, and

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•     Tax Identification Number (TIN) of the freelancer.

The bill also states that “no modification of the terms of the contract shall be enforceable unless signed by both the hiring party and the freelance worker.”

Pangasinan Representative Christopher de Venecia, one of the authors of the bill, noted that the shutdowns and restrictions imposed to prevent COVID-19 transmission exposed the need for such a measure since government aid was not accessible to freelancers who are not on an employee-employer status.

"We were able to include them in the Bayanihan 2 (Bayanihan to Recover As One Act) and give aid to 40,000 freelancers, but the problem remains: the government does not know where the freelancers are," he said in his committee sponsorship on the measure.

Out of the 4.8 million stakeholders of the creative industry, De Venecia said that a critical mass of this, or four million, are freelancers.

He said protecting freelancers would also include steps in ensuring that they can pay their taxes to the government in an accessible manner as well, such as dedicating a lane for freelancers in Bureau of Internal Revenue's offices.

"As it is, many BIR offices are not fully aware of what freelancers do and have a hard time categorizing them," he added.

Other authors of the measure include Representatives Paolo Duterte of Davao City, Luis Raymund ‘LRay’ Villafuerte Jr. of Camarines Sur, Eduardo ‘Bro. Eddie’ Villanueva of Cibac party-list, Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay, among others.—AOL, GMA News