MAY 1, 2015

NR # 3818C

House labor panel to push for bills providing

more jobs and better protection for workers
The chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Employment today said his
panel would continue pushing for the passage of bills providing more jobs and better
protection for Filipino workers.
Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles (1 st District, Davao City) said while various labor
market studies and even survey conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS) indicated
improvement in the countrys labor situation, Congress still needs to act on various labor
bills.
Our mission should not just to facilitate the passage of bills that would increase the
number of jobs available to our countrymen but also provide them with protection from
manipulation by their employers and improve their working conditions, Nograles said.
Nograles said his committee is working overtime to ensure the passage of the
Jobstart Bill, which he authored to provide training and exposure in the work place for
first-time job seekers.
House Bill 5468 aims to institutionalize the Jobstart Philippines Program, which
was initiated by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in partnership with the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) to better prepare first-time job seekers with the needed
skills to assume full-time jobs, Nograles said.
Nograles said his panel is also working hard to push for the approval of House Bill
4969 or the Green Jobs bill, which would open job opportunities that promote the use of
environment friendly technologies.
Rep. Harlin C. Abayon (1st District, Northern Samar) also filed House Bill 1417,
seeking to promote the creation of green collar jobs and providing a strategic initiative for
its implementation.
The House Committee on Labor and Employment is working on several bills
prohibiting discrimination in hiring and during employment by reason of age, gender or
school graduated from. These include House Bill 0268 of Rep. Eric Olivarez (1 st District,
Paraaque City), House Bills 399 and 411 of Rep. Susan Yap (2 nd District, Tarlac), House
Bill 0502 of Rep. Rodolfo Biazon (Lone District, Muntinlupa City), House Bill 560 of
Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar (Party List, DIWA), House Bills 1753 and 2280 of Rep.
Imelda Calixto-Rubiano (Lone District, Pasay City), House Bill 2416 of Rep. Lucy
Gomez (4th District, Leyte), House Bill 3139 of Rep. Emmi De Jesus (Party List,
Gabriela), House Bill 3632 of Rep. Ma. Theresa Bonoan (4 th District, Manila), House Bill

4227 of Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City), House Bill 4724 of
Rep. Leah Paquiz (Party List, NARS), among others.
Several measures that strengthen security of tenure of workers are also being
pushed by the committee and these are House Bills 4227, 3559, 2419, 573, and 124 of
Reps. Rufus Rodriguez, Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Party List, TUCP), Silvestre
Bello (Party List, 1BAP), Walden Bello (Party List, AKBAYAN), and Aglipay-Villar.
Bills providing better protection for workers in the Business Process Outsourcing
(BPO) industry, such as House Bills 562, 1180, 1777 and 4414 of Aglipay-Villar, and
Reps. Terry Ridon (Party List, Kabataan), Carlos Isagani Zarate (Party List, Bayan Muna),
and Zajid Mangudadatu (2nd District, Maguindanao), respectively, are also being taken up
in the House labor committee.
Also being discussed in the committee are the proposed Magna Carta for workers in
the informal economy, namely House Bills 1110, 2295, 2307, and 3400, of Reps. Evelina
Escudero (1st District, Sorsogon), Danilo Ramos Fernandez (1 st District, Laguna),
Aglipay-Villar, and Bellaflor Angara-Castillo (Lone District, Aurora).
I really hope that even with election season drawing very near, we could still pass
and enact some of these measures. Its not enough that we provide more jobs for our
people, we need to give them jobs that will improve their lives, Nograles said. (30) jc