TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
25 JIJL -9 P5 ;23
SENATE 
S. No. 337
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR JV EJERCITO
AN ACT
PROVIDING PROTECTION AND INCENTIVES TO FREELANCE WORKERS
EXPLANATORY NOTE
In recent years, the global economy has undertaken significant changes that 
has led to a substantial rise of the freelance workforce1. A freelance worker is 
generally defined as an independent contractor who provides their services for 
compensation while exercising autonomy over their methods and being primarily 
responsible for their work rather than the process itself2.
Since the global Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippines has positioned itself as a 
major hub for freelancing, with the number of registered freelancers estimated to be 
around 1.5 million in 2025, thus making the country one of the fastest growing 
freelance-markets globally and has emerged as a vital sector of the Philippine 
economy, particularly because of the high English proficiency of our workforce.3 The 
continuing shift towards digitalization of the global economy has further drawn more 
Filipinos to pursue freelancing work, appealing to various demographics such as
1 Alvarez de la Vega, C., et al. (2020). The Gig Economy in Times of COVID-19: 
Designing for Gig Workers' Needs.
2 Investopedia. (n.d.). What Is a Freelancer: Examples, Taxes, Benefits, and 
Drawbacks.
3 Ibrahim, M. (2025). The Filipino online freelancers: Digital workforce of the world. 
Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
1


students and parents alike in both rural and urban areas that are looking for more 
flexible arrangements4.
But in spite of the dynamic growth of the freelance sector and the economic 
benefits it brings to the table, our existing legal framework has not fully caught up to 
sufficiently provide protections and guarantee the welfare of Filipino freelancers. The 
unique nature of freelancing work often leaves freelancers vulnerable to issues such 
as late or non-payment of their services, lack of clear contractual terms, and 
inadequate legal remedies in disputes, and the lack of access to essential employment 
benefits such as healthcare insurance and guaranteed paid leaves that workers in other 
sectors of the economy are able to have5.
To mitigate and provide the necessary safeguards from these challenges faced 
by freelancers we must institutionalize protections for their welfare as mandated by 
Article II, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution that declares:
" The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the 
rights of workers and promote their welfare."
Further reinforcing this doctrine. Article XIII, Section 3 commands that:
" The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized 
and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment 
opportunities for all."
In light of the significant contributions of freelancers to the national economy 
and the urgent need to safeguard their rights and welfare, the passage of this bill is 
urgently sought.
JV EJERCITO
4 Ibid
5 Ibid


TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
25 jlJL-9 P5:23
SENATE 
S. No. 337
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR JV EJERCITO
AN ACT
PROVIDING PROTECTION AND INCENTIVES TO FREELANCE WORKERS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Freelance Workers
2 
Protection Act."
3 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - Pursuant to Article II, Section 18, and
4 
Article XIII, Section 3 of the Constitution, it is hereby declared the policy of the State
5 
to protect the rights of workers, promote their welfare, and ensure their entitlement
6 
to humane conditions of work and just share in the fruits of production. To this end,
7 
the State shall recognize the right of freelance workers to protection from late or
8 
nonpayment of fees for services rendered.
9 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:
10
11
12
13
14
a. Freelance worker refers to any natural person or entity composed of no 
more than one (1) natural person, whether incorporated under the 
Securities and Exchange Commission, registered as a sole proprietorship 
under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or registered as self- 
employed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), who is hired or


1 
retained to provide services, in exchange for compensation, as an
2 
independent contractor to do work according to one's own methods and
3 
without being subjected to the control of the hiring party, except only as
4 
to the results of the work;
5 
b. Hiring party refers to any person or entity that obtains or retains the
6 
services of a freelance worker; and
7 
c. Retaiiation refers to any act reasonably likely to prevent a freelance worker
8 
from further being offered freelance work and contracts.
9 
SECTION 4. Written Contract. - Any hiring party obtaining or retaining the
10 
services of a freelance worker shall execute a written contract with the freelance
11 
worker before the services are rendered. The hiring party and the freelance worker
12 
shall each retain a signed copy of the contract.
13 
The contract shall be written in plain language, understood by both parties. It
14 
shall include, at the minimum, the following:
15 
a. Itemization of all services to be provided by the freelance worker;
16 
b. Details of compensation and other worker's benefits, including rate,
17 
method and schedule of payment;
18 
c. Period of employment;
19 
d. Grounds for breach of contract on the part of the hiring party and of the
20 
freelance worker; and
21 
e. Any other condition, term or clause that the Department of Labor and
22 
Employment (DOLE) may direct, subject to the provisions of this Act.
23 
The contract must state the necessary personal circumstances of the freelance
24 
worker, such as but not limited to the freelance worker's name, address and the
25 
worker's Tax Identification Number. No modification of the terms of the contract shall
26 
be enforceable unless signed by both the hiring party and the freelance worker.
27 
SECTION 5. Down Payment Required. - An initial partial payment for the
28 
contracting of services of the freelance worker shall be made upon engagement,
29 
which shail be not iess than thirty percent (30%) of the contract price.


1 
SECTION 6. Night Shift Differential. - Freelance workers who are required to
2 
be physically present in the workplace, or those on field assignments, shall be paid a
3 
night shift differential of not less than ten percent (10%) of their reguiar
4 
compensation for each hour of work performed between ten o'clock in the evening
5 
and six o'clock in the morning, unless there is a more favorable fee stipulated in the
6 
contract.
7 
SECTION 7. Hazard Pay. - All freelance workers deployed in dangerous areas
8 
such as strife-torn or embattled locations, distressed or isolated stations, prison
9 
camps, mental hospitals, radiation-exposed ciinic, laboratories or disease-infested
10 
areas, or in areas deciared under a state of calamity or emergency for the duration
11 
of deployment and unduly exposes them to great danger, contagion, radiation,
12 
occupational risks or perils to life, shall be compensated with a hazard pay equivalent
13 
to at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the total payment for the period of such
14 
deployment as agreed upon in the contract, unless there is a more favorable fee
15 
stipulated therein.
16 
SECTION 8. Unlawful Practices. - It shall be unlawful for any hiring party to:
17 
a. 
Engage with a freelance worker without a written contract;
18 
b. 
Pay the compensation due the freelance worker later than fifteen (15)
19 
days after the date of payment of compensation stated in the written
20 
contract or after the rendition of services in cases where there is no written
21 
contract;
22 
c. Require as a condition of payment of compensation at any time after a
23 
freelance worker has commenced rendition of services, that the
24 
latter accept less than the specified contract price; or
25 
d. Commit any act of retaliation against any freelance worker for:
26 
1. Opposing any practice prohibited by this Act;
27 
2. Filing a complaint authorized under this Act;
28 
3. Testifying or assisting in any proceeding authorized under this Act;
29 
4. Commencing a civil action alleging a violation of this Act;


1 
5. Assisting the DOLE in an investigation commenced pursuant to this
2 
Act; or
3 
6. Providing information to the DOLE pursuant to the terms of a
4 
mediation or conciliation agreement under this Act.
5 
SECTION 9. Civil Penalty. - A person who commits any of the unlawful
6 
practices enumerated in Section 8 of this Act shall be punished by a fine of not less
7 
than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than Five hundred thousand
8 
pesos (P500,000.00).
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
CHAPTER II
AGENCY ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS
SECTION 10. Complaints. - Any person or such person's authorized 
representative aggrieved by a violation of this Act, may file a complaint with the 
DOLE, through the Undersecretary for Workers with Special Concerns, without 
prejudice to the filing of civil action in appropriate cases.
SECTION 11. Prohibition Against Forum Shopping. - When a civil action has 
been initiated in a court of competent jurisdiction arising from any violation of this 
Act, a breach of contract, or any similar claim at law or equity arising out of the same 
transaction or series of transactions, no other case involving the same cause of action 
shall be filed with the DOLE.
21 
SECTION 12. Investigation. - Upon receiving a complaint aileging a violation
22 
of this Act, the DOLE shall notify the respondent in writing and investigate such
23 
complaint in a timely manner. Within fifteen (15) calendar days of receiving such
24 
written notification, the respondent shall provide the DOLE with a written response
25 
and such other information as the DOLE may request. The DOLE shall notify each
26 
complainant in writing, not less than thirty (30) calendar days after the complaint is
27 
filed, of the status of the complaint and any resulting investigation.
28 
SECTION 13. Mediation and Conciliation. - The DOLE may, at any time after
29 
the filing of a complaint, attempt to resolve the complaint by any method of dispute
30 
resolution, including mediation and conciliation. If a conciiiation agreement is entered


1 
into, the DOLE shall embody such agreement in an order and serve a copy thereof
2 
upon all parties to the conciliation agreement.
3 
CHAPTER III
4 
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT
5
6 
SECTION 14. Notice of Violation and Order of Payment. - If, as a result of
7 
an investigation of a complaint or an investigation conducted upon its own initiative,
8 
the DOLE finds cause to believe that a violation of this Act has occurred, it shall issue
9 
a notice of violation to the respondent and order the corresponding payment of
10 
compensation due to the prevailing party.
11 
SECTION 15. Violation of Order of Payment - The order of payment shall
12 
include an interest rate of six percent (6%) per annum which shall be awarded to the
13 
prevailing party in case the violation continues.
14 
SECTION 16. Civil Action. - Except as otherwise provided by law, any person
15 
aggrieved by a violation of this Act may file a complaint in a court of competent
16 
jurisdiction for damages, injunctive relief and such other remedies as may be
17 
appropriate, without prejudice to the filing of a criminal action in appropriate cases.
18 
The prevailing party shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney's fees and
19 
costs.
20 
No person claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this Act may bring a civil
21 
action in a court of competent jurisdiction if such aggrieved person, or one's
22 
representative, has filed a complaint with the DOLE pursuant to Chapter II of this Act
23 
and based upon the same transaction or series of transactions, unless that complaint
24 
has been terminated without prejudice to a subsequent civil action.
25 
SECTION 17. Non-Waiver. - Except as otherwise provided by law, any
26 
provision of any contract or agreement purporting to waive rights under this Act is
27 
against public policy and shall be null and void.
28 
SECTION 18. Coverage. - This Act shall apply only to contracts or
29 
agreements entered into upon the effectivity of this Act.


1 
CHAPTER IV
2 
TAXATION
3
4 
SECTION 19. Tax Relief. - Freelancers, as defined under this Act, shail be
5 
entitled to tax relief within the threshold provided under the National Internal
6 
Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, and Republic Act No. 9178, otherwise known
7 
as the "Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) Act of 2002."
8 
SECTION 20. Special Assistance. - Every BIR Revenue District Office shall
9 
designate a lane or a special assistance desk that shall be manned by an officer who
10 
shall assist freelance workers on their inquiries and in compiying with the processing
11 
of documents, inciuding the registration requirement under this Act.
12 
CHAPTER V
13 
FINAL PROVISIONS
14
15 
SECTION 21. Report. - One (1) year after the effectivity of this Act, and every
16 
year thereafter, the Secretary of Labor and Employment shall submit a report to the
17 
Committee on Labor and Empioyment of the House of Representatives and the
18 
Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development of the Senate
19 
of the Philippines regarding the effectiveness of the provisions of this Act in improving
20 
freeiance contracting and payment practices. Similarly, the DOLE shall submit the
21 
report to the Philippine Creative Industries Development Council, through its Creative
22 
Workers' Welfare Standing Committee. The report shall include, at the minimum, the
23 
number of complaints received, investigations initiated and notices issued by the
24 
DOLE on violations of this Act, and complaints settled by mediation or conciliation.
25 
SECTION 22. Information Campaign. - The DOLE shall, in coordination with
26 
the DTI, BIR, local government units and other relevant agencies, initiate a program
27 
with the objective of informing freelance workers of their rights and obiigations, the
28 
proper procedure of registering as a taxpayer, and the modes of legal redress as
29 
provided for in this Act, and in other laws and regulations.
30 
SECTION 23. Suppietory Application. - The provisions of Republic Act No.
31 
11058, entitled "An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and


1 
Health Standards and Providing Penalties for Vioiations Thereof" shall be applied
2 
suppletorily to this Act.
3 
SECTION 24. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within fifteen (15) days
4 
from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Labor and Empioyment shali, in
5 
coordination with the BIR and other reievant agencies, issue the rules and regulations
6 
from the implementation of this Act.
7 
SECTION 25. Separability Clause. - If any part, section or provision of this Act
8 
is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected by such
9 
declaration shall remain in full force and effect.
10 
SECTION 26. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and
11 
regulations, or other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of
12 
this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
13 
SECTION 27. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
14 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,