NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
r,i l°c ■ ■
72 Jli19 P643
S.B. No.
SENATE
776
WtCBViOV/.
Introduced by Senator SONNY ANGARA
AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE REGISTRATION AND THE NATIONAL DATABASE 
OF WORKERS, ECONOMIC UNITS, AND ORGANIZATIONS OR 
ASSOCIATIONS IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The COVID-19 pandemic has been described by the Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as a major economic and labor market shock 
for the informal sector.1 Restrictions to movement and community quarantines that 
have been enforced in almost all states around the world, including here in the 
Philippines, caused loss of jobs and livelihood for many informal workers and 
enterprises as it halted everyday activities that this vulnerable group earns from.
The informal economy comprises numerous activities, which include, among 
others, home-based workers, vendors, small transport operators, small and landless 
farmers, artisanal fisherfolk, non-corporate construction wor!;ers, wast° pickers and 
recyclers, small-scale miners and quarry workers, entertainers, laundry persons, 
hairdressers, on-call domestic helpers, barangay health workers and other volunteer 
workers.
Workers in the informal economy are reported to be no less than 10.5 Million 
in the 2008 Informal Sector Survey2, with later estimates indicating an increase to 
15.6 Million3 last 2017. More than mere figures, these numbers represent actual
1 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 7 April 2020. Impact of COVID-19 
on Informal Workers.
2 Philippine Statistics Authority, 2009. Informal Sector Operators Counted at 10.5 Million (Results from 
the 2008 Informal Sector Survey).
3 Rappler, 2017. Fast Facts: What you need to know about PH's informal sector workers.


individuals who perform day-to-day tasks that are essential but without tenure or 
specific employment terms.
Amid the pandemic, affected workers have been receiving subsidies and have 
been covered by other assistance programs of the government. However, informal 
economy workers and enterprises are often absent in official statistics. Groups such 
as the Alliance of Workers in the Informal Economy/Sector (ALLWIES) raised that 
there are varying interpretations among LCDs as to who are covered in the informal 
sector. Further, government agencies noted that that there incomplete or differing 
data on the sect or.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) reported the problematic situation 
as public authorities are struggling to identify and to reach these workers and 
enterprises who are mostly unregistered.4 The availability of comprehensive data on 
this vulnerable group would provide government agencies a clearer picture of their 
needs and concerns and better targeted assistance programs, particularly in times of 
crisis.
Therefore, it is only proper to institutionalize a registry to extensively determine 
workers and enterprises in the informal economy. The proposed measure mandates a 
standard registration scheme at the ,ocal level for informal sector workers, economic 
units, and organizations or associations that shall then be consolidated in a national 
database to serve as the basis of the State in assessing the growth of the sector and 
in creating initiatives for the informal economy.
In view of the foregoirig, the approval of this measure is earnestly sought.
SONNY ANGARA
(p3
4 International Labour Organization (ILO), May 2020. COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy.
2


Wl,..'.Mii ffttr of the f ■■' :l "v-i
NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
S.B. No.
SENATE
776
72 JUL 19 P6 '43
lU-CEiVLD U;:
Introduced by Senator SONNY ANGARA
AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE REGISTRATION AND THE NATIONAL DATABASE 
OF WORKERS, ECONOMIC UNITS, AND ORGANIZATIONS OR 
ASSOCIATIONS IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
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Section. 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Informal Economy
2 
Registration and National Database Act."
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Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to promote a just
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and dynamic social order that shall ensure the prosperity and independence of the
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nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social
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services, promote decent, environmentally sound and full employment, a rising
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standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.
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Towards this end, the State shall establish a national registry necessary to
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identify individuals who contribute to nation-building, but are outside the bounds of
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formal employment. This registration and database system would help establish an
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integrated and coherent policy, at all levels of government, of formalization of informal
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economic workers and make them visible in all relevant national and local statistics.
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Sec. 3. Coverage. - This Act shall apply to all workers and economic units,
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including enterprises, entrepreneurs and households in the informal economy, in
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particular:
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a) Those in the informal economy who own and operate economic units,
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including self-employed workers, self-employed own-account workers.


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mean:
employers, members of cooperatives, and members of other social and 
solidarity economy units;
b) Home-based workers or contributing family workers, irrespective of 
whether they work in ecOiiomic units in the formal or informal economy;
c) Employees holding informal jobs in or for formal enterprises, or for 
economic units in the informal economy, including those in contract 
arrangement and/or in supply chains, or as paid domestic workers 
employed by households;
d) Workers in unrecognized or unregulated employment relationships;
e) Agricultural workers or fisherfolk in unrecognized or unregulated 
agricultural or farming endeavors and fishing activities; and
f) Non-regular domestic workers.
Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms shall
a) Informal Economy - refers to all economic activity by workers and economic 
units that are, in law or in practice, not covered or insufficiently covered by 
laws or formal arrangements.
b) Informal Economic Units - refer to units that are owned by individuals 
working on their own account either alone or with the help or contributing 
family workers; household enterprises engaged in the production of goods 
and services or unincorporated enterprises owned by households; 
cooperatives and other social and solidarity economiy units.
c) Informal Economy Workers' Organization - refers to a group of informal 
sector workers that are organized with the primary objective of promoting 
the rights and welfare of workers in the informal economy.
d) Informal Employment - re;:ers to an employment arrangement in the formal 
or informal sectors or in households that exist based mostly on casual 
employment, kinship or personal and social relations with no formal 
guarantees on legal protection and benefits economic units that are 
unregistered, unlicensed, and unregulated.
e) Own-account worker - refers to workers who, working on their own account 
or with one or more partners, hold the type of job defined as a self-


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employed job, and have not engaged on a continuous basis any employees
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to work for them during the reference period.
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f) Social and Solidarity Economy Units - refer to enterprises and organizations
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indue.ng cooperatives as defined under Republic Act No. 9520 (Philippine
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Cooperative 
Code of 2008), mutual benefit societies, 
associations,
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foundations and social enterprises which produce 
goods, services and
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knowledge that meet the needs of the community they serve, through the
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pursuit of specific social and environmental objecti /es and the fostering of
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solidarity.
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Sec. 5. Registration. - Pursuant to its functions under Republic Act 7160 (Local
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Government Code of 1991) as amended, the Local Development Council, through its
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Secretariat or through the creation of a sectoral of functional committee, shall
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establish a system of registration or workers of the informal economy. The system
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shall be as follows:
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a) Workers - There shall be a simple and standard system of registration in
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accordance with the principles of this Act. Any Informal Economy worker
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regist ired in the local goVv^rnment provided for in Inis Act she II be listed in
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a local database and shall be issued an identification card and a record book
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that shall list all services and benefits availed of. These also signify eligibility
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to avail of other assistance and development programs: Provided, That the
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poorest and the most vulnerable workers shall be given priority, including
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workers who are severely and directly affected by a national emergency.
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The concerned local government unit (LGU) shall review, revalidate and
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reassess such local database as a tool for planning and for other purposes
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every two (2) years. Renewal of eligibility shall be in accordance with the
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merit and fitness principle, and with the conditions that no child labor shall
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be used and no activities harmful to the environment shall be implemented.
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b) Informal Economic Unit - A local comprehensive database of all economic
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units shall be developed and maintained. Such database shall take into
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account the different sub-classifications in t^erms of asset size, number of
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workers, social insurance provided, statutory benefits and wages, industry,
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geography, premises, sex, ethnicity, vulnerability, and roles and functions.


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Moreover, the local database shall include information on payments
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collected by the LGU from Informal Economy workers, organizations, and
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economic units.
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Ali local government units shall formulate a uniform and simple checklist
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of requirements for registration, and establish an Informal Economy One-
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Stop Shop Center or designate an existing office that shall handle all
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transactions and processing of business permit applications within their
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respective jurisdiciion and worker's registration. The Center or the
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designated office shall ensure that the processing of relevant permits and
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licenses of the Informal Economic Units shall comply with Republic Act No.
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11032 (Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery
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Act of 2018).
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c) Informal Economy Organizations or Associations (lEOA) - lEOAs shall
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register with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The DOLE
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shall create a checklist of requirements for registration.
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Sec. 6. National Database of the Informal Economy. - The DOLE, in
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coordination wiih National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), shall establish
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and maintain a National Database of workers, economic units, and organizations or
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associations of the Informal Economy. The information in the National Database shall
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primarily be the registration data collected by the LGUs through their Local
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Development Councils: Provided, That the Department of Interior and Local
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Government (DILG) shall issue necessary orders and guidelines for the proper
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consolidation of registration data from local databases.
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The National Database shall serve as the official registry and basis of national
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government agencies and government financial institutions for plans, programs,
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projects, and activities related to the Informal Economy.
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Sec. 7. Assessment and Monitoring of Growth. - Every three (3) years after the
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effectivity of this Act, the DOLE, in coordination with the NEDA, shall publish a report
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on the status and growth of employment and business activities or enterprises in the
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Informal Economy. The National Database referred to in this Act shall be the basis of
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the assessment and monitoring.


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Sec. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The DOLE, DILG, and NEDA, in
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coordination with other concerned agencies and stakeholders, shall formulate the
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implementing a les and regulations within 180 days from the affectivity of this Act.
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Sec. 9. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is
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subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions hereof which are
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not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.
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Sec. 10. Repealing Clause. - All other laws, acts, presidential decrees, executive
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orders, presidential proclamations, issuances, rules and regulations, or parts thereof
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which are contrary to or inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act are hereby
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repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
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publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,