Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 7416

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA and DOMINGO C. RIVERA

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A MAGNA CARTA FOR WORKERS IN
THE INFORMAL ECONOMY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines the informal economy as
consisting of dependent, self-employed small-scale producers and distributors of
goods and services,” or workers who are not, or are otherwise insufficiently, covered
by formal work arrangements.? In a survey conducted in 2008, the then National
Statistics Office (NSO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) found that there were approximately 10.5 million
informal sector operators in the Philippines.>

In 2017, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimates that there are about
14.3 million informal or self-employed workers nationwide. This number represents
more than one third of the estimated 40.83 million workforce in the country in 2017.*

* Informal Economy in the Philippines. International Labour Organization. Available at
https://www.ilo.org/manila/areasofworkdinformal-economyllang~envindex him (date last accessed: July 21, 2020).

2 Magna Carta of Workers in the Informal Economy. Philippine Commission on Women, Available at
https://wavw,pcw.gov.ph/wplal-magna-carta-workers-informal-economy (date last accessed: July 21, 2020).

3 Informal sector operators counted at 10.5 million (Results from the 2008 Informal Sector Survey). Philippine
Statistics Authority. Available at https://psa.gov.phicontent/informal-sector-operators-counted-1 05-milion-results-
2008-informal-sector-survey (date last accessed: July 21, 2020).

* 2019, March 28. Government ‘blind’ to informal workers’ true numbers. Business Mirror. Available at
https:/ousinessmimror.com.h/2013/03/28/government-blind-to-informal-workers-rue-numbers) (date last
accessed: July 21, 2020).

1


The contribution of workers from the informal economy to the overall economic
health of the country cannot be gainsaid. The informal economy allows for the creation
and production of economic opportunities, most especially for those who cannot
integrate into the formal economy.® Regrettably however, while the informal economy
serves as a real driving force of the country's economy, the workers and actors in the
informal economy remain largely “not covered by the country’s labor laws and
regulations.” In simpler terms, the informal economy as a whole has little protection
from the law.

This paradox is highlighted even more in the face of the Constitutional
prescriptions requiring the State to “promote a just and dynamic social order that will..
free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services,
promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for
all”;® or “protect the rights of the workers and promote their welfare”, or “afford full
protection to labor.”®

Thus, the proposed bill, among others, seeks to remedy this shortcoming in our
legal system by affirming and establishing as a matter of law the rights, protection, and
security afforded to workers and economic units in the informal sector, including rights
and labor standards guaranteed to all workers and the entire labor force under the
Constitution and relevant labor laws.

The proposed bill likewise affirms and protects the right of the informal sector
workers to organize and perform legitimate activities as an organization. Additionally,
it directs key government agencies to support and institutionalize social security
measures and protection for the informal sector. The proposed bill seeks to afford the
informal workers, economic units, and own-account workers preferential treatments,
policy and infrastructure support, and measures intended to help the informal sector
thrive and flourish as a successful and formidable economic force. This includes
capacity-building for own-account workers to access e-marketing facilities that will
especially remove middle men in the transaction and facilitating the sale of produce or
products directly to the consumers. Our experience during the Enhanced Community
Quarantine (ECQ) has greatly emphasized the need to directly connect these workers
to the consumers in order to facilitate the continuous movement and sale of goods and
products.

Lastly, this bill also mandates the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD), in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG), Department of Information and Communications Technology
(DICT), DOLE, and other appropriate government agencies, to establish a system of
registration of workers in the informal economy, all economic units and informal
economy organizations/associations. The need for such a registry has been all the
more highlighted by the alleged chaotic recent distribution of financial assistance
during the ECQ..

5 Supra, note 2.

® Constitution, Article Il, Section 9.
7 {d., Section 18.

° fd, Article XIll, Section 3.


In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

HON. envannis tel Aihee’o-wa.LANUEVA

Ho fo ¢. RIVERA


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. _7416

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA and DOMINGO C. RIVERA

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A MAGNA CARTA FOR WORKERS IN
THE INFORMAL ECONOMY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

Chapter!
GENERAL PRINCIPLES

SECTION. 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Magna Carta for Workers
in the Informal Economy.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared the policy of the State to:

(a) Promote a just and dynamic social order that shall ensure the prosperity and
independence of the nation, and free the people from poverty through policies
that provide adequate social services, promote decent and environmentally
sound and full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality
of life for all;

(b) Protect, promote, and fulfil the rights of every worker, including gender equity,
non-discrimination, the right to self-organization, just and humane conditions of
work, access to social protection programs and services, access to justice,
security of and in the workplaces, and the right to represent their organizations
ina continuing process of consultation, social dialogue, and tripartite bodies; and


(c) Establish an integrated and coherent policy, at all levels of government, of
formalization of informal economic units and informal economy workers, and
make them visible in all relevant national and local statistics.

SEC.3. Coverage. - This Act shall apply to all workers and economic units, including
enterprises, entrepreneurs, and households in the informal economy, in particular:

(a) The self-employed workers, own-account workers and 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 economic 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;

(4) 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 mean:

(a) “Informal Economy’ refers to all economic activities by workers and economic
units that are, in law or in practice, not covered or insufficiently covered by formal
arrangements;

(b) “Economic Units in the Informal Economy” include, but not limited, to, units that
employ hired labor, units that are owned by individuals working on their own
account, either alone or with the help or contributing family workers, cooperatives
and other social and solidarity economy units, and informal work that may be
found across all sectors of the economy, in households, as well as public and
private spaces;

(c)_ “Informal Economy Workers’ Organization” refers to a group of informal sector
workers, whether formally constituted or otherwise, that are organized with the
primary objective of promoting the rights and welfare of workers in the informal
economy;

(4) “Informal Employment” refers to an employment arrangement in the formal or
informal sector or in households that exists, either based on casual employment,
kinship, or personal and social relations with no formal guarantees on legal
protection and social protection benefits;

(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-employed job,


waoVaunewne

10

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

and have not engaged, on a continuous basis, any employee to work for them
during the reference period;

(f) “Security of and in the Workplace” refers to the right of every worker and informal
economic units to an enabling environment that guarantees and protects the
spaces to undertake their work, including the right to be safe in one’s own work
space, security of tenure and freedom from discrimination, risk, danger, doubt,
anxiety, or fear of being removed, evicted, or prevented from working;

(a) “Social Protection” refers to policies and programs that seek to reduce poverty
and vulnerability to risks and enhance the social status of the marginalized by
promoting and protecting livelihood and employment, protecting against hazards
and sudden loss of income, and improving people's capacity to manage risk, as
well as all other interventions that support communities, households, and
individuals, both women and men, and realizing their rights as citizens through
their full participation in decision-making affecting or which may affect their
access to and control over resources necessary to maintain and sustain a
decent and secure life;

(h) “Social and Solidarity Economy Units” refers to enterprises and organizations,
including cooperatives as defined under Republic Act No. 9520, otherwise known
as the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008, mutual benefit societies,
associations, foundations, and social enterprises which produce goods, services,
and knowledge that meet the needs of the community they serve, through the
pursuit of specific social and environmental objectives and the fostering of
solidarity.

Chapter It
RIGHTS AND BENEFITS

SEC.5. Rights and Benefits of Workers in the Informal Economy. — Workers in
the informal economy shall be entitled to all the rights accorded to workers by the
Philippine Constitution, the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, and relevant
international human rights instruments and international labor standards. Accordingly,
the State shall guarantee all workers in the informal economy the following

(a) Right to security of and in the workplace;
(b) Right to make a living by work freely chosen or accepted;

(c) Right to just and favorable conditions of work, including provision for work-life
balance, child care, and other facilities;

(4) Right to a living wage and equal remuneration for work of equal value without
distinction of any kind, especially for women who shall be guaranteed equal
wages for work similar or equivalent to those done by men;

(e) Right to equal opportunity for promotion, subject to no other considerations than
seniority and competence;


(f) Right to safe and healthy working conditions safeguarding general, occupational,
and reproductive health;

(g) Right to basic services, including affordable medical care, reproductive and other
health services, low-cost housing, water, sanitation, cheap and affordable
electricity, and efficient and effective transportation system;

(h) Right to rest, leisure, and reasonable limitation of working hours;
(i) Right to maternity and paternity benefits, as provided for by law;

@) Right to equal access to education, skills training, and economic resources to
develop self-reliance, especially for the youth, without any discrimination;

(Kk) _ Right to self-organization and to collectively negotiate with government and other
entities in the promotion of their welfare and in the advancement of their interests,
free from any political interference;

(I) Right to adequate food, clothing, shelter and standard of living, and the
continuous improvement of such standard;

(m) Right to be free from any form of discrimination, violence, exploitation, including
sexual exploitation, harassment, abuse, and any form of inhumane treatment
which debases, degrades, or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of the
worker as a human being;

(n) Right to accessible social protection and safety nets, labor market programs, and
social welfare interventions such as social security, health care, and
insurance;

(0) Right to participate in policy and decision-making processes and social dialogue,
including access to information and resources relevant to the promotion and
protection of their rights and welfare; and

(p) Right to equal and equitable access to justice for redress of grievances, including
alternative dispute resolution processes.

SEC. 6. Rights and Benefits of Own-Account Workers. — In addition to the rights
of workers in the informal economy, own-account workers, as well as informal
economic units, being the working poor's primary instruments to address and
overcome poverty, shall be accorded preferential rights by the State over the following:

(a) Infrastructure support, such as farm to market roads, common, affordable, and
secure workplaces and facilities, merchandising centers, farmers’ markets or
bagsakan with proper storage facilities, and inventory bulk-buying centers;

(b) Policy support to ensure the unimpeded transport of their produce or products;

(c) Policy support to promote and protect locally-produced products and services,
including enhancement of the local value chain;

7


(4)

(e)

()

(g)

(h)

(i)

i)

(k)

Ease and facilitation of access to markets, including capacity-building to access
e-marketing facilities that will especially remove middle men in the transaction
and facilitating the sale of produce or products directly to the consumers;

Access to affordable, appropriate, and adequate financial services, including,
among others, collateral-free and gender-balanced credit at low interest;

‘Access to appropriate and adequate machinery, equipment, and other
technologies, with the end view of increasing productivity and growth;

Protection from unjust dislocation from places where economic activities are
conducted, observing the policy of “relocation before demolition”;

Measures against racketeering, extortion, and harassment, by both State and
non-State elements;

Common workplaces, shared facilities, product development and technology
support, and adequate and affordable marketing facilities;

Freedom from deprivation of property without valid cause and due process of
law; and

Affordable and customized social security and insurance programs.

SEC.7. Rights of Legitimate Organization of Workers in the Informal Economy
or Employment. - Workers in the informal economy or employment may organize
into unions, cooperatives, social and solidarity economic units’ organizations, and
mutual benefit associations. Organization of workers in the informal economy or
employment shall register with the Department of Labor and Employment and shall
have the right to:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)
0)

Freely function and act as the representatives of their members in policy and
decision-making processes, collective negotiations, tripartite bodies and
consultations, multi-sectoral and other similar bodies;

Establish, join, or affiliate with national federations or confederations and
international trade union organizations;

Access information from concerned government institutions and other parties
that are pertinent to the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of their
members;

Own property, whether real or personal, for the use and benefit of their
organizations and members;

‘Sue and be sued under their registered name; and

Undertake all other activities, not contrary to law, designed to benefit their
organizations and members.


SEC. 8. Assistance to Organizations of Workers in the Informal Economy. - The
State shall encourage and support the formation of organizations among marginalized
farmers, fisherfolk, women, and workers in the informal economy or employment,
whether in manufacturing, agriculture, transport, retail, services, or home-based
enterprises.

Towards this end, all national government agencies, government financial
institutions, and local government units’ plans, programs, and policies shall foster an
atmosphere conducive to the exercise of the right to self-organization of the workers
in the informal economy. Such policies shall also facilitate and promote access to
credit, skills training, and inputs at lower cost. These policies shall also be geared
towards assisting such workers in obtaining fair prices for their produce or products
and ensuring uninterrupted supply chain for the efficient, effective and economical
transport of their products to consumers.

Chapter lit
SECURITY IN THE WORKPLACE OF WORKERS IN THE
INFORMAL ECONOMY OR EMPLOYMENT

SEC. 9. Designation of Workplaces. - Local Government Units (LGUs), in
coordination with legitimate organization of workers in the informal economy and their
members, affected communities, and other relevant groups, shall identify, designate,
and design a system of assignment on the following:

(a) Productivity and merchandizing centers as viable workplaces for informal
workers, which may include markets and vacant areas near markets, vacant
public spaces and other spaces which may be a private property that the LGU
may acquire, lease, or negotiate with legitimate organization of workers in the
informal economy for lease under a memorandum of agreement; and

(b) Routes, terminals, and specific lanes for small transport workers.

SEC. 10. Policy on Eviction and Demolition. — Workers in the informal economy
or employment shall not be evicted from their homes and workplaces without any legal
ground as provided under Republic Act No. 7279, otherwise known as the “Urban
Development and Housing Act of 1992.” They shall also be provided with the same or
similar livelihood opportunities, adequate water and electricity and decent conditions
of living in accordance with law. Logistical viability for the displaced shall be given
priority in the course of determining the relocation sites or areas.

SEC. 11. Policy on Confiscation of Materials and Impounding of Vehicles. — In
cases where demolition or eviction is warranted by appropriate court order, the public
officer or government agency that conducted the same shall ensure non-violence and
shall issue an itemized receipt of all products, goods, and other materials seized or
confiscated from vendors and other affected workers in the informal economy or
employment. In no event shall these products be destroyed or discarded in the course
of such demolition or eviction.

Tricycles, pedicabs, and other modes of transportation shall not be impounded
for violations of license, registration, or traffic regulations unless the said vehicles were

9


utilized in the conduct of criminal activities. In cases of violation of traffic regulations,
a traffic violation ticket shall be issued to the erring driver without impounding his/her
vehicle.

SEC. 12. Policy on Relocation of Vending Sites. — Before any public market is
closed, sold, or demolished, all market vendors shall first be relocated by the LGU to
a temporary or new public market. Notice of the intention to close, sell, or demolish
any public market shall be made to all concerned vendors at least sixty (60) days
before the actual transfer or relocation to another market site. Within the sixty-day
period after issuance of notice, the LGU shall conduct consultations with affected
vendors on the relocation site and implementation of the relocation.

Vendors, ambulant or otherwise, occupying or selling in public places not
previously designated as vending sites shall be provided notice of transfer at least
fifteen (15) days before the actual transfer to the designated vending site. The fifteen
(15)-day notice shall likewise apply to vendors granted with permits but whose
workplaces are withdrawn from the list of allowable vending sites. Any change in the
list of allowable vending sites shall only be done after consultation with the affected
vendors.

In the event that a new public market is constructed in place of an old one,
market vendors with stalls displaced from their workplaces shall be given priority in
the assignment of stalls in the new market.

SEC. 13. Policy on Relocation of Terminals and Change of Route. — Relocation
of designated terminals for tricycles, pedicabs, jeepneys and other similar modes of
transportation and any change of route shall not be arbitrarily carried out without prior
notice and consultation with the drivers and/or transport groups concerned, legitimate
organizations of workers, affected community, and other relevant sectors. The
relocation of terminals and change of route shall be implemented through an
ordinance, the enactment of which shall be subject to the required consultation and
notice of intention as provided in the immediately preceding section.

Chapter IV
SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR THE INFORMAL SECTOR

SEC. 14. Formalization of the Social Protection Floor. — The State shall support,
sustain, enhance, or institutionalize the social protection floor initiative through
convergence of the resources of various agencies of the government for continuous
social security and health insurance subsidies to vulnerable and other informal
workers, as well as initiate programs for the unemployed, children, and older persons
based on applicable and ever improving standards.

SEC. 15. Social Welfare Efforts. - The Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD), in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment,
shall consolidate social welfare efforts to address the needs of the workers in the
informal economy, including direct assistance, policy development, and community
engagement for the workers.

10


SEC. 16. Role of the Department of Labor and Employment. - The DOLE shall
engage in labor market interventions that shall provide adequate protection for the
workers in the informal economy and ensure timely and immediate action for labor
concerns, as well as job generation, and other pertinent concerns.

SEC. 17. Social Safety Nets. — Social safety nets provided or implemented by the
DOLE, DSWD, Department of Agriculture (DA), and other government agencies shall
be made accessible to all workers in the informal economy and to their legitimate
organizations.

SEC. 18. Social Insurance. — Social insurance programs including Social Security,
Pag-ibig (Home Development Mutual Fund), and PhilHealth shall, as far as
practicable, be fully available to workers of the informal economy consistent with
Section 14 hereof. For this purpose, policies and mechanisms for their full utilization
and benefit shall be formulated by the SSS, HDMF, and PhilHealth.

Chapter V
LABOR STANDARDS AND ENFORCEMENT OF LABOR LAWS
FOR WORKERS IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY

SEC. 19. Applicability of the Provisions of the Labor Code. —The provisions of the
Labor Code shall apply where employer-employee relationship exists between an
employer and a worker in the informal economy.

SEC. 20. Prohibited Acts Specific to Workers in the Informal Economy. ~ The
following are deemed prohibited

(a) Non-compliance with Minimum Labor Standards and Occupational Health
and Safety Standards. The terms and conditions of employment of workers in
the informal economy shall not be lower than the minimum standards set by law.
The lack of formality of the work arrangement between the employer and the
worker or intermittency of work shall not mean the absence of an employment
relationship in the informal economy, it is sufficient that there is control on how
the work is to be done at the time of the engagement or economic dependence
of the worker on the employer is present.

In all cases, the employment agreement shall be explained to the worker and
attested to by a representative from the DOLE or LGU or an elected Barangay
official in the city or municipality where the worker is designated to work.

(b) Recruitment or Finders’ Fees. Regardless of whether the worker was sourced
either through an employment agency or a third party, workers in the informal
economy shall neither be charged nor levied a recruitment fee or finders’ fee by
the aforementioned employment agency or third party.

(c) Hazardous Work and Conditions. Workers shall not be engaged to do

hazardous work, activity, or undertaking, or be exposed to hazardous working
conditions. The rights of all workers under Republic Act No. 11058, otherwise

cot


(d)

(e)

known as An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health
Standards and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof, shall be respected.

Interference and Coercion. Any person is prohibited from committing any of the
following acts of interference and coercion:

(1) Preventing any worker from upholding or exercising his/her rights;

(2) Preventing any worker from joining or assisting organization for purposes
not contrary to law;

(3) Preventing any worker from carrying out his/her duties or functions in an
organization, or to penalize the same for any lawful action performed in that
capacity;

(4) Harassing, threatening, coercing, or intimidating any worker that result in
preventing him or her from performing his or her duties and functions;

(5) Transferring, penalizing, or terminating the services of a worker without
valid or legal ground; and

(6) Other acts calculated to diminish the independence and freedom of
workers’ organization to direct its own affairs.

Non-compliance with Republic Act No. 7610, as amended by Republic Act
No. 9231 in the employment of minors. In cases where minors are contracted
or hired to render work or services in any informal economic activity, the DOLE
and the LGU or duly elected Barangay official where the work is to be done shall
ensure compliance with Republic Act No. 7610, as amended by Republic Act No.
9231. The employer of the minors shall also provide them with access to at least
elementary or secondary education, either through traditional schooling or
alternative learning systems.

SEC. 21. Visitorial and Enforcement Power of the Secretary of Labor and
Employment. — In pursuit of the of the exercise of the visitorial power of the Secretary
of Labor under Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended,
employment and other work engagement in the informal economy shalll be included in
the scope of the Secretary's visitorial power.


Chapter VI
POLICY COORDINATION AND DEVELOPMENT

SEC. 22. Function of National Economic Development Authority. — The
Committee on Social Development of the National Economic Development Authority
(NEDA) shall develop policies and programs that shall institutionalize and strengthen
informal economy workers and the informal economy units.

SEC. 23. Informal Economy Initiatives of Local Development Council. - The
Local Development Councils of all provinces, cities, and municipalities shall establish
a body of coordination, registration, and assistance for workers in the informal
economy within their respective jurisdictions

The Local Development Councils shall also form a sectoral or functional
committee that shall facilitate the registration of informal economy workers.

Chapter VII
REGISTRATION OF INFORMAL ECONOMY WORKERS

SEC. 24. Registration. — The DSWD, in coordination with the Department of Interior
and Local Government (DILG), Department of Information and Communications
Technology (DICT), DOLE, and other appropriate government agencies, shall
establish a system of registration of workers in the informal economy, all economic
units and informal economy organizations/associations.

The national and local governments shall review, revalidate, and reassess such
database as a tool for national and local planning and for other purposes every two
(2) years.

The registry of economic units shall take into account the different sub-
classifications in terms of asset size, number of workers, social insurance provided,
statutory benefits and wages, industry, geography, premises, sex, ethnicity,
vulnerability, and roles and functions. The database shall also indicate informal
economic units which may be categorized as livelihood enterprises and
entrepreneurial or growth-oriented informal businesses.

Chapter Vill
FINAL PROVISONS

SEC. 25. Penal Provision. —

(a) Any person who shall willfully interfere with, restrain or coerce a worker in the
exercise of his or her rights or shall in any manner commit any act in violation of
any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of
not less than Twenty Thousand Pesos (Php20,000.00) or imprisonment of one
(1) to six (6) years or both fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the Court.

(b) If the offender is a public official, the Court, in addition to the penalties provided
in the preceding paragraph, may impose the additional penally or disqualification
from public office.

13


SeovsHewne

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33

(c) Any person who violates Section 11 of this Act (Policy on Confiscation of
Materials and Impounding of Vehicles) shall be liable. Nothing herein shall
prohibit the aggrieved workers in the informal economy from initiating a criminal
or civil action against the responsible person or officer.

(d) Failure to implement Sections 12 (Policy on Relocation of Vending Sites) and 13
(Policy on Relocation of Terminals and Change of Route) shall render the
responsible official/s administratively liable pursuant to Republic Act No. 7160
and other applicable laws, without prejudice to any civil or criminal cases that
may be filed against such erring official/s.

(e) If private institution/company is found to have violated any provisions of this
Act, its business shall be suspended or revoked at the discretion of the Court.

SEC. 26. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). - The DOLE, DILG,
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Economic
Development Authority (NEDA), in coordination with other concerned agencies and
stakeholders, shall formulate the implementing rules and regulations within 180 days
from the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 27. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the provisions not affected shall continue to be in full force
and effect.

SEC. 28. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or
other issuances inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly,

SEC. 29. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette.

Approved,

14