Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. SB7b

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA
Reps. NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI T, ZARATE,

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR AN “ARTISTS WELFARE PROTECTION AND
INFORMATION ACT”, AND PROVIDING FUNDS FOR THE PURPOSE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The 1987 Philippine Constitution in Article XIV, Section 14 provides that, "[iJhe State
shall foster the preservation, entichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national culture
based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual
expression." ‘The provision is complemented by Section 17 in the same Article, “the State shall
recognize, respect, and protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to preserve and
develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the
formulation of national plans and policies."

Despite these constitutional provisions, our artists - whether engaged in visual or
performing arts - have not acquired a professional working status and standardized benefits
as those enjoyed by regular workers. They are not afforded medical, disability, retirement, death
insurance and housing benefits despite their contributions to the country's cultural development.

‘The United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General
Conference in 1980 adopted the Recommendations concerning the Status of Artist.

As a standard-setting instrument, it aims to strengthen policies and measures around
the professional, social, and economic status of artists, thus enabling them to work, ercate,
and organize successfully in an enabling environment. It recognized that "the artists face
increasing challenges and opportunities because they operate in a globalized and digital age,
marked by economic and/or social transitions, shifting communication, trade and
consumption trends, and rapidly evolving technologies.”

‘The State is submitting this legislation in honor of the countless recognitions and
achievements of the Filipino Artists

In view of these recommendations, it is the duty of the State to enact and implement
appropriate policies for the welfare and protection of artists, including members of the
indigenous cultural communities. The Bill seeks to achieve these objectives.

Support for this bill is earnestly sought.


Bayan Mana Party!



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 9876

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA
Reps. NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR AN “ARTISTS WELFARE PROTECTION AND
INFORMATION ACT”, AND PROVIDING FUNDS FOR THE PURPOSE.

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

ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS,

Sec. 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Artists Welfare Protection and
Information Act of 2015."

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy - The State shall protect and promote the rights of an artist
to be considered as a person actually engaged in cultural work and to benefit from all legal,

social and economic advantages pertaining to the status of workers. Pursuant to this, the state
shall:

(@) Improve the social security, labor, medical, and legal conditions of the artist, whether
‘employed or self-employed, taking into account their contributions to cultural development,
through a system of accreditation.

(&) Hap create and sustain a culture encouraging freedom of artistic expression and
communication, and to facilitate the release of necessary resources in developing the artists’
creative talents.

(© Recognize artists as professionals, granting them the corresponding rights and privileges, to
‘enable them to collectively defend their common interests.

(@ Protect the artists' sensibilities and material rights over their works or performances, or any
other use made of them to confirm their artistic dignity and integrity.

(©) Provide second/alternative career oppottunities to artists who wish to retire from their
respective art.

() Develop means of providing welfare and legal information to artists.

‘The State is submitting this legislation in honor of the countless recognitions and
achievements of the Filipino Artists.


Sec. 3. Coverage - This Act applies to all accredited artists, as defined hercin, employed and
working within the country and those outside of the country who ate covered by
recruitment programs/contracts and placement offices/ agencies.

Sec. 4, Definition of Terms -

(@) Accreditation - shall mean the assessment, of an artist or guild based on the
“Accreditation Requirements as provided herein, for purposes of availing the provisions and
benefits provided in this Act.

(b) Accredited Artist - refers to an artist who isa Filipino, at least 18 years of age, in
compliance with the requirements for Accreditation provided in Section 7, or those
members of existing arts guilds duly registered and accredited as provided for by law.

(© Artist -Tt is taken to mean any person who creates or gives creative expression to, or
recreates works of art, who considers his artistic creation to be an essential part of his life,
who contributes in this way to the development of art and culture and who is or asks to be
recognized as an artist, whether or not he is bound by any clations

Of employment or association. This includes Indigenous Artists and Cultural Performers.

(@ Collecting Agent/Foreign Collecting Agent - It shall refer to any person, natural or
juridical, domestic or foreign including, for purposes of foreign work, manning, placement,
and recruitment agencies, who hire and use the services of an attist. ‘The collecting agent
shall be responsible for the remittance of contribution of the artist to the SSS/GSIS, Pag-IBIG,
and Philhealth. The contribution shall be automatically deducted from the compensation paid to
the artist.

(©) Cultural Performer - refers to an artist who practice culturally-accepted art forms in
their communities, such as composo, zarzuela, and other forms of art not defined herein. It
may also tefer to an artist who, although not a member of any Indigenous Cultural
Community/ Indigenous Peoples (ICC/IP) group, has been consented by the latter to use IP
clothing and telated paraphernalia, artifacts, other cultural symbols and expressions, in
accordance with the community standards and attributed meanings.

() Indigenous Peoples Artists - refers to artists who are members of Indigenous Cultural
Communities/ Indigenous Peoples groups who themselves are certified by their respective
community as bearers of oral traditions, literature, designs, visual, performing arts and other
cultural expressions.

(®) Second / Alternative Career- is any career, as enumerated under Sec. 16 of this Act, which
an artist may engage into after leaving their main career due to age, incapacity and other
reasons, or any career which an artist may engage into while still active in their major area of
specialization due to the latter's seasonal or contractual nature.

(b) Welfare Protection- shall refer to the government's duty of providing rights and privileges
to duly-acctedited artists and ensuring the protection of their works and talents to maintain a
minimum. standard of well-being, specifically providing: PhilHTealth, Pag-IBIG, SSS/GSIS,
among other benefits.


(@) Welfare Information. shall refer to the government's duty to provide knowledge awareness
and understanding to duly-accredited artists in terms of legal, medical, proprietary,
educational, and second careers/alternative careers, among others,

ARTICLE IL
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

Sec. 5, Benefits - An accredited artist shall have the rights and_privileges to be provided with
PhilFlealth, SSS/GSIS, Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), and shall be entitled to
all other benefits as provided by the pertinent provisions of law.

Sec. 6. Artist Education and Information - An accredited artist shall have the rights and
privileges of free legal aid and information, medical assistance, hospitalization, and options for
Second/ Alternative Careers.

Sec. 7. Accteditation Requirements - A guideline shall be issued for the purpose of defining
an Accredited Artist. The National Commission on Culture and the Arts must issue the
guidelines in consultation with the relevant organizations engaged in Literary Arts, Dance,
Music, Theater, Film, Architecture, Visual and Design Arts, Arts Management and
Production Design, and all other equivalent art forms/disciplines. ‘The presumption shall
always be resolved in favor of accreditation,

Sec. 8. Application /Approval Procedure - Artists shall submit the necessary documents to
support their application for Accreditation to the Local Arts Council, or to. the Provincial,
City, or Municipal Tourism Office or to the duly recognized Arts Guild in which they are
members who shall determine the compliance requirements and shall issue a certificate of
accreditation based on the accepted/recognized aesthetic sensibility of its artistic community;
Provided, the Tourism Office stated herein may require written recommendation from
recognized artist in the Local Government Unit prior to approval of accreditation.

Provided further, for Indigenous Artists, requirements shall be submitted to and approved by
the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples in their Province. ‘The NCCA, through the
“Artist's Welfare Office as stated in Article V herein, may provide additional
procedutes/requirements that shall encourage meaningful accreditation of artists and ensure the
aesthetic quality and creativity of the various art forms.

ARTICLE IL
8S$/GSIS, PHILHEALTH, AND PAG-IBIG - FUND COVERAGE

Sec. 9, Accredited Artists shall be covered by the Social Security System; Other
Benefits. - An Accredited Artist shall be covered by the Social Security System (SSS), the
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Phil Health), and the Home Development Mutual
Fund ot Pag-IBIG, and shall be entitled to all the benefits including but not limited to
insurance, funeral, burial and financial assistance and scholarships to children, in accordance
with the pertinent provisions provided by law. Payment of premiums ot contzibutions shall be
shouldered by the employet/principal who shall act as the collecting agent for the artist.


Sec. 10. Payment of Premiums/Contributions - The payment by the collecting agent,
for and in behalf of the accredited artist, shall be based on an annual amount to be
determined by the respective agencies stated herein.

Sec. 11, Multiple Payments /Contributions - In case of multiple payments/contributions
exceeding the annual contribution as stated herein, the excess shall be carried over to the
succeeding year.

Sec. 12. Deficiency of Premium/Contribution Payments - In case of deficiency of
payment, the accredited artist shall pay the deficiency/difference as stated in the
category/schedule of payments, to be provided by the SS8/GSIS, Phil Health, Pag-IBIG, as the
case may be. Artists who do not have collecting agents, as provided under Are I Sec. 4 (d),
shall comply with the provisions of voluntary contribution,

Sec. 13. Category/Schedule of Payment - The SSS/GSIS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and other
agencies that shall benefit the artist, shall create a category/schedule of payment for accredited
artists in compliance with existing laws.

Sec. 14. Artists Village. - In coordination with the National Commission on Culture and
the Arts, PAG-IBIG and other relevant government offices, a housing community to be known
as the Artists Village shall be established, Suitable idle land shall be identified for the purpose.
‘The Artists Village shall be provided to the accredited artists. Existing housing programs for the
sectors shall be strengthened, improved and developed using available funds.

ARTICLE IV
INFORMATION ASSISTANCE - COVERAGE AND PROCEDURE

Sec. 15. Legal Information Assistance - ‘The accredited artist shall be provided with free
legal information through the National Committee on Legal Aid (NCLA) of the Integrated
Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for the registration and protection of their intellectual property
tights over their literary, artistic works, performances and other works as defined under RA
8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, and other pertinent laws.
‘Acctedited Artists as defined by this Act shall be provided with free legal services in criminal,
civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases by the Public Attorney's Office
(PAO) pursuant to the provisions of RA 9406,

Sec. 16. Medical and Dental Assistance - The accredited artist shall be provided with free
medical and dental assistance through the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), Philippine
Hospital Association (PHA), and the Philippine Dental Association. An accredited artist, as
defined by this act, shall be provided with free medical and dental services in all government
hospitals, aside from the benefits that an accredited artist may avail through the PhillFflealth.

Sec. 17. Second/Alternative Careers - An accredited artist shall be provided with
Second/ Alternative Careers as enumerated, but not limited to the following:

(@) Mentor to tutorial or remedial art classes integrated with the DepEd and CHED curricula,

(b) Trainee in skills implementation program and ladderized education, as provided by
TESDA, in coordination with the NCCA, through the latter's commission-based,
community-based ot enterprise-based programs, whichever is applicable.


(© The TESDA, in coordination with the POEA, shall devise systems which will pave the
way for the accredited artists to obtain job opportunities from foreign countries.

(@) The POEA and the DFA, in coordination with the NCCA, shall establish mechanisms to
ensure the welfare and employment, social security and health benefits of accredited artists
working in foreign countries

Sec. 18, Arts Awareness in the Elementary and High School Curricula. - Arts
‘Appreciation and Awareness and Cultural Understanding shall be part of the curricula in the
elementary, high school and K-12 Program. The accredited artists available in community shall
be seconded and shall assist teachers in the school in the art classes and culture subjects.

ARTICLE V
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
See.19, The Role of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) -
‘The NCCA, as the policy making agency for the Artists Welfare Act, shall create an Artist's
Welfare Office which shall serve as the oversight body in compliance with the provisions of
this Act.

Sec. 20, Dispute Resolution - In cases of disputes arising from the certification/accreditation
or disqualification of artists, the NCCA through the Artist’s Welfare Office, shall resolve such
dispute.

Sec. 21. Payment of Taxes - The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) shall provide assistance
to artists covered by this Act in their registration and payment of taxes. The BIR shall also
‘ensure that artists will be given authority to print official receipts pursuant to BIR rules and
regulations.

Sec. 22, Continuing Studies on Special Privileges for Artists - The NCCA in
coordination with other government offices, arts sector and academic institutions is
mandated to conduct studies and researches on the feasibility of granting discount privileges
to artists in particular those who are earning below the minimum wage law or those artists
whose employment opportunities ate intermittent,

Sec. 23. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and
effect.

Sec. 24, Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, issuances, rules and
regulations ot parts thercof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

Sec. 25. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved.