SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
SENATE 
S.B. 2758 
'15 
MAY -7 P4:()1I 
Introduced by Senator Poe 
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, "[t]he State 
shall foster the preservation, enrichment, 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, create, 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." 
<f 
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. 
Immediate approval of this measure is requested. 
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, fRACEPOE 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
'15 
MAY -7 P4 :011 
SENATE 
S. B. 2758 
Introduced by Senator Poe 
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 oj the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
ARTICLE I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
1 
Sec. 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Artists Welfare Protection and 
2 
Information Act of 2015." 
3 
4 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy - The State shall protect and promote the rights of an 
5 
artist to be considered as a person actually engaged in cultural work and to benefit from all 
5 
legal, social and economic advantages pertaining to the status of workers. Pursuant to this, 
7 
the state shall: 
8 
(a) Improve the social security, labor, medical, and legal conditions of the artist, 
9 
whether employed or self-employed, taking into account their contributions to 
10 
cultural development, through a system of accreditation. 
11 
(b) Help create and sustain a culture encouraging freedom of artistic expression and 
12 
communication, and to facilitate the release of necessary resources in developing the 
13 
artists' creative talents. 
14 
(c) Recognize artists as professionals, granting them the corresponding rights and 
15 
privileges, to enable them to collectively defend their common interests. 
15 
(d) Protect the artists' sensibilities and material rights over their works or performances, 
17 
or any other use made of them to confirm their artistic dignity and integrity. 
18 
(e) Provide second/alternative career opportunities to artists who wish to retire from 
19 
their respective art. 
20 
(f) Develop means of providing welfare and legal information to artists. 
21 
22 
The State is submitting this legislation in honor of the countless recognitions and 
23 
achievements of the Filipino Artists. 
24 
1 


1 
Sec. 3. Coverage - This Act applies to all accredited artists, as defined herein, 
2 
employed and working within the country and those outside of the country who are 
3 
covered by recruitment programs/contracts and placement offices/agencies. 
4 
5 
Sec. 4. Definition of Terms -
6 
7 
(a) Accreditation - shall mean the assessment, of an artist or guild based on the 
8 
Accreditation Requirements as provided herein, for purposes of availing the 
9 
provisions and benefits provided in this Act. 
10 
(b) Accredited Artist - refers to an artist who is a Filipino, at least 18 years of age, in 
11 
compliance with the requirements for Accreditation provided in Section 7, or those 
12 
members of existing arts guilds duly registered and accredited as provided for by 
13 
law. 
14 
(c) Artist - It is taken to mean any person who creates or gives creative expression to, or 
15 
recreates works of art, who considers his artistic creation to be an essential part of 
16 
his life, who contributes in this way to the development of art and culture and who 
17 
is or asks to be recognized as an artist, whether or not he is bound by any relations 
18 
of employment or association. This includes Indigenous Artists and Cultural 
19 
Performers. 
20 
(d) Collecting Agent/Foreign Collecting Agent - It shall refer to any person, natural or 
21 
juridical, domestic or foreign including, for purposes of foreign work, manning, 
22 
placement, and recruitment agencies, who hire and use the services of an artist. The 
23 
collecting agent shall be responsible for the remittance of contribution of the artist to 
24 
the SSS/GSIS, PagIBIG, and Philhealth. The contribution shall be automatically 
25 
deducted from the compensation paid to the artist. 
26 
(e) Cultural Performer - refers to an artist who practice culturally-accepted art forms in 
2.7 
their communities, such as composo, zarzuela, and other forms of art not defined 
28 
herein. It may also refer to an artist who, although not a member of any Indigenous 
29 
Cultural Community/ Indigenous Peoples (ICC/IP) group, has been consented by 
30 
the latter to use IP clothing and related paraphernalia, artifacts, other cultural 
31 
symbols and expressions, in accordance with the community standards and 
32 
attributed meanings. 
33 
(f) Indigenous Peoples Artists - refers to artists who are members of Indigenous Cultural 
34 
Communities/ Indigenous Peoples groups who themselves are certified by their 
35 
respective community as bearers of oral traditions, literature, designs, visual, 
36 
performing arts and other cultural expressions. 
37 
(g) Second /Alternative Career- is any career, as enumerated under Sec. 16 of this Act, 
38 
which an artist may engage into after leaving their main career due to age, 
39 
incapacity and other reasons, or any career which an artist may engage into while 
40 
still active in their major area of specialization due to the latter's seasonal or 
41 
contractual nature. 
42 
(h) Welfare Protection- shall refer to the government's duty of providing rights and 
43 
privileges to duly-accredited artists and ensuring the protection of their works and 
44 
talents to maintain a minimum standard of well-being, specifically providing: 
45 
PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, SSS/GSIS, among other benefits. 
46 
(i) Welfare Information- shall refer to the government's duty to provide knowledge 
47 
awareness and understanding to duly-accredited artists in terms of legal, medical, 
48 
proprietary, educational, and second careers/alternative careers, among others. 
49 
2 


1 
2 
3 
4 
ARTICLE II 
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES 
5 
Sec. 5. Benefits - An accredited artist shall have the rights and privileges to be 
6 
provided with PhilHealth, SSS/GSIS, Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), and 
7 
shall be entitled to all other benefits as provided by the pertinent provisions of law. 
8 
9 
Sec. 6. Artist Education and Information - An accredited artist shall have the rights 
10 
and privileges of free legal aid and information, medical assistance, hospitalization, and 
11 
options for Second/Alternative Careers. 
12 
13 
Sec. 7. Accreditation Requirements - A guideline shall be issued for the purpose of 
14 
defining an Accredited Artist. The National Commission on Culture and the Arts must 
15 
issue the guidelines in consultation with the relevant organizations engaged in Literary 
16 
Arts, Dance, Music, Theater, Film, 
Architecture, Visual and Design Arts, Arts 
17 
Management and Production Design, and all other equivalent art forms/disciplines. The 
18 
presumption shall always be resolved in favor of accreditation. 
19 
20 
Sec. 8. Application/Approval Procedure - Artists shall submit the necessary 
21 
documents to support their application for Accreditation to the Local Arts Council, or to 
22 
the Provincial, City, or Municipal Tourism Office or to the duly recognized Arts Guild in 
23 
which they are members who shall determine the compliance requirements and shall issue 
24 
a certificate of accreditation based on the accepted/recognized aesthetic sensibility of its 
25 
artistic community; Provided, the Tourism Office stated herein may require written 
26 
recommendation from recognized artist in the Local Government Unit prior to approval of 
27 
accreditation. 
28 
29 
Provided further, for Indigenous Artists, requirements shall be submitted to and 
30 
approved by the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples in their Province. The 
31 
NCCA, through the Artist's Welfare Office as stated in Article V herein, may provide 
32 
additional procedures/requirements that shall encourage meaningful accreditation of 
33 
artists and ensure the aesthetic quality and creativity of the various art forms. 
34 
35 
36 
ARTICLE III 
37 
SSS/GSIS, PHILHEALTH, AND PAG-IBIG - FUND COVERAGE 
38 
39 
Sec. 9. Accredited Artists shall be covered by the Social Security System; Other 
40 
Benefits. - An Accredited Artist shall be covered by the Social Security System (SSS), the 
41 
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and the Home Development Mutual 
42 
Fund or Pag-IBIG, and shall be entitled to all the benefits including but not limited to 
43 
insurance, funeral, burial and financial assistance and scholarships to children, in 
44 
accordance with the pertinent provisions provided by law. 
Payment of premiums or 
45 
contributions shall be shouldered by the employer/principal who shall act as the collecting 
46 
agent for the artist. 
47 
48 
3 


1 
Sec. 10. Payment of Premiums/Contributions - The payment by the collecting 
2 
agent, for and in behalf of the accredited artist, shall be based on an annual amount to be 
3 
determined by the respective agencies stated herein. 
4 
5 
Sec. 
11. 
Multiple 
Payments/Contributions 
In 
case 
of 
multiple 
6 
payments/contributions exceeding the annual contribution as stated herein, the excess shall 
7 
be carried over to the succeeding year. 
8 
9 
Sec. 12. Deficiency of Premium/Contribution Payments - In case of deficiency of 
10 
payment, the accredited artist shall pay the deficiency/difference as stated in the 
11 
category/schedule of payments, to be provided by the SSS/GSIS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, as 
12 
the case may be. Artists who do not have collecting agents, as provided under Art I Sec. 4 
13 
(d), shall comply with the provisions of voluntary contribution. 
14 
15 
Sec. 13. Category/Schedule of Payment - The SSS/GSIS, PhiIHealth, Pag-IBIG, and 
16 
other agencies that shall benefit the artist, shall create a category/schedule of payment for 
17 
accredited artists in compliance with existing laws. 
18 
19 
Sec. 14. Artists Village. In coordination with the National Commission on Culture 
20 
and the Arts, PAG-IBIG and other relevant government offices, a housing community to 
21 
be known as the Artists Village shall be established. Suitable idle land shall be identified 
22 
for the purpose. The Artists Village shall be provided to the accredited artists. Existing 
23 
housing programs for the sectors shall be strengthened, improved and developed using 
24 
available funds. 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
ARTICLE IV 
INFORMATION ASSISTANCE - COVERAGE AND PROCEDURE 
31 
Sec. 15. 
Legal Information/Assistance - The accredited artist shall be provided 
32 
with free legal information through the National Committee on Legal Aid (NCLA) of the 
33 
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for the registration and protection of their 
34 
intellectual property rights over their literary, artistic works, performances and other 
35 
works as defined under RA 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, and 
36 
other pertinent laws. Accredited Artists as defined by this Act shall be provided with free 
37 
legal services in criminal, civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases by the 
38 
Public Attorney's Office (PAO) pursuant to the provisions of RA 9406. 
39 
40 
Sec. 16. Medical and Dental Assistance - The accredited artist shall be provided 
41 
with free medical and dental assistance through the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), 
42 
Philippine Hospital Association (PHA), and the Philippine Dental Association. An 
43 
accredited artist, as defined by this act, shall be provided with free medical and dental 
44 
services in all government hospitals, aside from the benefits that an accredited artist may 
4S 
avail through the PhilHealth. 
46 
47 
Sec. 17. 
Second/Alternative Careers - An accredited artist shall be provided with 
48 
Second/Alternative Careers as enumerated, but not limited to the following: 
49 
4 


1 
(a) Mentor to tutorial or remedial art classes integrated with the DepEd and CHED 
2 
curricula. 
3 
(b) Trainee in skills implementation program and ladderized education, as provided by 
4 
TESDA, in coordination with the NCCA, through the latter's commission-based, 
5 
community-based or enterprise-based programs, whichever is applicable. 
6 
(c) The TESDA, in coordination with the POEA, shall devise systems which will pave 
7 
the way for the accredited artists to obtain job opportunities from foreign countries. 
8 
(d) The POEA and the DFA, in coordination with the NCCA, shall establish 
9 
mechanisms to ensure the welfare and employment, social security and health 
10 
benefits of accredited artists working in foreign countries. 
11 
12 
Sec. 18. Arts Awareness in the Elementary and High School Curricula. Arts Appreciation 
13 
and Awareness and Cultural Understanding shall be part of the curricula in the elementary, high 
14 
school and K-12 Program. 
The accredited artists available in a community shall be seconded and 
15 
shall assist teachers in the school in the art classes and culture subjects. 
16 
17 
18 
ARTICLE V 
19 
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
20 
21 
Sec. 19. The Role of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) -
22 
The NCCA, as the policy making agency for the Artists Welfare Act, shall create an Artist's 
23 
Welfare Office which shall serve as the oversight body in compliance with the provisions of 
24 
this Act. 
25 
26 
Sec. 20. 
Dispute Resolution -
In cases of disputes ansmg from the 
27 
certification/accreditation or disqualification of artists, the NCCA through the Artist's 
28 
Welfare Office, shall resolve such dispute. 
29 
30 
Sec. 21. Payment of Taxes - The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) shall provide 
31 
assistance to artists covered by this Act in their registration and payment of taxes. The BIR 
32 
shall also ensure that artists will be given authority to print official receipts pursuant to BIR 
33 
rules and regulations. 
34 
35 
Sec. 22. 
Continuing Studies on Special Privileges for Artists - The NCCA in 
36 
coordination with other government offices, 
arts sector and academic institutions is 
37 
mandated to conduct studies and researches on the feasibility of granting discount 
38 
privileges to artists in particular those who are earning below the minimum wage law or 
39 
those artists whose employment opportunities are intermittent. 
40 
41 
Sec. 23. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is declared invalid 
42 
or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force 
43 
and effect. 
44 
45 
Sec. 24. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, issuances, rules and 
46 
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed 
47 
or modified accordingly. 
48 
5 


1 
Sec. 25. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
2 
complete publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of 
3 
general circulation. 
4 
5 
Approved. 
6