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

E ATES OIUN 8

TIME A230 fm
TWENTIETH CONGRESS BY _7icke

First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO. 593.

Introduced by Representative Jaime R. Fresnedi

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Job seeking can be an expensive process. Employers often require many documents
from government agencies and schools to determine the identity, qualifications, and records of
an applicant. These documents are not issued for free, and therefore when a prospective
employer keeps the original copy and then does not hire the applicant, it would be to the
detriment of the latter.

For example, an NBI Clearance costs P130 with a P25 service fee. In 10 applications,
the applicant would have already spent more than a thousand pesos. The same applies for birth
certificates, which cost P155 if received by appointment and P330 if delivered. There are also
various costs associated with securing transcript of records from universities. In addition to
these costs, the applicant incurs an opportunity cost from the time and effort required to get
another authentic copy of the document to apply for another job.

This bill seeks to minimize these costs by requiring employers to be satisfied with
digital copies or photocopies of these documents, until such a time that they hire the applicant.
In this way, the applicant only needs to get one copy of these documents even if he intends to
apply to many different prospective employers.

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

JAIM SNEDI
resentative
Lone District, Muntinlupa City


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

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 593

Introduced by Rep. Jaime R. Fresnedi

AN ACT
PRESCRIBING THE USE OF GOVERNMENT-ISSUED DOCUMENTS IN JOB
APPLICATIONS, PROVIDI PENALTIES THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be referred to as the "Job Requirements Act”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is the policy of the State, to promote full employment
and protect the rights and welfare of workers. To this end, the State shall endeavor to reduce,
where practicable, incidental costs to seeking employment among Filipino citizens, without
compromising the right of an employer to choose the most suitable candidate for a position.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. ~ For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be
defined as follows:

(@) Applicant is defined as an individual who, by his own volition or through an offer
from an employer, is being considered for a salaried position with the organization,
enterprise, or household of the latter;

(b) Government documents are documents issued by government agencies to attest to

the identity, record, or qualifications of an applicant, with or without an expiration

date, which are issued with cost to an individual;

Original copy is defined as the original copy of a government or school document

which meets any of the following criteria:

a. Issued at the request of the applicant upon payment of a fee, whether per
document or per page;

b. Has the wet signature of the individual authorized to sign such
documents to prove their authenticity, and/or the dry seal of the
organization issuing the document; or

c. Printed on security paper, or any kind of paper which is intended to
prove authenticity and deter the submission of copies.

©)


(@ Prospective employer is defined as the individual, organization, enterprise, or
government agency that is considering the applicant for a salaried position, or any
individual who is entrusted by the hiring individual. organization, enterprise, or
agency to be a part of the hiring process for the said applicant, including the
supervisors, managers, officers, directors, and heads of the said organization,
enterprise, or agency;

(€) School documents is defined as documents from a school attesting to the attendance,
grades, and qualifications of an applicant issued with cost to an individual.

SEC. 4. Coverage. ~The provisions of this Act shall apply to all prospective employers
who intend to hire citizens or residents of the Philippines for jobs whether for permanent,
temporary, co-terminous, contractual, contract of service, job order, or other similar positions
for government agencies and for regular, probationary, fixed-term, seasonal, project, or casual
employment for private individuals, organizations, and enterprises within the territory of the
Philippines. Provided, That government agencies seeking to hire individuals for positions that
will handle confidential material related to national defense or national security shall be
exempted from this provision.

BC. 5. Regulation of job requirements. — Prospective employers may not take the
original copy of any government document or school document from an applicant unless the
applicant has already been accepted and has signed a contract with the prospective employer.
The prospective employer may make the fulfillment of his obligations in the hiring contract
contingent on the submission of the original copies of the requirement government and school
documents.

SEC. 6. Implementation. The Department of Labor and t:mployment (DOLE) and the
Civil Service Commission (CSC) shall set up mechanisms to receive, investigate, and monitor
complaints arising from violations of Section 5 of this Act. It shall be incumbent upon these
agencies to take the necessary corrective measures against erring prospective employers.

SEC. 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations, ~ The Department of Labor and
Employment, the Civil Service Commission, and all other relevant agencies shall promulgate
the rules and regulations for the proper implementation of this Act within six (6) months from
its effectivity.

SEC. 8. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act shall be deemed
unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not affected there shall remain in force and
effect.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. ~ All Acts, Presidential Decrees, Executive Orders and
Administrative Orders, Rules and Regulations and other such issuances or parts thereof which
are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.


SEC. 10. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,