Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House eiLLNno,_407

Introduced by Honorable Representatives
ARLENE D. BROSAS (Gabriela Women’s Party),
FRANCE L. CASTRO (ACT Teachers Partylist),
and RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL (Kabataan Partylist)

AN ACT
PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF ALL WORKERS
AND WORKERS’ ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIONS FROM INTERFERENCE
BY THEIR EMPLOYERS OR PUBLIC AUTHORITIES OR THEIR AGENTS,
PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The 1987 Constitution mandates that the State shall protect the rights of all workers,
promote their welfare and afford full protection to labor. The fundamental law of the
land further guarantees the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective
bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to
strike in accordance with the law. The exercise of such rights of workers should be
free from the interference of their employer or the government.

Enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution is the provision that “the right of the
people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions,
associations or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged." As
such, the Labor Code of the Philippines was declared as a State policy to promote free
trade unionism as an instrument for the enhancement of democracy and the promotion
of social justice and development. In the public sector, the exercise of the right to
organize for government employees is provided under Executive Order No. 180,
signed in 1987

Further, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an international agreement
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly to ensure and guarantee the rights
and freedoms, recognizes the right to form and join trade unions and freedom of
peaceful assembly and association,

Moreover, the International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency mandated
to advance social and economic justice through setting international labor standards,
recognizes the right of all workers to self-organize free from any interference. ILO
Convention 87, which the Philippines ratified, provides that public authorities shall
refrain from any interference which would restrict the right to freedom of association
of all workers or impede its lawful exercise. Similarly, public employees and public


employees’ organizations enjoy the right to organize and freedom of association, free
from prejudice in its lawful exercise, and completely independent from public
authorities and its control, as guaranteed by ILO Convention 151, also recently ratified
by the Philippines.

For decades, workers and workers’ unions have been fighting for their right to selt-
organization, collective bargaining, just compensation and benefits, security of tenure,
and just and humane working conditions, among others. Unfortunately, despite the
Constitutionally-protected and internationally-recognized rights of workers and
workers’ unions, they are subjected to all forms of harassment, intimidation, red-
tagging, violent and illegal dispersal of strikes, union-busting, arbitrary arrests due to
false charges, and worse, killings.

In 2022, the annual Global Rights Index of the Intemational Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC) listed the Philippines as one of the ten worst countries for
workers, as it noted the killings, arrests of Filipino workers, and violent suppression of
labor strikes. Further, the Council of Global Unions (GCU) ~ representing more than
200 million workers across the globe, have consistently issued alarm about the
worsening condition of workers’ rights in the country. According to ITUC and GCU,
some of the most violated rights of workers include the increasing criminalization of
the right to strike, erosion of collective bargaining, and de-registration of unions.

Since President Duterte took office in 2016, there have been 56 reported killings of
trade union organizers, 8 of these were reported in the middle of the pandemic. The
most recent is the killing of Dandy Miguel last March 28, 2021. Miguel was the union
president of Lakas ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Fuji Electric and Vice
Chairperson of Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK)-
KMU. Prior to his killing, Miguel went to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to
complain about cases of harassment and red-tagging of unionists in Southem
Tagalog, Weeks before, on March 7, in what is now dubbed as ‘Bloody Sunday
Massacre,’ 9 activists were killed, including Emmanuel "Manny" Asuncion. He was a
long-time labor and community organizer and a leader of Solidarity of Cavite Workers
(SCW). He was brutally killed by the police at around 5 in the morning when police
stormed the Workers Assistance Center (WAC) office in Dasmarinas, Cavite,
ostensibly to serve a warrant of arrest.

There were 32 trade union organizers illegally arrested under President Duterte's term,
31 of whom remain incarcerated. 13 of these arrests happened in the middle of the
pandemic. On November 30, 2020, police dispersed an indignation rally staged by
Cebu workers at the Mactan Economic Zone to commemorate Bonifacio Day and
denounced the government's red-tagging of trade union activities. Five workers were
arrested when police broke up the gathering: Dennis Derige, Myra Opada, Joksan
Branzuela, Jonel Labrador and Cristito Pangan, all affiliated with Sentro ng
Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) and Partido Manggagawa (PM).
They were detained for alleged violation of quarantine guidelines and disobedience.
Another notable case is the arrest of HR Day 7. On December 10, 2020, as human
rights groups commemorated International Human Rights Day, 7 activists (6 trade
union organizers and 1 journalist) were arrested on false charges. 2 of them have
since been released on bail while others remain in jail;


Kilusang Mayo Uno, an independent national labor center established in 1980, has
also reported incidents of workers being harassed by suspected state agents and
forced to disaffiliate themselves and their unions from the labor group. Among the
unions reportedly experiencing this are: (1) Nexperia Philippines Inc. Workers Union
of Nexperia Philippines Inc. (Laguna); (2) Wyeth Philippines Progressive Workers
Union of Wyeth Philippines (Laguna); (3) Optodev Workers Union of Optodev inc.
(Laguna); (4) Alcohol Workers Union of Alcophil Metal Corporation Inc. (Valenzuela);
and (5) Adnama Mining Resources inc. Labor Union of Adnama Mining Resources
Inc. (Surigao del Norte). Workers were reportedly visited by police in their homes and
forced to disaffiliate from their unions under the threat of losing their jobs.

Employees’ unions in various government offices have also been subjected to
harassment, threats, surveillance, and red-tagging attacks. Sandigan ng mga
Empleyadong Nagkakaisa sa Adhikain ng Demokratikong Organisasyon or SENADO,
the employees’ union in the Senate of the Philippines, was subjected to red-tagging
by Director-General Alex Monteagudo of the National Intelligence Coordinating
Agency (NICA) for its condemnation of a memorandum issued by the Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG). SENADO, an affiliate of COURAGE, or the
Confederation for Unity, Recognition, and Advancement of Government Employees,
criticized a memorandum released by the DILG last March that sought to “identify
members of supposed communist groups" like COURAGE and the Alliance of
Concerned Teachers (ACT) who were government employees. Another government
workers union, the Social Welfare Employees Association of the Philippines (SWEAP),
have reported persistent intimidation and harassment from military agents and forced
them to disaffiiate from COURAGE. COURAGE is the biggest alliance of labor unions
in the government. Some of its members are included in the aforementioned list of
unionists who have been arrested or killed under the Duterte administration

Healthcare workers and their unions have also reported intimidation, harassment, and
threats against them. Workers and unions in public hospitals such as Jose Reyes
Memorial Memorial Hospital, Fabella Hospital, and Philippine Orthopedic Center have
reported interference and harassment from police personnel and suspected state
agents. Moreover, leaders of healthcare workers’ unions have been subjected to red-
tagging and threats,

Lastly, the issuance of Executive Order No. 70 in 2018 by President Duterte paved the
way for the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed
Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Workers groups point to NTF-ELCAC as the mastermind
behind continued efforts to label, brand, vilify, and harass individuals and
organizations as state enemies and subversives. Workers and worker's unions said
these acts had put their lives in danger as many of their fellow unionists and advocates
had been violently attacked, arrested, or killed after being red-baited or tagged as.
communist rebels or supporters.

Thus, it is imperative that Congress legislate this proposed law to protect all workers
and worker's organizations from interference, intimidation, harassment, attack, or
coercion in violation of their right to self-organization and association.


In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill s earnestly sought

_
ARYENE D/BROSAS
Gabfiela Women’s Party

DANNIEL/A. MANUEL,
Kabdfaan Partylist



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, _407

Introduced by Honorable Representatives
ARLENE D. BROSAS (Gabriela Women’s Party),
FRANCE L. CASTRO (ACT Teachers Partylist),
and RAOUL A. MANUEL (Kabataan Partylist)

AN ACT
PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF ALL WORKERS
AND WORKERS’ ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIONS FROM INTERFERENCE
BY THEIR EMPLOYERS OR PUBLIC AUTHORITIES OR THEIR AGENTS,
PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as ‘Anti-Union Interference Act of
2022’

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. it is the primary responsibility of the State to
protect and uphold the rights of all workers and promote their welfare, including their
Constitutionally guaranteed rights to self-organization, collective bargaining and
negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in
accordance with law.

It is also the policy of the State that any violation thereof is not only a violation of the
civil rights of all workers, but also a criminal offense against the State.

SECTION 3. Coverage. For purposes of this Act, any person who shall willfully
interfere with, restrain, harass or coerce any worker or workers’ association or union
in the exercise of their rights to self-organization, or shall in any manner commit any
act in violation of the provisions of this Act, and such acts and or commissions not
‘otherwise under the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
and its appropriate agencies pursuant to the Labor Code of the Philippines and
Executive Order 180 shall be liable under this Act

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms.

(a) Worker — refers to any person in the employ of another, whether in the public
sector or private sector, including ambulant, intermittent, self-employed,


rural workers and those without definite employers, regardless of their
employment status, tenure or nature of the agreements or contracts.

(b) Workers’ organization or union — refers to any organization, union,
association or group of employees, or federation or national union with local
chapters or affiliates, whether in the public or private sector, including
ambulant, intermittent, self-employed, rural workers and those without
definite employers, which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of
collective bargaining, or mutual aid, promotion of interest and welfare,
cooperation and protection or other lawful purposes.

SECTION 5. Prohibited Acts. It shall be unlawful for any person to commit any of the
following acts of interference, intervention, or intrusion:

(a) to require, force or coerce a worker to not join a workers’ organization
or union, or to relinquish or renounce membership therein;

(b) to require, force or coerce a workers’ organization or union to relinquish
or renounce its affiliation or membership to any workers’ federation or
national union;

(0) to require, force or coerce any worker to not join a workers’ organization
or union, or to relinquish or renounce membership therein to be able to
access any government service, aid or program;

(d) to require, force or coerce any worker to attend any information drive or
seminar which dissuades workers from organizing a union or
participating in any activity of the organization or union, or that which
labels or vilifies any union or labor organization;

(e) to discourage a worker from voting or supporting a specific organization
or union during certification election;

(f) to discriminate a worker in any commercial establishment or business,
in order to discourage membership in any workers’ organization or
union;

(g) to prevent a worker from carrying out duties laid upon them by their
position in the organization or union, or to penalize them for the action
undertaken in such capacity;

(h)to interfere, impede, obstruct, or hinder in the establishment,
functioning, or administration of workers’ organizations or unions;

(i) to vilify, label, brand, red-tag, name or accuse a worker or workers’
organization or union as subversives or terrorists;


()) to otherwise interfere, impede, obstruct, or hinder, without authority
under the law. any lawful and peaceful activities of the workers and
workers’ organizations or unions

SECTION 6. Conduct of the AFP, PNP and the NTF-ELCAC. Any member,
personnel or officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), including the
CAFGU Active Auxiliaries and the Special CAFGU Active Auxiliaries, the Philippine
National Police (PNP) including its Supervisory Office for Security and investigation
Agency, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-
ELCAC), and those agents or third persons acting either on their behalf or under their
orders, such as, but not limited to, Local Chief Executives, Economic Zone Police,
PEZA security  personnel/guards, company/private security personnel/guards,
Barangay Tanod/BPSO:

(a) shall not vilify, label, brand, red-tag, name or accuse workers’
organizations or unions, labor leaders, members or organizers as
subversives or terrorists on the basis of mere membership or affiliation to a
labor organization, union or federation;

(b) shall not dissuade workers from exercising their right to organize a union
or participate in any legitimate and lawful activity of the organization or
union, such as but not limited to holding anti-union seminars, and other anti-
union information drive, whether within the company premises or not,
including industrial or special economic zones;

(c) shall not interfere during the conduct of certification election, such as,
but not limited to encouraging or discouraging workers to vote or support a
specific individual or organization or union;

(d) shall not harass or forcibly interrogate workers, organizers, or union
officials on their alleged links or support to certain armed group/s on the
basis of mere membership or affiliation to labor organizations or unions

(e) shail protect, respect and advance workers’ rights and civil liberties at all
times. All actions by AFP/PNP personnel/units and those agents or third
persons acting on their behalf or under their orders, as an individual and as
a formed unit, must always be compliant with existing laws and conventions.
on the respect and protection of human rights; and

(f) shall not collect personal data of workers, labor organizers, or union
officials such as name, home address, and contact details which can be
used for harassment and profiling

SECTION 7. Complaint mechanism. The Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE) shall verify and act on claims of trade union rights violations without prejudice
to existing mechanisms under the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) or other
concerned government agencies. The complaint mechanism shall be subject to the
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of this Act.


SECTION 8. Promotion of trade unionism. The Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) shall lead the efforts in promoting free trade unionism and in
fostering a strong labor movement in the country. Towards this end, it shall take a
proactive role in strengthening the protection of workers from discrimination and
interference in their exercise of their right to organize and form unions and labor
organizations.

SECTION 9. Penalties. Any person who interferes with, restrains, harasses or
coerces any worker or workers’ association or union, in the exercise of their rights to
seif-organization or in any manner committed any violation of the provisions of this
Act, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred
Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not
more than two (2) years, or both at the discretion of the court.

If the offender is a public official, the court, in addition to the penalties provided in the
preceding paragraph, may impose additional penalties of disqualification from any
appointive or elective position and forfeiture of all benefits.

Any violation of the provision on Section 6 of this Act shall be imposed with the
maximum penalty provided under this Act.

SECTION 10. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared invalid, the
remainder of this Act or any provision not affected thereby shall remain in force and
effect.

SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders and
their implementing rules, inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby
repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 12. 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, whichever comes earlier.

Approved,