Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon Gity, Alero Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 7152

INTRODUCED BY
REP. ALFRED VARGAS

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL CAREERS IN THE PHILIPPINES,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

As we traverse the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a labor market
known as the “gig economy” characterized by the prevalence of short-term
contracts or freelance work has proven itself an important fuel for economic
development. Digital career workers have flourished with the rise of the
Internet age as well as new platforms for interactions and business
transactions made online.

In support of this emerging economy, and the context of distant work
set-ups brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government shall
ensure that workers in the online freelance industry are protected and are
included under the labor laws of the country.

This bill seeks to provide a legal framework for ushering in digital
careers in the Philippines, covering online freelance workers by
institutionalizing employment standards for digital career workers and
enhancing competitiveness through access to relevant trainings, skills
development, and scholarship programs.

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

ALFRED VARGAS


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. _/252

INTRODUCED BY
REP. ALFRED VARGAS

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL CAREERS IN THE PHILIPPINES,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “National Digital
Careers Act”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of State Policy. - The State, recognizing the
impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to employment and nature of
jobs, shall encourage the development of digital careers across all sectors of
society. In furtherance thereof, the State shall ensure that Filipino workers
remain competitive and possess skills and competencies at par with global
standards in the digital economy. To this end, the State shall, promote the
skilling, upskilling, and re-skilling of the Filipino workforce to support the
impact of digital transformation across all industries and shall create and
adopt standards for digital careers.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following
terms and phrases shall apply:


(a) 215 century skills - refer to the skills that are required by new
jobs, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, good
communication, collaboration, information and technology literacy,
flexibility and adaptability, and innovativeness and creativity;

(b) Advanced skills - refer to those needed by specialists in
information and communications technology (ICT) professions,
such as computer programming and network management;

() Co-working agency ~ refers to a company that provides facilities,
accounts, and training for several independent contractors and
engages the latter to provide services to one or several companies
but on a temporary basis;

(d) Digital career worker, freelancer, and freelance worker ~ refers to a
person who is self-employed and is not necessarily committed to a
particular employer long-term. Freelance workers are sometimes
represented by a company or a temporary agency that resells
freelance labor to clients; others work independently or use
professional associations or websites to get work;

(e) Digital content - refers to any type of content that exists in the form
of digital data that are encoded in a machine-readable format, and
can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, and stored using
computers and digital technologies, e.g., the internet. The content
can be either free or paid content such as web pages and websites,
social media, data and databases, digital audio, such as mp3s, and
e-books, digital imagery, digital video, video games, computer
programs and software;

(f) Digital entrepreneurship - refers to combining traditional
entrepreneurship with new digital technologies, this creating digital
enterprises which are characterized by a high intensity of
utilization of novel digital technologies, particularly social media,
big data analytics, mobile and cloud solutions to improve business
operations, invent new business models, sharpen business
intelligence, and engage with customers and stakeholders;

(g) Digital skills - refer to a range of abilities, from basic to more
advanced, encompassing a combination of behaviors, expertise,
know-how, work habits, character traits, dispositions, and critical
understanding on the use of digital devices, communication
applications, and networks to access and manage information;

(h) Digital technology - refers to any product that can be used to
create, view, distribute, modify, store, retrieve, transmit, and
receive information electronically in a digital form such as personal
computers and devices like desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet
computer, smart phones, personal digital assistant (PDA) with


mobile phone facilities, game consoles, media platers, e-book
readers, as well as digital television, and robots;

() Innovation - refers to the creation of new ideas using new or
existing technologies that results in the development of new or
improved products, processes, or services, which are then spread
or transferred across the market;

() Intermediate skills — refer to usage of digital technologies in more
meaningful and beneficial ways, including the ability to critically
evaluate technology or create content;

(k) Social inclusion — refers to the process of improving the terms for
individuals and groups to take part in society.

ARTICLE II
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

SECTION 4. Development of Digital Careers. - In promoting careers and
jobs that are enabled and supported by the Internet, information and
communications technology (ICT), digital technology and tools, and systems
that allow a person to interact directly with companies and service users
and end-users through remote and virtual services and systems, the State
shall:

(a) Ensure and take proactive measures to improve the digital
competence of all citizens of working age and equip them with basic,
intermediate, and advanced digital skills including digital
entrepreneurship skills in order to gain from the benefits of the
growing number of jobs and opportunities that are enabled by ICT, the
Internet and digital communications, digital technologies, and digital
tools;

(b) Ensure that citizens of working age are equipped with information and
data literacy, communication and collaboration skills using digital
technologies, digital content creation skills, virtual safety and security
skills, and 21* century skills required for digital jobs and careers;

(c) Ensure adequate protection and support for digital career workers,
freelancers, and freelance workers, for the continuous improvement of
their skills to effectively keep up with global standards; and

(a) Provide support to digital career workers, freelancers, and freelance
workers in terms of co-working or shared service facilities, free
trainings, and exposure programs to improve their skills and access to
different government programs such as loan facilities for them to
secure equipment, as may be allowed by law, under existing and/or
future programs by relevant government agencies.



SECTION 5. Programs on Digital Careers. - The Department of
Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of
Education (DepEd), in collaboration with the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA), shall immediately create, design, and develop programs
to ensure access to trainings, market, and other forms of support or
innovation strategies for digital careers.

SECTION 6. Standards for Digital Career Workers. - The Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE) together with the Department of Trade and
Industry (DT), in consultation with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR),
DICT, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), DepEd, CHED,
and TESDA shall ensure:

(a) Compliance with the prescribed minimum wage for digital career
workers, freelancers, or freelance workers;

(b) Adoption of simple process for the registration of digital career
workers, freelancers, or freelance workers in the local government
level;

(c) Adoption of simple process for filing of complaints by digital career
workers, freelancers, or freelance workers;

(d) Setting up of minimum requirements for persons to be qualified as
digital career workers in the form of industry-centric certifications or
trainings; and

() Adoption of simple process and mechanisms for digital career
workers, freelancers or freelance workers in filing taxes and other fees
due to the government.

SECTION 7. Incentives. - A digital worker, freelancer or freelance worker
shall be entitled to the following incentives, subject to guidelines issued by
the DICT, DTI, DOLE, TESDA, and other concerned agencies:

(a) Full or partial scholarships for necessary certification trainings, both
local and abroad, on different levels of digital skills and knowledge;

(b) Full or partial subsidy for the use of facilities, office space, equipment,
and/or services provided by government or private enterprises or
institutions;

(c) Grants-in-aid for the acquisition of equipment including but not
limited to computers, hardware, and software programs;

(4) Such other incentives that may be provided to digital workers,
freelancers or freelance workers in the future.


In addition to the foregoing incentives, qualified digital workers, freelancers
or freelance workers shall be entitled to avail of government support under
existing programs for startups, micro, small, and medium enterprises
(MSMEs), and such other programs as may be applicable.

SECTION 8. Role of the Local Government Units. - All local government
units shall create local policies to support the growth and development of
digital careers in their respective communities. The DILG shall ensure
compliance of this section.

SECTION 9. E-Readiness of Local Government Units. - The DICT, the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of Public
Works and Highways (DPWH), and other relevant departments and agencies
shall ensure universal access to the high-speed, quality, and affordable
Internet by prioritizing and facilitating the development of connectivity
infrastructures in the localities across the country. The DILG and DICT shall
jointly assess the e-Readiness of all municipalities, cities, provinces, and
regions, to ensure a thriving digital careers ecosystem.

ARTICLE II
TRAINING AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

SECTION 10. Trainings, Skills Development, and Scholarships. - The
DICT in collaboration with DOLE, DTI, DepEd, CHED, and TESDA shall
prioritize the creation of digital trainings, including, but not limited to:

(a) Web development and designing;

(b) Online teaching and tutoring;

(c) Content creation (writing and copywriting and others);

(d) Digital marketing (e-Commerce, sales and marketing);

(e) Creative design, graphic designing, 3D modelling and computer-
aided design (CAD), game development, logo design and illustration,
and audio and video production;

() Mobile app development;

(g) Search engine optimization;

(h) Virtual assistance (administrative support or assistance);

(i) Branding and public relations, social media coordination and
community management;

() Web research, business intelligence, and data analytics;

(k) Transcription and data entry jobs article and blog writing;

() Customer service and technical support;

(m) Human resource management and systems; and


(n) Architecture services and other professional services through the
Internet.

The TESDA shall give updates to all appropriate government agencies and
LGUs, especially its local investment council for purposes of job creation,
with the number of trainees and their respective courses per city or
municipality. TESDA shall also allocate scholarships to various LGUs in
accordance with an annual job generation plan supported by local industry
in the locality and validated by market or business research.

SECTION 11. Skills Map. - In order to ensure equal access to training
opportunities, TESDA shall create a skills map geared towards identifying
the sectors in the community that can be effectively and positively benefited
by digital careers training.

SECTION 12. Digital Skills Training. - The DICT shall allocate an
appropriate amount of their annual budget to digital skills training, and
other programs to skill, upskill, and re-skill targeted set of citizens in order
to equip them with necessary high-level digital skills. The DICT and TESDA
shall ensure that no duplication of trainings for the same skill level will
occur. A qualified citizen is not, however, prohibited from availing of training
from the two agencies: Provided, That the trainings are different in terms of
level or skill.

ARTICLE IV
DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMS

SECTION 13. Digital Careers Week. - The DICT shall designate a Digital
Careers Week every year to promote awareness about the job opportunities
in the Digital Age.

ARTICLE V
SUPPORT ECOSYSTEM

SECTION 14. Digital Libraries and Learning Hubs. - The DICT and the
National Library of the Philippines shall promote the role of libraries in
improving digital inclusion and transform these libraries as providers of
digital access, training, and support for digital career workers, freelancers,
and freelance workers.

SECTION 15. Co-Working Agencies or Facilities. - Qualified companies
may avail of exemption from specific provisions of the Labor Code and other


pertinent laws with respect to digital career workers, freelancers, and
freelance workers who are directly working in their facilities: Provided, That
these workers are covered by independent contractor agreements, as defined
under pertinent laws.

ARTICLE VI
FINAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within six (6)
months from the effectivity of this Act, the DOLE, the DICT, and other
relevant government agencies shall promulgate the necessary rules and
regulations for the implementation of this Act.

SECTION 17. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the
implementation of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations
Act for the year following the approval of this Act.

SECTION 18. Separability Clause. - If any part, section, or provision of
this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other parts thereof not
affected thereby remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 19. Repealing Clause. - All laws, acts, presidential decrees,
executive orders, administrative orders, rules and regulations, or parts
thereof inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are hereby
modified, amended or repealed accordingly.

SECTION 20. Effectivity - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general

circulation.

Approved,