Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______________
Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The State, under Article II, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution, “affirms
labor as a primary social economic force,” thus pledging to “protect the rights of
workers and promote their welfare.” In connection, under Article XIII, Section 3, the
State is mandated with guaranteeing “full protection to labor,” in terms of securing:
1)
“the
rights
of
all
workers
to
self-organization,
collective
bargaining
and
negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in
accordance with law”; 2)
workers’ “entitle[ment] to security of tenure, humane
conditions of work, and a living wage”; and 2) workers’ right to “participate in policy
and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be
provided by law.”
However, the half of the Philippine labor force that belongs to the informal
sector has not been given the necessary protection and aid:1
The informal economy plays a significant and crucial role in
job and income generation particularly in situations where there is
high unemployment, inequality and poverty. Persons who would
otherwise be unemployed or without livelihood take refuge in the
informal economy especially in developing countries that have a large
and rapidly growing labour force. This is due to the “relative ease of
entry and low requirements for education, skills, technology and
capital” in most economic units and activities in the informal
economy. In the Philippines, the Informal Sector Survey in 2008
estimated the number of persons employed in the informal sector to
be at 15.68 million, which comprise 72.5 percent of non-agricultural
employment. In addition, persons in informal employment outside
the informal sector are estimated at 2.49 million, which comprise 11
percent of non-agricultural employment.
While the informal economy provides reasonable economic
opportunities to some, most workers in the informal economy are
exposed to unsafe working conditions; are not provided adequate
skill training; do not have security of tenure; have lower and irregular
incomes; and lack collective bargaining and representation rights.
1 Philippine Commission on Women, “Magna Carta of Workers in the Informal Economy,”
available at https://pcw.gov.ph/magna-carta-of-workers-in-the-informal-economy-2/.
August 1, 2022
8:50 am
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This is because workers and economic units in the informal economy
are
not
covered
or
insufficiently
covered
by
social
protection,
occupational safety and health, and labour protection policies and
programs.” As such, most people enter the informal economy out of
the need for survival, rather than as an option or a choice.
At the same time, workers in the informal economy are not a
homogenous group and, therefore, have differentiated needs and face
varying levels of vulnerability. Women, in particular, who bear most
of the burden of reproductive responsibilities or unpaid care work,
tend to end up in the informal economy or take informal work
arrangements. This is because the informal economy offers them
greater flexibility, autonomy and geographic proximity to do paid
work
while
fulfilling
domestic
duties.”
Women
in the informal
economy, however, are mostly confined in low income activities, such
as unpaid family work, industrial home work and street vending;
have limited opportunities for organization and representation; and
are inadequately covered by social protection especially in times of
illness, disability, work injury, maternity, unemployment, and old
age.
The very nature of the informal economy, where most workers
and economic units are not recognized nor registered, makes it also
difficult and costly to collect statistics on its size, composition and
contribution to the national economy. The invisibility in national
statistics
and
the
inadequacy
of
information
on
the
informal
economy limit the basis of government and other duty bearers for
planning and programming to appropriately address the issues and
concerns of workers and economic units in the informal economy.
(citations omitted)
The International Labour Organization (ILO) itself noted this problem:2
The informal economy consists of independent, self-employed
small-scale
producers
and
distributors
of
goods
and
services.
Workers in this sector are for the most part not covered by the
country’s labour laws and regulations.  Proxy measurement and
related indicators for the informal economy include the vulnerable
employment
rate,
defined
as
the
share
of
own-account
and
contributing family workers in total employment.
In the Philippines, the Labor Force Survey data indicated that
38.3
per
cent
of
those
employed
are
in
vulnerable
forms
of
employment. This means nearly two out of five workers are less likely
to have formal work arrangements and access to social protection
and are more at risk during a crisis or shock.
The problems plaguing workers in the informal sector have been magnified
by the COVID-19 pandemic. The IBON Foundation has stated that the measures
2 International Labour Organization, “Informal economy in the Philippines,” available at
https://www.ilo.org/manila/areasofwork/informal-economy/lang--en/index.htm.


used to address the pandemic “threaten[] to displace nearly 11 million workers and
informal sector earners”:3
IBON estimated that the lockdown will potentially displace
some 11 million workers and informal sector earners. This was
computed using the latest available 2018 labor force survey (LFS)
data and approximating the impact of the lockdown guidelines
announced last night by Cabinet Secretary and Inter-Agency Task
Force (IATF) spokesperson Karlo Nograles.
Sec. Nograles said that only private establishments providing
basic necessities and production related to food and medicines will
be allowed to operate. Exceptions explicitly stated include business
process outsourcing (BPO) firms and export-oriented industries. All
establishments still operating will be required to adopt a strict
skeletal workforce. Notably, mass public transport will be suspended
spanning
buses,
jeepneys,
tricycles
and
trains
to
restrict
the
movement
of the population. Classes and school activities are
suspended at all levels. Most work in the Executive branch is also
suspended.
IBON
correspondingly
estimated
varied
degrees
of
displacement from the outright suspensions, not being covered by
exceptions, a skeletal workforce, and a drop in customer traffic.
Given the structure of economic activity, the biggest number of
affected jobs are going to be in the following sectors: 2.4 million
construction
jobs
(assuming
almost
all
affected);
2.4
million
wholesale and retail trade jobs (50% affected); 1.5 million transport
and storage jobs (75%); 891,000 accommodation and food service
jobs (75%); and 832,000 other service jobs (50%).
These are followed by: 731,000 information & communication
and administrative & support service jobs (50% affected); 618,000
manufacturing jobs (25%); 395,000 agricultural jobs (assuming 10%
affected from a skeletal workforce in agricultural establishments);
381,000 real estate and professional, scientific & technical jobs
(assuming
almost
all
affected);
360,000
education
jobs
(50%);
269,000 arts, entertainment and recreation jobs (assuming almost all
affected); and conservatively 132,000 public sector jobs (10% affected
assuming continued pay but a skeletal workforce).
The relatively least amount of potential displacements is in:
95,000 financial jobs (25% affected); 34,000 health and social work
jobs (10%); 24,000 mining and quarrying jobs (25%); and 10,000
utility jobs (10%).
The group said that any disruptions in the livelihoods of
displaced workers and informal sector earners will have grave
consequences. There are approximately 14.3 million families in
3 IBON Foundation, “Luzon lockdown threatens livelihoods of 11M workers, informal sector
earners,” March 17, 2020, available at
https://www.ibon.org/luzon-lockdown-threatens-livelihoods-of-11m-workers-informal-sect
or-earners/.


Luzon. IBON initially estimated that 3.9 million of these families have
a monthly income of around Php11,000 or less, 2.2 million of
between
Php11,000-15,000,
and
2.3
million
of
between
Php15,000-20,000. These 8.4 million families of around 32.5 million
Filipinos have very low incomes and little savings.
Poor and low-income families are the most at risk from even
short-term disruptions in earnings, said the group. Many among the
4.5
million
families
in
Luzon
with
monthly
incomes
between
Php11,000-20,000 even risk being pushed into poverty without
expedient government support.
This bill is offered as a solution to this pressing problem. This bill aims to
carefully outline and provide safeguards for the rights of workers in the informal
sector. Moreover, it seeks to finally set up a registry of the informal workers' sector.
It is for the foregoing premises that the approval of this Bill is earnestly
sought.
ALFRED C. DELOS SANTOS
Representative, Ang Probinsyano Party-List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______________
Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A MAGNA CARTA FOR WORKERS IN THE INFORMAL
ECONOMY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:
Chapter I
COMMON PROVISIONS
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Magna Carta for
Workers in the Informal Economy.”
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of the
State to:
a) Promote a just and dynamic social order that shall ensure the prosperity
and independence of the nation, and free the people from poverty
through policies that provide adequate social services, promote decent
and environmentally sound and full employment, a rising standard of
living, and an improved quality of life for all;
b) Protect, promote, and fulfill the rights of every worker, including gender
equity,
non-discrimination,
the
right
to
self-organization,
just
and
humane conditions of work, access to social protection programs and
services, access to justice, security of and in the workplaces, and the
right
to
represent
their
organizations
in
a
continuing
process
of
consultation, social dialogue, and tripartite bodies; and
c)
Establish an integrated and coherent policy, at all levels of government,
for the formalization of informal economic units and informal economy
workers, and make them visible in all relevant national and local
statistics.
SECTION 3. Coverage. – This Act shall apply to all workers and economic
units,
including enterprises, entrepreneurs, and households in the informal
economy, in particular:
a) The
self-employed
workers,
own-account
workers
and
employers,
members of cooperatives, and members of other social and solidarity
economy units;
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b) Home-based workers or contributing family workers, irrespective of
whether they work in economic units in the formal or informal economy;
c)
Employees holding informal jobs in or for formal enterprises, or for
economic units in the informal economy, including those in contract
arrangement and/or in supply chains, or as paid domestic workers
employed by households;
d) Workers in unrecognized or unregulated employment relationships;
e)
Agricultural
workers
or
fisherfolk
in
unrecognized
or
unregulated
agricultural or farming endeavors and fishing activities; and
f)
Non-regular domestic workers.
SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. –
As used in this Act, the following terms
shall mean:
a) Informal Economy. – All economic activities by workers and economic
units that are, in law or practice, not covered or are insufficiently covered
by formal arrangements;
b) Economic Units. – Include, but are not limited to, units that employ hired
labor, units that are owned by individuals working on their own account,
either alone or with the help of contributing family workers, cooperatives
and other social and solidarity economy units, and informal work that
may be found across all sectors of the economy, in households, as well as
public and private spaces;
c)
Informal Economy Workers’ organization. – A group of informal sector
workers, whether formally constituted or otherwise, that are organized
with the primary objective of promoting the rights and welfare of workers
in the informal economy;
d) Informal Employment. – Employment arrangement in the formal or
informal sector or in households that exists based on either casual
employment, kinship, or personal and social relations, with no formal
guarantees on legal protection and social benefits;
e)
Own-account Worker. – Workers who, working on their own account or
with one or more partners, hold the type of job defined as a self-employed
job and have not engaged, on a continuous basis, any employee to work
for them during the reference period;
f)
Security of and in the Workplace. – Right of every worker and informal
economic unit to an enabling environment that guarantees and protects
the spaces to undertake their work, including the right to be safe in one’s
own workspace, security of tenure, and freedom from discrimination,
risk, danger, doubt, anxiety, or fear of being removed, evicted, or
prevented from working;
g) Social Protection. – Policies and programs that seek to reduce poverty
and
vulnerability
to
risks
and
enhance
the
social
status
of
the
marginalized by promoting and protecting livelihood and employment,
protecting against hazards and sudden loss of income, and improving
people’s capacity to manage risk, as well as all other interventions that
support communities, households, and individuals, both women and
men, and realizing their rights as citizens through their full participation
in decision-making affecting, or which may affect, their access to and
control over resources necessary to maintain and sustain a decent and
secure life.
h) Social and Solidarity Economic Units. – Enterprises and organizations,
including
cooperatives
as
defined
under
Republic
Act
No.
9520
(“Philippine
Cooperative
Code
of
2008”),
mutual
benefit
societies,


associations, foundations, and social enterprises which produce goods,
services, and knowledge that meet the needs of the community they
serve, through the pursuit of specific social and environmental objectives
and the fostering of solidarity.
Chapter II
RIGHTS AND BENEFITS
SECTION 5. Rights and Benefits of Workers in the Informal Economy. –
Workers in the informal economy shall be entitled to all the rights accorded to
workers by the Philippine Constitution, the Labor Code of the Philippines, as
amended, and relevant international human rights instruments and international
labor standards. Accordingly, the State shall guarantee all workers in the informal
economy the following:
a) Right to security of, and in, the workplace;
b) Right to make a living by work freely chosen or accepted;
c)
Right to just and favorable conditions of work, including provision for
work-life balance, child care, and other facilities;
d) Right to a living wage and equal remuneration for work of equal value
without distinction of any kind, especially for women who shall be
guaranteed equal wages for work similar or equivalent to those done by
men;
e)
Right
to
equal
opportunity
for
promotion,
subject
to
no
other
considerations than seniority and competence;
f)
Right to safe and secure working conditions safeguarding occupational,
mental, and general physical health;
g) Right to basic services, including affordable medical care, reproductive
and other health services, low-cost housing, water, sanitation, affordable
electricity, and an efficient and humane transportation system;
h) Right to rest, leisure, and reasonable limitation of working hours;
i)
Right to maternity and paternity benefits, as provided for by law;
j)
Right
to
equal
access
to education, skills training, and economic
resources to develop self-reliance, especially for the youth, without any
discrimination;
k) Right to self-organization and to collectively negotiate with government
and
other
entities
in
the
promotion
of
their
welfare
and
in
the
advancement of their interests, free from any political interference;
l)
Right to adequate food, clothing, shelter, and standard of living, and the
continuous improvement of such standards;
m) Right to be free from any form of discrimination, violence, exploitation,
including sexual exploitation, harassment, abuse, and any form of
inhumane treatment which debases, degrades, or demeans the intrinsic
worth and dignity of the worker as a human being;
n) Right to access social protection and safety nets, labor market programs,
and social welfare interventions such as social security, health care, and
insurance;
o)
Right to participate in policy- and decision-making processes and social
dialogue, including access to information and resources relevant to the
promotion and protection of their rights and welfare; and
p) Right to equal and equitable access to justice for redress of grievances,
including alternative dispute resolution processes.


SECTION 6. Rights and Benefits of Own-Account Workers. – In addition to
the rights of workers in the informal economy, own-account workers, as well as
informal economic units, being the working poor’s primary instruments to address
and overcome poverty, shall be accorded preferential rights by the State on the
following:
a) Infrastructure
support,
such
as
farm-to-market
roads,
common,
affordable, and secure workplaces and facilities, merchandising centers,
farmers’
markets
or
bagsakan
with
proper
storage
facilities,
and
inventory bulk-buying centers;
b) Policy support to ensure the unimpeded transport of their produce or
products;
c)
Policy support to promote and protect locally-produced products and
services, including enhancement of the local value chain;
d) Ease and facilitation of access to markets, including capacity-building to
access
e-marketing
facilities
that
will
remove
middlemen
in
the
transaction and facilitate the sale of produce or products directly to
consumers;
e)
Access
to
affordable,
appropriate,
and
adequate
financial services,
including, among others, collateral-free and gender-balanced credit at
low interest;
f)
Access to appropriate and adequate machinery, equipment, and other
technologies, with the end view of increasing productivity and growth;
g) Protection
from
unjust
displacement
from
places
where
economic
activities
are
conducted,
observing
the policy of “relocation before
demolition”;
h) Measures against racketeering, extortion, and harassment, by both State
and non-State elements;
i)
Common
workplaces,
shared
facilities,
product
development
and
technology support, and adequate and affordable marketing facilities;
j)
Freedom from deprivation of property without valid cause and due
process of law; and
k) Affordable and customized social security and insurance programs.
SECTION 7. Rights of Legitimate Organization of Workers in the Informal
Economy or Employment. – Workers in the informal economy or employment may
organize
into
unions,
cooperatives,
social
and
solidarity
economic
units’
organizations, and mutual benefit associations. Organizations of workers in the
informal economy or employment shall register with the Department of Labor and
Employment and shall have the right to:
a) Freely function and act as the representatives of their members in policy
and decision-making processes, collective negotiations, tripartite bodies
and consultations, multi-sectoral and other similar bodies;
b) Establish, join, or affiliate with national federations or confederations
and international trade union organizations;
c)
Access information from concerned government institutions and other
parties that are pertinent to the protection and promotion of the rights
and welfare of their members;
d) Own property, whether real or personal, for the use and benefit of their
organization and members;
e)
Sue and be sued under their registered name; and
f)
Undertake all other activities, not contrary to law, designed to benefit
their organizations and members.


SECTION 8. Assistance to Organizations of Workers in the Informal Economy.
– The State shall encourage and support the formation of organizations among the
marginalized farmers, fisherfolk, women, and workers in the informal economy or
employment, whether in manufacturing, agriculture, transport, retail, services, or
home-based enterprises.
Towards this end, all national government agencies, government financial
institutions, and local government units’ plans, programs, and policies shall foster
an atmosphere conducive to the exercise of the right to self-organization of the
workers in the informal economy. Such policies shall also facilitate and promote
access to credit, skills training, and inputs at a lower cost. Those policies shall also
be geared towards assisting such workers in obtaining fair prices for their produce
or products and ensuring an uninterrupted supply chain for the efficient, effective,
and economical transport of their products to consumers.
Chapter III
SECURITY IN THE WORKPLACE OF WORKERS IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY
OR EMPLOYMENT
SECTION 9. Designation of Workplaces. – Local Government Units (LGUs), in
coordination with legitimate organizations of workers in the informal economy and
their members, affected communities, and other relevant groups, shall identify,
designate, and design a system of assignment on the following:
a) Productivity and merchandising centers as viable workplaces for informal
workers, which may include markets and vacant areas near markets,
vacant public spaces, and other spaces which may be private property
that
the
LGU
may
acquire,
lease,
or
negotiate
with
legitimate
organizations of workers in the informal economy for lease under a
memorandum of agreement; and
b) Routes, terminals, and specific lanes for small transport workers.
SECTION 10. Policy on Eviction and Demolition. – Workers in the informal
economy or employment shall not be evicted from their homes and workplaces
without any legal grounds, as provided under Republic Act No. 7279 (“Urban
Development and Housing Act of 1992”). They shall also be provided with the same
or similar livelihood opportunities, adequate water and electricity, and decent
conditions of living in accordance with the law. Logistical viability for the displaced
shall be given priority in the course of determining the relocation sites or areas.
SECTION 11. Policy on Confiscation of Materials and Impounding of Vehicles.
– In cases where demolition or eviction is warranted by appropriate court order, the
public officer or government agency that conducted the same shall ensure
non-violence and shall issue an itemized receipt of all products, goods, and other
materials seized or confiscated from vendors and other affected workers in the
informal economy or employment. In no event shall these products be destroyed or
discarded in the course of such demolition or eviction.
Tricycles,
pedicabs,
and
other
modes
of
transportation
shall
not
be
impounded for violations of a license, registration, or traffic regulations unless the
said vehicles were utilized in the conduct of criminal activities. In cases of violation
of traffic regulations, a traffic violation ticket shall be issued to the erring driver
without impounding his/her vehicle.


SECTION 12. Policy on Relocation of Vending Sites. – Before any public
market is closed, sold, or demolished, all market vendors shall first be relocated by
the LGU to a temporary or new public market. Notice of the intention to close, sell,
or demolish any public market shall be made to all concerned vendors at least sixty
(60) days before the actual transfer or relocation to another market site. Within the
sixty (60) days before the actual transfer or relocation to another market site.
Within the sixty-day period after issuance of the notice, the LGU shall conduct
consultations with affected vendors on the relocation site and implementation of
the relocation.
Vendors, ambulant or otherwise, occupying or selling in public places not
previously designated as vending sites shall be provided notice of transfer at least
fifteen (15) days before the actual transfer to the designated vending site. The
fifteen (15)-day notice shall likewise apply to vendors granted with permits but
whose workplaces are withdrawn from the list of allowable vending sites. Any
change in the list of allowable vending sites shall only be done after consultation
with the affected vendors.
In the event that a new public market is constructed in place of an old one,
market vendors with stalls displaced from their workplaces shall be given priority
in the assignment of stalls in the new market.
SECTION 13. Policy on Relocation of Terminals and Change of Route. –
Relocation of designated terminals for tricycles, pedicabs, jeepneys, and other
similar modes of transportation and any change of route shall not be arbitrarily
carried out without prior notice and consultation with the drivers and/or transport
groups concerned, legitimate organizations of workers, affected community, and
other relevant sectors. The relocation of terminals and change of route shall be
implemented through an ordinance, the enactment of which shall be subject to the
required consultations and notice of intention as provided in the immediately
preceding section.
Chapter IV
SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR THE INFORMAL SECTOR
SECTION 14. Formalization of the Social Protection Floor. – The State shall
support, sustain, enhance, or institutionalize the social protection floor initiative
through the convergence of the resources of various agencies of the government for
continuous social security and health insurance subsidies to vulnerable and other
informal workers, as well as initiate programs for the unemployed, children, and
older persons based on applicable and ever-improving standards.
SECTION 15. Social Welfare Efforts. – The Department of Social Welfare and
Development
(DSWD),
in
coordination
with
the
Department
of
Labor
and
Employment, shall consolidate social welfare efforts to address the needs of the
workers in the informal economy, including direct assistance, policy development,
and community engagement for the workers.
SECTION 16. Role of the Department of Labor and Employment. – The DOLE
shall engage in labor market interventions that shall provide adequate protection
for the workers in the informal economy and ensure timely and immediate action
for labor concerns, as well as job generation, and other pertinent concerns.


SECTION
17.
Social
Safety
Nets.
–
Social
safety
nets
provided
or
implemented by the DOLE, DSWD, Department of Agriculture (DA), and other
government agencies shall be made accessible to all workers in the informal
economy and to their legitimate organizations.
SECTION 18. Social Insurance. – Social insurance programs, including
Social Security, Pag-IBIG (Home Development Mutual Fund), and PhilHealth, shall,
as far as practicable, be fully available to workers of the informal economy
consistent with Section 14 hereof. For this purpose, policies and mechanisms for
their full utilization and benefit shall be formulated by the SSS, HDMF, and
PhilHealth.
Chapter V
LABOR STANDARDS AND ENFORCEMENT OF LABOR LAWS FOR WORKERS IN
THE INFORMAL ECONOMY
SECTION
19. Applicability of the Provisions of the Labor Code. – The
provisions of the Labor Code shall apply where an employer-employee relationship
exists between an employer and a worker in the informal economy.
SECTION 20. Prohibited Acts Specific to Workers in the Informal Economy. –
The following are deemed prohibited:
a) Non-compliance
with
Minimum
Labor
Standards
and Occupational
Health and Safety Standards. The terms and conditions of employment of
workers in the informal economy shall not be lower than the minimum
standards set by law. The lack of formality of the work arrangement
between the employer and the worker or intermittency of work shall not
mean
the
absence of an employment relationship in the informal
economy, it is sufficient that there is control on how the work is to be
done at the time of the engagement or economic dependence of the
worker on the employer is present.
In all cases, the employment agreement shall be explained to the worker
and attested to by a representative from the DOLE or LGU or an elected
Barangay
official
in
the city or municipality where the worker is
designated to work.
b) Recruitment or Finders’ Fees. Regardless of whether the worker was
recruited either through an employment agency or a third party, workers
in the informal economy shall neither be charged nor levied a recruitment
fee or finders’ fee by the aforementioned employment agency or third
party.
c)
Hazardous Work and Conditions. Workers shall not be engaged to do
hazardous work, activity, or undertaking, or be exposed to hazardous
working conditions. The rights of all workers under Republic Act No.
11058 (“An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and
Health Standards and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof”) shall be
respected.
d) Interference and Coercion. Any person is prohibited from committing any
of the following acts of interference and coercion:


1) Preventing any worker from upholding or exercising his/her rights;
2) Preventing any worker from joining or assisting an organization for
purposes not contrary to law;
3) Preventing any worker from carrying out his/her duties or functions
in an organization, or penalizing the same for any lawful action
performed in that capacity;
4) Harassing, threatening, coercing, or intimidating any worker that
results in preventing him or her from performing his/her duties and
functions;
5) Transferring, penalizing, or terminating the services of a worker
without valid or legal ground; and
6) Other acts calculated to diminish the independence and freedom of
workers’ organizations to direct their own affairs.
e)
Non-compliance with Republic Act No. 7610, as amended by Republic Act
No. 9231, in the employment of minors. In cases where minors are
contracted or hired to render work or services in any informal economic
activity, the DOLE and the LGU or duly elected Barangay official where
the work is to be done shall ensure compliance with Republic Act No.
7610, as amended by Republic Act No. 9231. The employer of the minors
shall also provide them with access to at least elementary or secondary
education, either through traditional schooling or alternative learning
systems.
SECTION 21. Visitorial and Enforcement Power of the Secretary of Labor and
Employment. – In pursuit of the exercise of the visitorial power of the Secretary of
Labor under Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended,
employment and other work engagement in the informal economy shall be included
in the scope of the Secretary’s visitorial power.
Chapter VI
POLICY COORDINATION AND DEVELOPMENT
SECTION 22. Function of National Economic Development Authority. – The
Committee on Social Development of the National Economic Development Authority
(NEDA)
shall
develop
policies
and
programs
that
shall
institutionalize
and
strengthen informal economy workers and the informal economy units.
SECTION 23. Informal Economy Initiatives of Local Development Council. –
The Local Development Councils of all provinces, cities, and municipalities shall
establish a body of coordination, registration, and assistance for workers in the
informal economy within their respective jurisdictions.
The Local Development Councils shall also form a sectorial or functional
committee that shall facilitate the registration of informal economy workers.
Chapter VII
REGISTRATION OF INFORMAL ECONOMY WORKERS
SECTION
24.
Registration.
–
The
DSWD,
in
coordination
with
the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Information
and Communications Technology (DICT), DOLE, and other appropriate government
agencies, shall establish a system of registration of workers in the informal
economy, all economic units and informal economy organizations, associations.


The national and local governments shall review, revalidate, and reassess
such database as a tool for national and local planning and for other purposes
every two (2) years.
The
registry
of
economic
units
shall take into account the different
classifications in terms of asset size, number of workers, social insurance provided,
statutory
benefits
and
wages, industry, geography, premises, sex, ethnicity,
vulnerability, and roles and functions. That database shall also indicate informal
economic
units
which
may
be
categorized
as
livelihood
enterprises
and
entrepreneurial or growth-oriented informal businesses.
Chapter VIII
FINAL PROVISIONS
SECTION 25. Penal Provision. –
a) Any person who shall willfully interfere with, restrain, or coerce a worker
in the exercise of his/her rights or shall in any manner commit any act in
violation of any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be
punished by a fine of not less than Twenty Thousand Pesos (PhP
20,000.00) or imprisonment of one (1) to six (6) years or both fine and
imprisonment at the discretion of the Court.
b) If the offender is a public official, the Court, in addition to the penalties
provided in the preceding paragraph, may impose the additional penalty
or disqualification from public office.
c)
Any person who violates Section 11 of this Act (Policy on Confiscation of
Materials and Impounding of Vehicles) shall be liable. Nothing herein
shall prohibit the aggrieved workers in the informal economy from
initiating criminal or civil action against the responsible person or officer.
d) Failure to implement Sections 12 (Policy on Relocation of Vending Sites)
and 13 (Policy on Relocation of Terminals and Change of Routes) shall
render the responsible official/s administratively liable pursuant to
Republic Act No. 7160 and other applicable laws, without prejudice to
any civil or criminal cases that may be filed against such erring official/s.
e)
If a private institution/company is found to have violated any provisions
of this Act, its business shall be suspended or revoked at the discretion
of the Court.
SECTION 26. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). – The DOLE, DILG,
DSWD, and the NEDA, in coordination with other concerned agencies and
stakeholders, shall formulate the implementing rules and regulations within 180
days from the effectivity of this Act.
SECTION 27. Repealing Clause. – All laws, executive orders, presidential
decrees or issuances, letters of instruction, administrative orders, rules, and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
SECTION 28. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the provisions not affected shall continue to be in full
force and effect.


SECTION 29. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,