Gatchalian proposes law to protect freelancers

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing for a bill that aims to provide social protection for freelancers. 

“With the expected rise of freelance workers in years to come, we need to ensure that social protection schemes are suitable and responsive to the needs of freelance workers,” Gatchalian said, who filed Senate Bill 945 or the Freelancers Protection Act.

Gatchalian noted that this bill is timely and relevant to the sector’s sustained growth in the past few years. 

“Formalization can lead to better protection and provision of social services such as credit opportunities and training, among others, for our ‘new normal’ workforce.”

As of June 2021, around 1.5 million Filipinos were said to be contributing to the “gig economy,” according to data released by the Creative Economy Council of the Philippines.

The proposed measure aims to give even treatment of employment to freelance workers, improve their working conditions and simplify their tax registrations.