With freelancing now a growing sector in the country’s labor force, Senator Bam Aquino has filed a measure seeking to protect the rights and welfare of freelancers.
“With more and more freelancers in the country, we are confronted with an urgent need to protect this new sector and empower them with ease of doing business,” Aquino said in Senate Bill No. 351.
He said the bill gives freelancers the power to demand from their employer what are righfully due them.
If an employer refuses to pay a freelancer for services rendered, the latter can file a complaint before the Department of Labor and Employment, which can impose a pen alty of up to P250,000 on the non-compliant party if found liable.
“Civil penalties will also be imposed for every day that the employer refuses to compensate the freelancer. The aggrieved party has the option of filing a civil case against his or her employer,” Aquino said.
The measure also makes it easier for freelancers to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and mandates that they be exempted from tax payments for the first three years.
“Let us waste no time in ensuring that they are not inconvenienced by red tape and that they are protected from difficult, even fraudulent clients,” said Aquino.
