Explainer on 'Eddie Garcia' Bill: How Will It Protect Movie and TV Workers?

It took the death of beloved actor-director and film icon Eduardo "Eddie" Garcia for lawmakers to pass a bill that seeks to protect the welfare of workers in the television and movie industries.

Garcia, known for films like "Atsay" (1976), "Magdusa Ka" (1986), and "Immortal" (1989), to name a few, passed away in June 2019 following an accident while filming for GMA Network's TV series "Rosang Agimat." The late actor, who was 90 years old at the time of his death, tripped on a cable wire and fell on set, sustaining a neck injury that left him in a fatal coma.

His death came as a blow to the industry and country, a tragic loss that the Directors' Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI) also called "a sad and urgent reminder to the film and television industries that safety protocols at work and on the set are of paramount importance."

Last month, on Feb. 19, the Senate approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 2505, also known as the Eddie Garcia Bill, receiving 22 affirmative votes, zero abstentions, and zero negative votes in the plenary session.

The bill specified not just the work hours and social security benefits of workers in the industry, but also the basic necessities and the health and safety protocols required to ensure that accidents at work would be prevented or responded to properly. It also clearly outlined the duties of the employer or principal to workers in the industry, as well as the creation of a Movie and Television Industry Tripartite Council, among others.

Here's what to know about the Eddie Garcia Bill and how it will benefit movie and TV workers.

Key Information

Defining the Employer and Worker

Who is an employer and who is a worker? An employer or principal is defined in the bill as "any person, natural or juridical, including contractor or subcontractor, who engages or hires the services of a worker in the movie and television industry."

Meanwhile, a worker pertains to any employee "hired by the employer or an independent contractor engaged by the principal to render services for the movie and television industry."

Work Hours and Social Security Benefits

A worker's hours shall be based on the terms in the employment contract signed with the employer or principal. According to the bill, the hours of work should be eight hours up to a maximum of 14 hours a day, exclusive of meal periods. This is applicable to all movie and TV workers, except for minors, whose work hours follow the stipulations of RA No. 7610.

Movie and TV workers must also be covered by benefits from the Social Security System (SSS), Pag-IBIG Fund, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). Independent workers, on the other hand, are responsible for their contributions to social benefits.

Basic Necessities, Health and Safety

Basic Necessities and Health and Safety, Sections 14 and 15 of the bill, underscored the necessity of having safety officers and dedicated vehicles for emergency purposes in production sets, regardless if filming is done out of town or not.

Moreover, the employer or principal is required to strictly follow occupational safety and health standards stipulated by RA No. 11058 and Section 25 of RA No. 11036.

The employer or principal must also notify the DOLE regional, provincial, or field work office about the production's location and schedule. The employer, contractor, or subcontractor would be held liable for violations made to this provision.

The safety officer of the production is likewise required to perform a risk assessment of the location or workplace to identify, remove, or manage potential structural and environmental hazards to workers.

Duties of the Employer or Principal

The bill, spurred by the unfortunate fate of its namesake, firmly underscored the duties and responsibilities of employers and principals in the movie and television industry, namely its compliance to regulations pertaining to occupational safety and health in every movie and program production.

It is the employer's duty to maintain at all work settings the proper first aid and medical supplies and services, ensure workers who may be affected by a potential hazard are made aware of its existence throughout the production, make certain that all sets are assessed for potential safety or health issues, and that there are safeguards in place to manage these issues.

Moreover, employers are required to make available safety information at all workplaces, such as emergency numbers of nearby hospitals and fire stations, as well as locations of fire, safety, and first aid equipment. Brief meetings should also be conducted every start of shooting day to define safety and health issues in production.

Movie and Television Industry Tripartite Council

Once the bill is enacted into law, a Movie and Television Industry Council made up of representatives from movie and TV employers, workers, and the government shall be created. The council will serve as the proper venue for consultation with industry stakeholders pursuant to labor laws.

Workers' Realities in the Movie and Television Industry

The issue surrounding the working conditions of movie and TV workers has been an ongoing conversation long before the death of Garcia. In April 2016, DOLE released Labor Advisory No. 04 series of 2016 to regulate the work hours of workers in the industry and protect their welfare. According to the advisory, workers must not work beyond eight hours in a day, or if required to, must not exceed 12 hours in any 24-hour period.

However, a 2016 paper by the Institute for Labor Studies, "In Focus – Work Arrangements and Working Conditions in Television's Film Production and Broadcast Industry: Issues for Social Dialogue," found that Labor Advisory No. 04 is "not fitting to the industry." TV networks shared that the advisory does not include radio broadcasting stations and its coverage focused primarily on workers involved in film production.

The paper also suggested that the advisory should not just include talents or artists, but also specialists or individual workers known for performing services in film production and the TV industry. These workers are bound by individual contracts with TV networks and are tasked to do certain jobs for specific fees, the production of which is beyond the scope of the networks.

Following the approval of the bill on the third and final reading, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, chairperson of the chamber's committee on labor and a sponsor of the bill, said that it shall ensure industry workers employment opportunities as well as protection from abuse, hazardous conditions, and exploitation. It is also the Senate’s recognition of the many faceless workers in the industry who are eclipsed by the “star power” of a production’s main cast, as per the senator.

"We simply owe it to them,” said Estrada. “This measure is the Senate’s recognition of the immense talent, dedication, and contribution not just of Filipino artists, but also [of] those behind the camera who put their heart and soul to come up with material for the movie and television industry.”