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Philippine lawmakers have proposed changes to the current Article 83 of the Labor Code, which provides for the normal hours of work pegged at 8 hours a day, subject to certain exemptions in order to provide for alternative work arrangements to employees. The House of Representatives version of the Bill proposes for a compressed workweek as an alternative work arrangement. The Senate version offers broader options to include not only compressed workweek but "flexi-time" and "flexi holidays" schedule.
The flexible work arrangements aim to accommodate employees, especially working mothers and single parents, to have more time to attend to their personal obligations. In addition, by reducing the number of working days, employees are able to save on transportation and food costs. Traffic congestion are expected to be reduced as well, with less employees reporting for work on particular days.
The adoption of flexible working arrangements is dependent on the nature of work. It is voluntary on the part of both the employers and the employees.
The Tripartite Industrial Peace Council of the Philippines ("TIPC"), however, expressed its opposition to the lawmakers' proposed changes. The TIPC noted that current laws and administrative regulations are already in place for the establishment of a compressed work-week arrangement, rendering additional legislation unnecessary. Presently, Philippine labor laws authorize the adoption of a compressed work-week, provided that the employees voluntarily agree to work more than 8 hours a day, and that the total working hours in a week do not exceed their normal weekly hours of work. The TIPC also stated that legislation which would require having flexible working arrangements might be harmful to employees' health and prone to abuse by employers. It is currently drafting its position paper on the bill in order to guide legislators accordingly.
Senator Sonny Angara has introduced Senate Bill No. 1555, or the "Palliative and Hospice Care Act", to make health services available to all Filipinos at affordable cost, including to patients suffering from life threatening illnesses or progressively debilitating diseases beyond any benefit of curative treatment. In the Explanatory Note of the Bill, the Senator pointed out that "while [the Philippine] health care system should work on curing and preventing sicknesses, it should also promote people's well-being, especially when they are enduring intense pain and suffering from chronic diseases".
The Bill requires all government and private hospitals to provide standard quality palliative and hospice care services to patients with life-threatening illnesses. Rural health units, on the other hand, must develop home-based or near-home palliative care programs. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation ("Philhealth") is also mandated to expand its benefit package to include inpatient palliative services, outpatient hospice care and home-based palliative care.
Immediate family members or relatives shall also be allowed to use all existing leave benefits granted by their employers to provide palliative and hospice care to a critically ill relative.
On 3 August 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Law, providing free tuition for students of state universities and colleges. The law allows Filipinos access to affordable college education or technical vocational courses in order to increase opportunities for employment and livelihood, while relieving parents from major educational expenses, allowing them to save up for other needs such as healthcare and housing.
The implementing rules and regulations of the law are still to be drafted, and free tuition is to take effect on the first semester of school year 2018 to 2019. Congress will likewise still need to modify the proposed 2018 national budget, as the Department of Budget and Management did not allocate funds for the new law, which will require about P100 billion.
Please note that whilst the information in this Update is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief at the time of writing, it is only
intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and should not be treated as a substitute for specific professional advice.
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