Villanueva welcomes passage of work-from-home bill

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Joel Villanueva on Thursday welcomed the passage of work-from-home bill into law, which allows private sector employees to “telecommute.”

“We thank the President for supporting our bill that will promote our workers’ right to work-life balance and flexible work arrangement,” Villanueva, principal author and sponsor of the law, said in a statement on Thursday.

This came after Duterte signed Republic Act 11165 or Telecommuting Act which institutionalizes “telecommuting as an alternative work arrangement for employees in the private sector.”

READ: Duterte signs Telecommuting Act

Under the law, Villanueva said there are “safeguards” to ensure that the rights of home-based workers are protected by giving them equal pay, leave benefits and promotion.

Villanueva, who is the chair of the Senate committee on labor, said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is expected to create guidelines that will ensure the “fair treatment” provision of the measure.

Further, the law offers establishment of a “telecommuting pilot program in select industries for a period of not more than three years to allow DOLE to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the law in the Philippines.”

Villanueva also thanked the House of Representatives and his colleagues for supporting the measure which gives workers a “work-life balance.”

“We greatly extend our gratitude to our counterpart in the House and our fellow colleagues who supported our well-meaning advocacy to produce a cohesive and strong policy that gives our workers meaningful work-life balance and an option to work under a flexible work arrangement,” Villanueva said. /je