A BILL seeking to protect entertainment industry workers following the death of screen veteran Eddie Garcia has been approved at the subcommittee level in the House of Representatives.
The Actors Occupational Safety and Health Standard Bill, or the “Eddie Garcia Law,” passed the subcommittee of the labor panel on Tuesday.
1-PACMAN party-list Rep. Michael Romero, who co-authored and filed the bill, said he anticipates the measures’ “swift and prudent approval at committee and later on second and third readings at the soonest.”
Romero is Garcia’s stepson.
The 90-year-old Garcia died after he tripped and fell on the set of a GMA Network series in June 2019.
Under the House Bill 191, safety and medical personnel should be deployed in all workplaces and areas during working hours. It also provides for mandatory personnel and production insurance coverage.
In the event of an accident on set, the corporation or producer shall pay for the full hospital bill of its employee and for the worker’s loss of livelihood until he or she is able to work again.
The measure also sets standard working hours, between 8 to 12 hours, for different age brackets.
“The Eddie Garcia bill assumes even greater importance and significance now given the workplace safety issues that have come with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Romero said in a statement.
“Workers and employers throughout the creative industries can gain much from implementing this measure when it is finally enacted into law.” (ABS-CBN)
