House OKs bills on 4Ps, timbangan, workers’ welfare

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives passed on Wednesday night three key administration bills – the institutionalization of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), mandatory Timbangan ng Bayan for markets and wellness incentives for employees. 

Lawmakers voted 196-6 and approved on third and final reading House Bill 7773 that seeks to institutionalize the 4Ps, 199-0 on House Bill 7857 that compels all markets to have weighing scales and 203-0 on House Bill 6770 adding 5-10 days incentive leave for workers. 

HB 7773 provides a yearly P26,400 subsidy to every poor family, which is aimed at reducing poverty and promoting human capital development in the process. A household-beneficiary may receive up to P26,400 in a year, for a maximum of five years. 

Each qualified household-beneficiary – the poorest of the poor – shall be entitled to a lump-sum conditional cash transfer equivalent to P2,200 each month for the family’s expenses on health, nutrition and education. 

The program will be implemented until it has covered 60 percent of the total number of extremely poor households in the country, as may be determined by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

HB 7857, principally authored by Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was recently sponsored by Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron, also a co-author, during the plenary after it was approved early this year at the House committee on trade and industry level. 

It aims to amend Republic Act 7394, also known as the Consumer Act of the Philippines, to protect the public against fraudulent practices relative to the use of weighing instruments in public and private markets nationwide.

Arroyo said the establishment of Timbangan ng Bayan Centers would provide the buying public with an “effective means of checking the accuracy of the weight and quantity of the goods they are buying,” aside from discouraging dishonest vendors from cheating. 

The measure also seeks to insert Article 62-A in Chapter 11 of RA 7394 to mandates all local government units – through the provincial, city or municipal treasurers – to establish such centers in all markets nationwide, public or private, including flea markets or tiangges.

It also seeks to amend the penalties under the previous law – where violating traders, upon conviction, are only fined P200 to P1,000 or imprisoned for one year, or both – and raise this to P50,000 to P300,000 or by imprisonment of one year to five years, or both, at the court’s discretion.

HB 6770, meanwhile, seeks to raise the yearly service incentive leave of employees from five to 10 days, to boost the workers’ morale, wellness and ensure as well his continued productivity.