Pagkakalooban ng proteksyon ang tinatayang nasa 1.5 milyong Filipino freelance workers matapos maipasa sa pangatlo at huling pagbasa ang House Bill No. 6718 o ang “Freelance Workers Protection Act."

Sa botong 250, inaprubahan ng Mababang Kapulungan ang House Bill No. 6718 na nagtatakda ng mga karagdagang benepisyo kagaya ng night differential at hazard pay para sa freelance workers.

“As the digital economy expands, the number of Filipino freelance workers also increases. And if no laws are in place to protect our gig economy freelancers or to establish a formal grievance system to enforce their rights, they will be susceptible to all kinds of abuse,”  ayon kay Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

Ito umano ang dahilan kung bakit karamihan sa mga mambabatas sa Kamara ay sumuporta sa panukala.

“This is the reason a majority of lawmakers in the House threw their support behind this measure. As a sector with an exploding growth spurt in the coming years, they need protective cover under our laws to ensure their transition as a significant driver of our economy,” dagdag pa niya.

Batay sa record, ang freelance workers sa Pilipinas ay umaabot sa mahigit na 1.5 milyon na nagtatrabaho sa tinatawag na "gig economy."

"A freelance worker is any natural person or entity composed of no more than one natural person, whether incorporated under the Securities and Exchange Commission, registered as a sole proprietorship under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or registered as self-employed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)," saad ng HB 6718.

Dagdag pa nito, “hired or retained to provide services, in exchange for compensation, as an independent contractor to do work according to one’s own methods and without being subjected to the control of the hiring party, except only as to the results of the work.”