Barangay Skilled Workers Registry Act

• . senate Office of the Secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) First Regular Session REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, DEC 17 P6:14 SENATE RECEIVED SY: 1641 S. No.. Introduced by Senator MARK A. VILLAR AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRIES OF SKILLED WORKERS IN BARANGAY EXPLANATORY NOTE Barangays are the nuclear unit for job opportunities for skilled workers. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there are 42,011 barangays in the Philippines. This manifests the imminent need to have an institutionalized program that will serve as an accessible reference for identifying opportunities for the labor force. Having a barangay registry opens career opportunities for skilled workers and supports the national effort to have a nationwide skills registry. As practiced through the National Skills Registration Program (NSRP) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), there exists a Skills Registry System (SRS) database that covers all cities/municipalities through the local Public Employment Service Offices (PESOS). Similar to existing registration for different professionals (i.e, doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.), registration shows the level of competence of the professionals, and at the same time, commits to the public standards of integrity and professional development. This bill seeks to recognize the role of barangays in promoting job creation and economic development by creating an employment information system at the barangay level, targeting skilled workers residing therein. The barangay registry shall serve as a repository of information of skilled workers within their locality. This is without prejudice to the privacy rights of the skilled workers in accordance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Further, this bill will highlight the participation of the barangays in generating reliable information of skilled workers within their locality that will help them attract employers and thus boost employment opportunities. The registry shall contain relevant details including name, nature of services, skills offered and prior work experience, if any. All existing skilled workers registries, including, but not limited to TESDA'S Registry of Certified Workers and DOLE'S Skills Registry System database, shall be harmonized and consolidated into a single, centralized system, to be made accessible to the original maintaining government agencies and the barangays. In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. MARK A. VILLAR

Senate Site of the Secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 - 0EC 17 P6:14 SENATE RECEIVED BY S. No. 1641 Introduced by Senator MARK A. VILLAR AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRIES OF SKILLED WORKERS IN BARANGAYS Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Barangay Skilled

2 Workers Registry Act".

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to promote full

4 employment and ensure the availability of quality, local and regular employment 5 opportunities for all Filipinos. Pursuant to this policy, the State recognizes the role of barangays in promoting 7 job creation and economic development within their localities. Towards this end, the State shall establish an employment information system 9 at the barangay level, targeting skilled workers residing therein for effective matching 10 of workforce to local employment opportunities, establish a database of available skilled workers in the locality for investment promotion or generation, and eventually harmonize all existing workers registries into a centralized system.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - For the purposes of this Act, the following terms

are hereby defined as follows: a) Barangay - refers to the smallest political unit into which cities and municipalities in the Philippines are divided in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Code of the Philippines; b) Barangay Skilled Workers Registry - refers to the database of a particular barangay containing information of all skilled workers residing therein who

voluntarily registered and declared their qualifications, skills, and/or prior work experiences; and c) Skilled workers - refers to persons who have some special skill, knowledge, or ability, whether acquired through formal or informal education, prior work experience, and/or training, and possess a degree of expertise in the performance of a given job. The skilled workers referred hereto shall, in no case, be limited to holders of national certificate issued by the Technical Education and Skilled Development Authority 14 (TESDA).

Sec. 4. The Barangay Skilled Workers Registry. - Every barangay shall create

10 and maintain a registry that will serve as a database for all skilled workers who 11 voluntarily register to offer their services and seek employment opportunities within 12 the locality. The skilled workers must be residents of the barangays, where they seek 13 to be registered. The registry shall be developed with the assistance of the Department of Labor 15 and Employment (DOLE) through the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in 16 coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The registry shall be consolidated with registries of workers developed by the DOLE and 18 other government agencies, in coordination with the Department of Information and 19 Communications Technology (DICT). For this purpose, it shall be compatible with the 20 Public Employment Service Office - Employment Information System (PEIS).

Sec. 5. Contents of the Registry. - The Barangay Skilled Workers Registry shall

22 contain the following details: a) Name of the skilled workers; b) Office or Business Address; c) Contact Information, such mobile number, landline number, or e-mail address; d) Nature of the services and/or skills offered; e) Proof of qualifications (i.e., TESDA National Certificate (NC), Certificate of Competency (COC), or any other certificate of training or seminars attended), if any; f) Prior work experience, if any; and

g) Photocopy of Philippine Identification Card (Philippine ID) pursuant to Republic Act No. 11055. If the registration is made during the pendency of the implementation of Republic Act No. 11055, the applicant shall submit photocopies of two (2) government-issued identification cards. This is without prejudice to the submission of the said copy of the Philippine ID immediately upon availability. The barangay secretary shall post at the barangay's bulletin board or in a 8 conspicuous place within the barangay hall a regularly updated summary of available g skilled workers in the locality, without explicitly mentioning the name and other 10 personal details of the workers in the Registry, and in all cases, with due regard to the 11 provisions of Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the "Data Privacy Act of 2012", and its implementing rules and regulations. Such summary shall also be posted online, either through the official website of the barangay or its official social media account/s, and reflected in the barangay human resource profile for investment promotion or generation.

Sec. 6. Access to the Registry and Information Contained Therein. - The

barangay shall, upon a duly verified request, provide the following information to the requestor: a) Title or occupation of the skilled worker; b) Nature of the services and/or skilled offered by the skilled worker; c) Proof of qualifications (i.e., TESDA National Certificate (NC), Certificate of Competency (COC), or any other certificate of training or seminars attended), if any; Provided, That license numbers or other similar control numbers shall be redacted, unless and until the potential employer has decided to conduct the pre-employment process for the engagement of skilled worker; and d) Prior work experience of the skilled worker, if any, which shall be couched in general terms. The request shall be made to the barangay through a form, which shall include the requestor's name, address, contact details, and reason for requesting the above information of the skilled worker; Provided, That prior consent from the skilled worker concerned shall be sought before the foregoing information shall be revealed; Provided, further, That in no case shall the name of the skilled worker be revealed

except upon his/her specific consent with prior notice of the identity of the person or entity requesting his/her information; Provided, finally, That access to the registry 3 shall, at all times, comply with the provisions of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations. The barangay secretary or employee having custody over the registry shall act on the request immediately upon receipt of the duly accomplished and verified form of the requestor.

Sec. 7. Prohibition on Collection of Registration Fees - The inclusion of a skilled

9 worker's name and corresponding details in the registry shall be free of charge. 10 However, the constituents who request a copy of the database may be charged a 11 reasonable fee to cover the actual cost of printing or reproducing the details subject 12 of the request.

Sec. 8. Updating of the Registry. - Updating the data collection shall be aligned

14 with the regular and synchronized data collection conducted by local government 15 units, in line with Republic Act No. 11315 or the "Community Based Monitoring System 16 Act". This is without prejudice to the right of the skilled workers to request the 17 barangay to immediately include and reflect any significant change/s in any of the information mentioned under Section 5 of this Act, including the withdrawal of his or her personal data from the registry upon a verified written request submitted to the barangay. Information not voluntarily updated and/or confirmed as unchanged by the 22 concerned skilled worker for a period of three (3) consecutive years shall be removed from the database.

Sec. 9. Support and Subsidy forInformation and Communications Technology

(ICT) Infrastructure and Systems for Barangays. - The DILG shall include in its annual budget the necessary amount for the maintenance and operation of the barangay registries, and the subsidy to capacitate the barangays with ICT infrastructure and systems compatible with the PESO- PEIS. Likewise, the barangay personnel tasked with the duties and responsibilities of maintaining and updating the registry and coordinating with registrants and potential clientele of skilled workers shall be provided the appropriate capacity building and training by the National Privacy Commission, DOLE, and DICT, in coordination with

the League of Provinces, League of Cities of the Philippines, League of Municipalities of the Philippines, and Liga ng mga Barangay.

Sec. 10. Roles of Government Agencies. - The following agencies shall perform

4 the functions, duties, and responsibilities stated herein: a) Barangay: 1) Disseminate information on the requirements and qualifications needed for registration; 2) Ensure the protection of information submitted by skilled workers in accordance with the provisions of the Data Privacy Act and its implementing rules and regulations; 3) Coordinate with the PESO of the local government unit exercising jurisdiction over it, or in the absence thereof, the regional PESO, for the establishment of the registry, for job-matching opportunities available within or near the locality, and extension of PESO programs and activities that may be availed of by registered skilled workers; 4) Update the information contained in the registry, whether annually or upon the request of the skilled worker; and 5) Process requests for information in accordance with the provisions of the Data Privacy Act and other pertinent rules and regulations. b) Department of Interior and Local Government: 1) Supervise and assist in the establishment and maintenance of the registry, on-site or online, in the respective barangays; and 2) Integrate and consolidate the barangay registries with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), the Community-Based Monitoring System, and other existing registries, in coordination with the Philippine Statistics Authority. c) Department of Labor and Employment: 1) Through the PESOs, assist barangays in developing a registry, which shall be compatible with the PEIS; 2) Provide technical assistance and allied support services to the barangays, including, but not limited to, the training of personnel in the various aspects of employment of facilitation functions; and

3) Extend PESO programs under Republic Act No. 8759, as amended by Republic Act No. 10691, otherwise known as the "Public Employment Service Act of 1999", including, but not limited to, employment information services, training, seminars, counseling, and career guidance to registered skilled workers within the barangay. d) National Privacy Commission: 1) Conduct training and capacity-building of barangay secretaries and/or barangay employees having custody over the registries to ensure compliance with the Data Privacy Act and its implementing rules and regulations; and 2) Receive complaints, institute investigations, and/or impose sanctions for any violation of the Data Privacy Act and its implementing rules and regulations in the exercise of its quasi judicial functions. e) Department of information and Communications Technology: 1) Provide the relevant digital skills and training and seminars to barangay personnel tasked with maintaining and updating the registry; and 2) Devise and implement a centralized system harmonizing all existing skilled worker registries. f) Technical Education and Skills Development Authority: 1) Utilize the registry to offer technical education and skills development programs, courses, and/or scholarship workers that are non-holders of national certificates from TESDA; Provided, That priority shall be given to those skilled workers that have no certifications from any training institution, whether public or private; and 2) Formulate a skills supply map to determine the available skills in each city, province, and/or region

Sec. 11. Pilot Program. - The DOLE and the DILG shall establish and implement

a pilot program in an appropriate number of selected barangays, which shall last for a period of not more than three (3) years. The DOLE and the DILG, in coordination with the barangays included in the initial pilot implementation, shall be responsible for baselining, scoping, and research work prior to implementation, regular monitoring,

1 and evaluation. At the end of the pilot program, the DOLE and the DILG shall submit a report on its findings to Congress.

Sec. 12. Harmonization of the Barangay Skilled Workers Registry with Other

4 Existing Registries. - All existing workers registry, including but not limited, to TESDA'S Registry of Certified Workers and DOLE'S Skills Registry System database, shall be harmonized and consolidated into a single, centralized system, to be made, accessible to the original maintaining government agencies and the barangays, but in all cases subject to the provisions of the Data Privacy Act and its implementing rules and regulations. The DICT shall take charge in planning, devising, and establishing a 10 centralized system in preparation for the consolidation of registries.

Sec. 13. Appropriations - The funds for the initial implementation of this Act

shall be sourced from the current budget for the departments concerned. Thereafter, 13 the amount necessary for its continued implementation shall be included in the annual 14 General Appropriations Act.

Sec. 14. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from

16 the effectivity of this Act, the DILG, in coordination with DOLE, National Privacy 17 Commission, TESDA, DICT, and other concerned agencies, and upon consultation with relevant stakeholders, shall formulate rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 15. Separability Clause. - If for any reason, any section, clause, or term of

this Act is held to be illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional, such parts not affected by such declaration shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 16. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees or proclamations,

executive orders, administrative orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof contrary to or inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 17. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,