QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 11962)
RA No. 11962 is known as the “Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act.” It establishes the National Employment Master Plan, the “Trabaho Para sa Bayan Plan,” appropriates funds for its implementation, and provides for related purposes.
The State must afford full protection to labor (local and overseas, organized and unorganized), promote full, productive, and freely chosen employment, and ensure equitable employment opportunities for all without discrimination, while pursuing poverty reduction through decent jobs, sustainable enterprises, and economic transformation.
Objectives include: (a) stimulating growth through decent employment; (b) improving employability and competitiveness via skills training and labor market services; (c) supporting businesses, particularly MSMEs, through financing/access to capital and incentives; and (d) incentivizing employers/private organizations for training, technology transfer, and enterprise-based training.
Yes. It applies to national, regional, and local government units, but it does not prejudice the Bangsamoro Government and its component LGUs, which may adopt and implement labor and employment projects consistent with national policies, laws, rules, and regulations.
It includes a three (3)-year, six (6)-year, and ten (10)-year development timeline for its vision, mission, goals, and milestones.
Examples include: MSME support and transition to formality; skilling/upskilling/reskilling and lifelong learning; incentives for employer/private training and technology transfer (apprenticeship, work immersion, on-the-job training); empowering workers on rights and obligations and labor rights; identifying priority sectors and industries with high employment potential; active labor market programs and OFW reintegration support; tripartism and social dialogue; youth unemployment interventions; standards for apprenticeships; inclusive grievance mechanisms; support for workers in new forms of work (including gig economy); informal-to-formal transition; ethical recruitment for migrant workers; digital infrastructure access for MSMEs; and full-cycle OFW reintegration.
The TPB-IAC is the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Inter-Agency Council. It is chaired by the Director-General of NEDA, with co-chairpersons being the Secretary of DTI and the Secretary of DOLE.
There must be one representative from employers’ organizations, one from labor organizations, one from the marginalized or vulnerable sector, and one from the informal sector.
They include: formulating the TBP Plan with action components, success measures, and KPIs; monitoring/reviewing/evaluating/updating the plan; analyzing employment/labor market and trends; reviewing and streamlining existing policies and councils for alignment and non-duplication; assisting LGUs in local employment planning; crafting guidelines to institutionalize the TBP Plan in agencies; and performing other related functions.
Working groups may be established to pursue implementation of the TBP Plan and to develop or enhance employment generation and recovery in specific industries and emerging sectors (e.g., health services, construction, tourism, agriculture, IT/BPM, manufacturing), as well as thematic areas.
They must analyze and review existing government hiring policies and standards, including skills/competencies required, streamlining and improving recruitment and selection processes, and identifying appropriate manpower needs of government.
The TPB-IAC must submit reports every January and July of each year to the Office of the President, the Senate of the Philippines, and the House of Representatives. The reports cover timelines/status of action components, evaluation of relevant agency policies/projects, recommendations for policy interventions, and other relevant information; they must be publicly available through relevant agency websites.
Within 180 days from the effectivity of the Act. The TPB-IAC, together with other concerned agencies and private stakeholders, must jointly formulate the implementing rules and regulations.
Initial implementation costs shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations of concerned departments/agencies. Thereafter, necessary sums shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Separability: If any portion is declared unconstitutional or invalid, it will not nullify the remaining provisions as long as they can still subsist. Repealing: Any laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, or issuances inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly.
It takes effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation. Publication is significant because the effectivity date is tied to proper dissemination under the law.