Senator Loren Legarda is pushing for long-overdue recognition of some of the country’s most overlooked frontliners — waste workers.

In the 20th Congress, Legarda refiled a bill seeking to establish a Magna Carta of Waste Workers, a measure that would standardize their working conditions and acknowledge their role in protecting both public health and the environment.

“There is an inherent risk our waste workers face when it comes to properly collecting and disposing of the tons of garbage we produce every day,” Legarda said. “Although hazardous, many, if not most, face numerous challenges — low wages, lack of job security, and even discrimination because of the work they do.”

Under her proposal, waste workers — whether formally employed by government or private companies, or working informally as waste pickers — would receive GSIS or SSS coverage, hazard pay, representation in local Solid Waste Management Boards, and free annual medical exams. Employers would also be required to provide protective equipment, vaccinations and preventive care like tetanus shots. The bill also guarantees access to comprehensive health services, including hospitalization, dental and mental health care, while capping work hours at eight a day with proper overtime and holiday pay.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) would be tasked with ensuring fair and safe working conditions, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development would handle social protection.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources would oversee compliance with the Solid Waste Management Act, and TESDA would certify training programs to professionalize the sector.

For Legarda, this is about finally giving waste workers the dignity they deserve. “The waste management industry is an unheralded but vital aspect of our everyday lives,” she said. “Our waste workers strive every day to prevent the spread of disease caused by decaying garbage. With this bill, we are giving gratitude to those who have continued to work this noble occupation.”

Legarda’s push for sustainability and environmental stewardship comes as the Philippines deepens international cooperation on climate action.

During her visit to Manila, UK Special Representative for Nature Ruth Davis reaffirmed Britain’s support for the Philippines in tackling climate change, biodiversity loss, and ocean degradation. Davis met with Environment Secretary Raphael Lotilla, highlighting shared priorities on climate finance, carbon markets, sustainable food systems and marine conservation.

A high-level forum on the blue economy and blue carbon underscored how healthy seas can both fight climate change and create jobs in coastal communities. It also marked the launch of the UK’s Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition (COAST) Facility and Innovation Grant Fund in the Philippines, under which local groups can apply for up to £500,000 to support projects on sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, and coastal protection.

“As fellow island nations, we understand that healthy seas are a foundation for prosperity — and that climate change, overfishing, and pollution are not just environmental risks, but economic and security risks,” Davis said.

Legarda welcomed the initiative, stressing urgency: “Partnerships like the UK’s COAST Facility exemplify the solidarity we need — turning loans into sustainable livelihoods and grants into lasting guardianship. We must pioneer debt-for-nature swaps and blue bonds that turn capital into community-led revival.”