Two lawmakers have filed legislation seeking to establish stronger labor standards and safety protections for journalists and news workers across the Philippines.

House Bill 7431, also known as the Media Personnel Protection and Welfare Act, was introduced 27 January by newly sworn-in Representative Jan Almario Chan and fellow Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Alfredo Garbin Jr.

The measure aims to address the economic challenges and physical risks faced by reporters, photojournalists, editors and production staff.

It proposes that all media personnel receive professional compensation no lower than the regional minimum wage and also seeks the mandatory regularization of media workers who have rendered at least one year of continuous service, addressing long-standing issues with contractualization and worker misclassification.

“Many media workers continue to face unsafe working conditions, low and unstable income, job insecurity, and threats of violence,” the lawmakers said in a statement.

Under the proposed law, media entities would be required to provide insurance coverage for all workers, regardless of their employment status.

It also mandates that media employers enroll their staff in the Social Security System, PhilHealth, and the Pag-IBIG Fund. Freelancers would be encouraged to maintain active memberships as voluntary contributors.