Labor groups slam lack of transparency of DEFA signing
Labor groups on Sunday, 15 November, criticized the government for a lack of transparency in the signing of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).
Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) called the signing of the DEFA “a serious failure of democratic accountability” since it did not allow Filipinos to examine its contents, debate its implications or participate meaningfully in decisions that will shape the country’s digital future.
Likewise, the Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong (KAGULONG) raised the same concerns.
“No meaningful consultation. No adequate disclosure of negotiating texts. No clear guarantees for workers’ rights. Yet ASEAN governments are pushing forward with an agreement that could reshape the future of platform work across Southeast Asia,” said KAGULONG.
Because of this, the two groups demanded that the contents of DEFA be made public as well as urged the government to hold public consultations about the agreement.
Sentro also sought that the DEFA be submitted before the Senate for concurrence and an independent and comprehensive impact assessment covering workers’ rights, employment, consumers, competition, taxation, data protection, domestic enterprises and national technological development.
“The country’s digital future is not the government’s to give away. It belongs to the Filipino people,” Sentro stated.
“Publish the agreement. Respect the Constitution. Let the Senate do its job,” it pointed out.
While KAGULONG demanded that guarantees be placed to protect fair earnings, freedom of association, collective bargaining, social security, occupational safety, and protection against arbitrary platform decisions.
The group stressed “DEFA must not weaken existing labor protections or prevent governments from regulating digital platforms in the public interest.”
“DEFA is not simply about facilitating digital trade. It concerns who controls data, who owns digital infrastructure, who captures the wealth generated by technological innovation, and whether the Philippines retains the freedom to regulate powerful technology corporations in the public interest,” Sentro pointed out.
“The stakes for Filipino workers and local enterprises are enormous. Without adequate regulatory safeguards, digital platforms could exercise even greater power over workers’ livelihoods through opaque algorithms and automated decisions. We risk becoming merely a source of data, a market for foreign technology platforms and a supplier of cheap digital labour, while the wealth generated by our digital economy accumulates elsewhere,” it warned.