In the entertainment industry where studio lights shine bright, the safety of those behind the scenes is often left in the shadows. The enactment of the Eddie Garcia Law seeks to ensure workers’ rights are put at center stage. 

The law was signed on May 24, with the implementing rules and regulations finalized on September 30. Film and television industry workers expect fair protection through long-overdue safety and working standards. Such a push to secure labor rights highlights a broader systemic issue of workers’ vulnerability to employer exploitation.

The law comes five years after Filipino veteran actor Eddie Garcia’s death in June 2019. While shooting a GMA soap opera, Garcia tripped on loose cables, causing cervical fractures that led to his demise. Despite its reputation as a major league network, GMA revealed itself as a negligent employer with the absence of a medical team on set and its failure to submit a report within 24 hours of the accident.

The tragedy underscored the need for better safety protocols for entertainment workers. Other issues plaguing the industry include long work hours with low wages and employment discrimination based on affiliation, according to cultural group Tambisan sa Sining.

To address these violations, the law mandates the implementation of wage-related benefits and the creation of a Movie and Television Industry Tripartite Council to facilitate dialogue between workers and their employers. It also calls on employers to “comply with occupational safety and health standards.”

While the Eddie Garcia Law addresses long-standing issues of labor standards within the entertainment industry, considerable gaps remain in fully protecting workers from exploitation. 

Section 9 of the law allows for a maximum of 60 work hours per week, exceeding the International Labour Organization's standard of 48 hours. Furthermore, companies violating Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) are penalized with mere fines instead of criminal charges—a slap on the wrist for placing employees in working conditions that can lead to disability or death.

Employers skimp on safety measures as part of a broader exploitative strategy, designed to cut costs while extracting maximum value from employees through long hours and low wages. These shortcomings lay bare a system where laws supposedly meant to protect workers are circumvented to prioritize employer interests.

Other industries invest in this profit-over-people policy, sidelining worker welfare further in the dark. A total of 27,636 cases of occupational injuries were recorded in 2021, with the manufacturing industry being the most hazardous accounting for 41.7 percent of these incidents, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. 

In 2019, workers from the Peerless Products Manufacturing Corporation, a producer of surfactants, held strikes against their management to protest their poor working conditions including the unsafe handling of toxic chemicals. 

This culture of disregard for worker well-being is compounded by the practice of contractualization depriving them of benefits, job security, and a position to negotiate with their employers. In the entertainment industry, these practices were apparent when the “no work, no pay” policy of the noontime show “It’s Showtime” raised fears that its mostly contractual workforce would be left without income during a 12-day suspension in 2023.

Countless workers become casualties of preventable accidents and exploitative mechanisms, yet their situations do not bring about the same urgency for stricter safety measures.  

The government’s failure to uphold basic rights provided under the Labor Code has left workers unprotected by standards that should already be in place. But beyond implementation lapses, existing laws are inadequate in ensuring real security. The country’s score on the Labor Rights Index continually drops because of its restrictions on unionization, further noting that there is also an absence of legislation prohibiting a probationary period of workers of up to three months and limiting the maximum weekly work time to 56 hours.

Under weak protective labor measures, workers depend on industry-specific Magna Cartas to secure their welfare. However, such efforts have been hindered by their own sets of challenges. 

The passed Magna Carta for seafarers, its protections already watered down in Congress, contains an escrow provision that allows companies to withhold payment of disability claims if employers dispute it. For teachers, their Magna Carta is fraught with lapses in implementation such as their right to overtime pay.  

Under the current system, unionizing plays a crucial role in pushing the state to implement and uphold legal reforms. And through strikes and collective bargaining, union actions ensure workers’ voices are respected even in areas where legislation falls short. For instance, Sofitel workers were eventually assured jobs once the hotel reopens, following weeks of picketing.

Ultimately, the death of Eddie Garcia does not just concern showbiz—it provides a snapshot of a larger, systemic problem centered on worker rights. The enactment and sufficient enforcement of labor laws should stem from worker empowerment and the commitment to ensuring that protections are in place before more lives are lost. ●