The city council has proposed increasing the penalties of business establishments with night workers and entertainers that do not comply with Ordinance 102, s. 2008.
Under the ordinance, night workers and entertainers are required to present their Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-authenticated birth certificates or certified true copy of their birth certificates to the City Health Services Office to ensure they are above 17 years old and for inclusion in the database of the local government.
As part of their corporate social responsibility and in compliance with the ordinance, business establishments should see to it that no applicant is employed as a night worker or entertainer if the latter did not comply with the requirement.
The city council has proposed an amendment to the ordinance to increase the penalties of erring business establishments.
Under the proposed ordinance, non-compliant establishments shall be fined P5,000 and issued revocation/forfeiture of business permit without prejudice to possible criminal and civil liability, a significant increase compared to the existing penalty ranging from P1,000 to P3,000.
Further, applicants who submit falsified birth certificates in their application for employment shall be prosecuted and made liable under the provisions of the Revised Penal Code and other pertinent laws upon the endorsement of the City Legal Office to the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Moreover, applicants who fail to submit their duly authenticated birth certificates will not be issued working permits.
The proposed measure seeks to eradicate the worst form of child exploitation in the city, provide stronger protection to working children, monitor the possible employment of minors in business establishments, and prevent them from being exposed to hazardous environments.
According to the proposed ordinance, authorized agencies and offices can exercise visitorial powers and conduct interviews with employees in establishments to determine the latter’s true ages and identities and require them to present their health records. The PSA-authenticated birth certificate of an employee or a certified true copy of their birth certificate from the Office of the Civil Registry must be available and presented to the inspection team.
Authorized agencies and offices are the City Social Welfare and Development Office, the Department of Social Welfare and Development-CAR, and the Baguio City Police Office, which must consult the National Privacy Commission at all times to protect the personal information of employees in all business establishments with night workers and entertainers as provided under the Republic Act 10173 or An Act Protecting Individual Personal Information in Information and Communications Systems in the Government and the Private Sector, Creating for this Purpose a National Privacy Commission, and for other Purposes.
The proposed ordinance was approved on first reading and was referred to the committee on laws, human rights, and justice. – Jordan G. Habbiling
July 27, 2024
