Green Jobs bill set for House approval

MANILA, Philippines - The House Committee on Labor and Employment has approved and endorsed for plenary approval the Green Jobs bill, a first-of-its-kind measure which seeks to open job opportunities in the field of green technology and environment conservation.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, chairman of the panel, said House Bill 4969 or the proposed Philippine Green Jobs Act has likewise passed the scrutiny of the House Committees on Appropriation, and the Ways and Means to scour funds for the implementation of the law.

The Senate, through Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, has also committed to pass Senate Bill 2893 or their version of the Green Jobs Act, which was hailed by the United Nation’s International Labor Organization as the “first of its kind” and a creative innovation to address the challenges of climate change.

The measure seeks to promote work that produce goods and services that benefit and preserve the environment. These particularly involve business enterprises that use fewer natural resources in their production processes.

“With the adverse effects of climate change being felt around the world and its increasing threat to lives and properties, nations have found it imperative to facilitate and guide the process of making industries less harmful to the environment,” Nograles said.

The bill is also pushing for fiscal incentives and tax perks to encourage individuals and enterprises to participate in the creation of green jobs, practice the use of environment-friendly technologies and produce green goods and services.

Under the proposal of Nograles, the so-called “green companies” or business enterprises involved in the production of environment-friendly products and those that offer services to promote environmental protection and conservation are entitled to fiscal incentives that may include additional deduction of labor expense and duty-free importation of capital equipment.

The incentives shall be determined and administered by the Department of Finance.

With this bill, Nograles hopes to see the establishment of many “green investments” in the Philippines such as those involved in the production of electronic vehicles, solar panels and even power companies that use renewable resources.

“This is the future. I think that in the next 10 to 20 years, we will already see a lot of homes equipped with their own solar panels and homes that have their own water recycling facilities. What we need now is to encourage more investments on green technology. This is like in the early ‘90s where mobile phones were only for the rich whereas today, every Filipino has their own cellular phone,” he said.

With the world’s dwindling resources, he said countries have no recourse but to move toward a more sustainable use of their natural resources and harness the full potential of renewable resources.

“Public policy must center on developing a green jobs agenda, enhancing workers’ skills, and ensuring a just transition to a green economy,” Nograles said.

The Department of Labor and Employment is tasked to create a national green jobs human resource development plan, which will sustain the transition into a green economy.

“It shall include programs, projects, and activities pertaining to basic, higher and technical vocational education and training, a database that identifies and links green job opportunities with private and public entities, and information on knowledge and skill requirements of a green economy,” Nograles said.

The bill also seeks to delegate the Secretary of Labor and Employment as an additional member of the Climate Change Commission as well as mandates the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to design and implement the appropriate curriculum in support of the green economy.