黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Only a few of the country鈥檚 veteran artists could compete with Eddie Garcia in terms of accomplishments and the title of being the best Filipino actor ever. But aside from that, Garcia outlived most of the competition, refusing to leave an industry even in his advanced age.

So when Garcia died while taping a television series, 1-Pacman party-list Rep. Mikee Romero cannot believe that the great actor鈥攚ho happens to be his stepfather鈥攚ould pass away due to an accident that could have been avoided.

鈥淓ddie Garcia is my stepfather, I was with him since I was 13 years old until he perished or he passed away in (2019). So, after his death, I was here 6 a.m. in the morning, nagising ako, sabi ko sa sarili ko, 鈥楤a鈥檛 ganoon ang pagkamatay ni Tito Eddie?鈥� He broke all the records, he was the Famas (Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards) Hall of Fame Best Director, FAMAS Hall of Fame Best Supporting Actor, FAMAS Hall of Fame Best Actor,鈥� Romero said.

READ: Mikee Romero readies 鈥楨ddie Garcia鈥� bill

鈥淗e got all those accolades, all those trophies, and then, he will just die na nasubsob sa [鈥�] napatid sa wire. So, noong namatay siya, sabi ko, napaka-irrelevant or napaka-walang kwenta ng pagkamatay niya. There should be something that I can do as a lawmaker para hindi na marepeat itong mga itong nangyari sa buhay niya or how his life ended,鈥� he added.

READ: Marcos signs 鈥楨ddie Garcia鈥� law

Romero relayed that after praying, he started crafting the bill at 7 a.m., and submitted it to his lawyers for checking by 9 a.m. By 1 p.m., it was at the Bills and Index division of the House of Representatives.

鈥淚 started at 7 a.m. in the morning, and at 9 a.m., sinubmit ko na sa mga lawyers ko, (I asked them) 鈥楥an you check itong batas na ginawa ko? And na-check nila, at 1 o鈥檆lock, nasubmit ko na, na-file ko na sa Congress 鈥檡ong bata and then I coined it the Eddie Garcia Law, or the Eddie Garcia Bill at that time,鈥� he noted.

After Garcia died last June 20, 2019, Romero prepared a bill that would institute workplace safety protocols in television and movie production, in honor of the great Filipino artist.

Eventually, the bill鈥檚 benefits stretched out of the television and movie industry, also covering other cultural works.

The bill was approved by a House subcommittee last August 2020, and it was eventually approved by the entire House on third and final reading by November of that year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic stalled the bill鈥檚 progress.

It was eventually refiled in the 19th Congress, and was approved on third reading again last February 2023. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the bill into law鈥擱epublic Act No. 11996 or the Eddie Garcia Law 鈥� last May 2024.

Under the law, work for those in the creative industry would be at eight hours per day, extendable to a maximum of fourteen hours, exclusive of meal periods. The same law also protected creative workers from having to work over sixty hours in a week.

Wage provisions were also included, which required producers and project managers to pay workers on time, of a sum that is not less than the minimum wage in the region.

According to Romero, it was the numerous stories of creative workers鈥� hardships, shared to him by Garcia, that inspired him to check on their welfare.

鈥淪o, this Eddie Garcia Law, itong nagawa nagawa ko, it protects not just the superstars, but also 鈥� kasi 鈥檡ong mga stuntmen at saka 鈥榶ong mga extras, sila 鈥榶ong nahihirapan eh. Kasi hangga鈥檛 hindi mo tinatawag, nandyan lang sila sa set eh. And lahat yan, sinabi sa akin ni Tito Eddie, sabi niya, 鈥榓lam mo naawa ako, paminsan binibigyan ko ko ng pang-merienda, pang-kain 鈥榶ong mga stuntman o 鈥榶ong mga naghihintay na extras sa set,鈥� he said.

鈥淜asi, 鈥檡ung iba, tatlong araw, limang araw, nando鈥檔 lang, naka-standby lang sila hanggang tawagin sila. So, with that, hindi na pwede 鈥檡ong ganun ngayon [鈥�] ginagawa na natin professional yung buong movie, TV, and actually, it鈥檚 covered now, pati sa mga plays, covered na lahat, they can all cite this already,鈥� he added.

Romero said some workers in the entertainment industry have thanked him for filing the bill.

鈥淎nd today, alam mo, nagugulat ako some actors or even, in all fields, no? Even if you鈥檙e in front of the camera or at the back of the camera, they say thank you to me up to today,鈥� Romero said.

鈥淎nd I鈥檓 so proud because it is really dedicated (to him). Sabi ko nga sa mommy ko, 鈥楳ommy, Tito Eddie Garcia鈥檚 name will outlive us all. For the next 100 years, patay na tayo lahat.鈥� So, 鈥檡an yung story sa EGL,鈥� he added.