Camille Villar files bill to address AI, digital disruption in workforce
Camille Villar
MANILA, Philippines — Camille Villar has proposed the creation of an inter-agency task force to address potential job losses due to the fast-rising use of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology in the labor front.
Under her House Bill No. 11308, or the proposed Workers’ Protection and Skills Development in the Digital Economy Act, Villar underscored the need to establish an early warning system to identify industries that are likely to use AI and other modern technologies in their business operations, subsequently putting at risk the employment of its human work force.
She bewailed how advanced technology, including AI and machine learning, has changed the world at an unprecedented pace.
“As these changes accelerate, the future of work is shifting fundamentally and the ability to transition into new jobs is more critical than ever,” she said.
Villar said her proposed bill seeks to “make workers adaptable to the rapid changing of times. It seeks to support workers at risk due to artificial intelligence or technological advancements, promote upskilling and reskilling, and facilitate their career transition to digital economy.”
Article continues after this advertisementVillar said the National Task Force on Digital Economy Job Disruption to be created under HBN 11308 would establish an early warning system that would provide the government with necessary data to come up with intervention strategies to address AI or digital disruption.
Article continues after this advertisementThe task force shall likewise put up a Workers’ Adjustment Program (WAP) to provide financial assistance, such as wage compensation, unemployment benefits and temporary income support, to displaced workers.
The proposed inter-agency body shall be composed of the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Aside from establishing the early warning system and the WAP, the task force shall likewise design and implement a comprehensive upskilling and reskilling program focused on digital skills and emergent technologies to help workers upgrade or acquire new skills to meet the demands of the digital economy.
It shall likewise develop a career transition support system to help displaced workers find new jobs.
Villar stressed that it is the duty of the government to “protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.”
“Together let us help our countrymen who are affected by new developments in technology and the use of AI in business,” Villar said in Filipino.
The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) has estimated that around five million workers are in danger of losing their jobs this year due to AI and climate change.
The FFW cited the projection of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that 14 percent of the total workforce in the country is at risk of being replaced by AI.
The IMF report, dated December 2024, found that an estimated 36 percent of jobs in the country are “highly exposed” to AI.
It also said that while more than half are “highly complementary,” where AI can support rather than replace the tasks performed by workers, 14 percent of workers engaged in “low-complementarity jobs” are at risk of being replaced by AI.
The IMF report also noted that “AI exposure varies by gender, with approximately half of all jobs held by women highly exposed, compared to a quarter by men.”
