Revilla calls for rewards, protection from liabilities for volunteer workers

By JOHN CARLO M. CAHINHINAN

Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. is pushing for allotting reward and incentives to volunteer workers and protect them from liability while performing their duties.

Revilla recently filed Senate Bill No. 1511 or the “Emergency Volunteer Protection Act,” which aims to create an “enabling and conducive environment for volunteer work.”

Revilla’s SB 1511 seeks to protect volunteer workers from liabilities for acts committed in the performance of their duties during emergency situations.

In filing the measure, Revilla noted the celebrities and ordinary Filipinos that have linked arms to form armies of volunteers to offer support, assistance and compassion to people in need, conquering their own fears and reservations, and overcoming the risks amid the threat posed by the dreaded coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Under SB 1511, a volunteer “properly licensed, certified or authorized” either by government entities, non-government organizations or the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) should not be held liable for harm caused by an act or omission done in the performance of his or her duties or functions; or the harm was not caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights and safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer.

Revilla’s bill also seeks to ensure that emergency volunteers shall receive incentives to be sponsored or facilitated by the PNVSCA.

SB 1511 mandates the PNVSCA to provide, trainings, seminars and similar avenues for further education and skills improvement; additional special privilege leave benefits; and employment merits commensurate to the length, kind and quality of volunteer work and service rendered that may translate to appointment, promotion, salary increase, regularization, or similar career and professional advancement.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)