By:Atty. Gregorio B. Austral, CPA
The laws we have, the future we face
The country has recently passed several important laws: Trabaho Para sa Bayan (RA 11962), Tatak Pinoy (RA 11981), the Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act (RA 12063), and the new tax incentive regime under RA 12066. Together, these laws outline a vision for a modern developmental state. Each one focuses on a key area, such as creating jobs, upgrading industries, training workers, or offering performance-based incentives. When considered as a whole, they provide a clear plan for economic transformation. However, when we look at them in light of the rapid changes brought by AI and the risk of job losses, we can see both their strengths and their shortcomings.
The Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act comes closest to providing a just transition for workers. It calls for a national employment master plan and tells the State to support ‘skilling, upskilling, and reskilling’ for all workers, including those in new types of jobs. The law also says priority sectors should be chosen based on new industries. However, it does not require the TPB Council to look at automation risks, nor does it make companies that use labor-saving technology take on any extra responsibilities. The law assumes that better planning and more training will be enough, but in an AI-driven economy, that idea is becoming less reliable.
Tatak Pinoy takes an even bigger step in shaping the country’s industrial future. It puts ideas like economic complexity, product space analysis, and human capital development into law. It is the first law in the Philippines to make the goal of producing more advanced products and services a national priority. However, it focuses on the big picture. It explains what the country should aim to produce, but does not address how to protect workers who lose their jobs to automation as the economy changes. While the law looks ahead in terms of developing human resources, it does not offer protection for those already affected by AI.
The EBET Framework Act is the most practical tool for helping workers adapt. It brings together apprenticeship, learnership, and enterprise-based training into one system based on skills. The law creates ways for workers to improve or learn new skills, and lets companies work with TESDA to design training programs. In theory, this is the government’s best way to prepare workers for jobs in an AI-heavy market. But participation is voluntary. Companies can choose to register EBET programs, but they do not have to. Workers can be trained, but there is no guarantee they will get access. The law also does not mention the most vulnerable groups, such as informal workers, platform workers, and those in micro-enterprises, who are least likely to benefit from this kind of training.
The new Title XIII IRR under RA 12066 gives financial support to industrial policy. It offers rewards to companies that invest in training, research and development, local materials, and advanced production. However, these are incentives, not requirements. A company can automate and let workers go, but still receive tax breaks, extra deductions, and duty exemptions. The IRR does not require companies to have a transition plan, offer new roles to affected workers, or even promise to keep the same number of jobs. The law encourages modernization, but does not make responsible modernization a must.
Overall, these laws are important, but they are not enough. They give the government tools to guide the economy toward higher-value industries and offer more training for workers. However, they do not yet provide a full framework for a fair transition in the age of AI. The laws do not guarantee rights for workers who lose their jobs, require companies to retrain staff when they automate, or offer strong social protections to help people adjust to new technology. The structure is solid, but the support for people is weak. To face the challenges of AI-driven change, future reforms need to go beyond planning and incentives and provide real, enforceable, and humane guarantees.