QUEZON City District V Representative PM Vargas honors Filipino workers’ hard work and contributions by championing legislation seeking just and protective working spaces and dignified working conditions for various labor sectors.
“One of the industries I believe that needs attention by the government is the freelance sector which has flourished in the last couple of years,” Vargas stated. “More and more workers prefer freelancing because it offers schedule flexibility, work-life balance, and greater financial freedom and I see this as an opportunity to ensure that they are protected by institutionalizing the industry,” he explained upon filing Freelance Workers Protection Bill (HB 4557).
The neophyte lawmaker also recognizes the need for creating dignified opportunities for former prisoners, Vargas says “may have been forgotten by the society”. Vargas filed House Bill 1681 or Former Prisoners Employment Act to provide possible paid work for them as a crucial part of their societal reintegration.
As a fervent supporter and proponent of fair pay for workers, Vargas also lobbied for several house bills for salary upgrades for public dentists, doctors, nurses, and public teachers. “Our public teachers and health service practitioners are among the key frontline workers who kept the country together, especially during the pandemic and it is only right that they are fairly compensated for assuring the public with the most basic social services”, claims Vargas.
In the last quarter of 2022, Vargas also filed House Bill 1978 or Care for Nurses Welfare Act which aims to regulate and limit the consecutive working hours of nurses both in the public and private sectors. He explained that compensation alone will not create the ideal workplace, but the working conditions too. “As a legislator, I hope to become an instrument for creating jobs and the workplace a place of dignity where every Filipino worker can take pride in the job that they do”, says Vargas. “I hope to see one day every Juan and Juana working to become instead of just needing to get by each day”, he added.
The young Vargas admits that he shares his vision with his older brother Quezon City Councilor Alfred Vargas who has also advocated for similar policies in the three terms that he has served as a Representative for the same District.
