Akbayan Lawmakers File House Bill 10362 to regulate AI and protect PH workforce

Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno, alongside fellow lawmakers, has introduced House Bill 10362, formally titled the AI Governance Act.

Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno 

AI Governance Act House Bill introduced.

The proposed legislation aims to establish the nation's first comprehensive national legal framework for artificial intelligence (AI), striking a balance between economic innovation and robust protections for workers, individual privacy, and environmental standards.

Co-authored by Akbayan Representatives Perci Cendana and Dadah Ismula, alongside Dinagat Island Representative Kaka Bag-ao, the bill addresses critical regulatory gaps as AI technologies integrate into key domestic sectors, including Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), finance, and manufacturing.

Provisions of House Bill 10362

1. Labor Safeguards and Mandatory Advance Notice

• Employers must disclose the scope, purpose, and specific job functions affected. 
• Companies are required to provide upskilling, reskilling, workforce redeployment, and transition support.
• The bill explicitly prohibits employers from relying solely on AI tools to discipline employees or evaluate job performance without human oversight, nor can AI be used to bypass existing labor laws.

2. Creation of an 'AI Bill of Rights'

• Algorithmic Transparency or clear disclosures when automated decision-making affects critical outcomes like hiring, credit, or public services.
• Protection Against Discrimination or Regulatory Checks to Prevent Biased or Discriminatory AI Decisions.
• Data Privacy & Erasure or strict enforcement of data protection, explicitly reinforcing the 'right to be forgotten'.

3. Institutional Governance And Sustainability 

• Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Council or to establish an advisory body comprising representatives from government, academia, labor, civil society, media, and the tech sector to guide national AI policies.
• Environmental Standards where Data centers and AI facilities will be required to undergo environmental compliance assessments, consult local communities, and publish annual energy and water consumption disclosures.
• Penalties for non-compliance or unlawful AI deployment range from six months to six years of imprisonment, alongside potential disqualification from public office for government personnel.

"At present, there is no unified national framework that establishes safeguards against harmful AI systems, protects workegrs from AI-driven displacement, guarantees transparency in automated decision-making, promotes AI literacy, establishes accountability standards, or creates institutional mechanisms for AI governance," Representative Chel Diokno stated during the bill's filing.

What do you guys think?

Source: Manila Bulletin, Politiko