Senate bill seeks to grant journalists hazard pay, more insurance benefits

Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed a bill requiring media companies to provide insurance coverage and hazard pay to journalists and other media workers.
Ms. De Lima, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 1860 which mandates additional insurance benefits for journalists, such as disability, health and hospitalization benefits.
“The press is considered as the Fourth Estate, a significant pillar of our democracy. However, journalism and reporting the news remains to be a dangerous profession,” she said in a statement on Monday. — Camille A. Aguinaldo