CHIZ SEEKS 12-HOUR WORKDAY LIMIT
FOR MOVIE AND TV WORKERS

Independent vice-presidential candidate Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero is filing a bill seeking to curb the excessive work hours in the entertainment and information industry that expose its workers to unhealthy and unsafe working conditions.

In the proposed measure, Escudero wants to limit to 12 hours the workday schedule of workers in cinema, theater, radio, film, television and other forms of media to protect their well-being.

"Workers in the film, television, movie and other forms of media spend unreasonable number of hours of work, which is not only inhumane but detrimental to their health," said Escudero, who is married to actress Heart Evangelista.

According to the vice-presidential frontrunner, the bill aims to fill the gap in the Labor Code, which failed to provide "normal hours of work to a unique set of workers, whose hours of work per day have yet to be set as a matter of statutory policy."

The grueling production schedules and long working hours in the movie and TV industry came under scrutiny following the untimely demise of two famous movie and TV directors, Wenn Deramas and Francis Xavier Pasion in a span of less than two weeks.

Notable directors and actors have publicly complained about punishing shooting schedules in order to meet deadlines and cut down production costs. Some TV crew members, they said, even work for straight 72 hours without sleep just finish an episode.

"The successive deaths of these directors should serve as a wake-up call. We should push for a more reasonable schedule for industry workers who normally work 16 to 18 hours a day," the veteran lawmaker said.