1 PROPOSED SP ORDINANCE NO.

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2
3
4“AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING GUIDELINES IN THE WORKPLACE FOR THE
5PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF COVID-19, PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR,
6AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.”
7
8
9 (INTRODUCED BY: HON. CHERRY MAY G. BUSA)
10
11
12 EXPLANATORY NOTE
13
14 WHEREAS, Section 15, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, it is the
15State’s policy to protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health
16consciousness among them;
17
18 WHEREAS, Section 16 of the Republic Act No. 7160, known as the Local
19Government Code of 1991, states that every local government unit shall exercise the
20powers expressly granted, those necessarily implied therefrom as well as powers
21necessary, appropriate, or incidental for its efficient and effective governance, and those
22which are essential for the promotion of the general welfare.
23
24 WHEREAS, Section 9 of Republic Act 11332 known as the Mandatory Reporting
25of Notifiable Diseases and Public Health Concern Act, prohibits the non-cooperation of
26the person or entities identified as having the notifiable disease, or affected by the
27health event of public concern;
28
29 WHEREAS, the Department of Trade and Industries and Department of Labor
30and Employment issued interim guidelines on Workplace Prevention and Control of
31Covid-19 dated, April 30, 2020;
32
33 WHEREAS, Section 1 of Republic Act 11058 or otherwise known as An Act
34Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards provides
35that the State shall ensure a safe and healthful workplace for all working people by
36affording them full protection against all hazards in their work environment.
37
38 Be it ordained by the Honorable Sangguniang Panlungsod in session
39assembled and by authority of the same that:
40
41 SECTION 1. TITLE. – This Ordinance shall be known as the “The New Normal
42Guidelines in the Workplace for the Prevention and Control of Covid-19
43Ordinance.”
44
45 SECTION 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY. The City Government of Butuan
46affirms the labor as a primary social and economic force, and that a safe and healthy
47workforce is an integral aspect of the development of its local economy. For these
48purposes, the City Government of Butuan shall ensure a safe and healthful workplace
49for all working people by affording them full protection against all hazards in their work
50environment. Anent to this, the City Government of Butuan shall protect every worker
51against injury, sickness and death through safe and healthful working conditions thereby
52assuring the conservation of valuable manpower resources and the prevention of loss
53or damage to lives and properties consistent with the national development goals, and
54with the City Government’s commitment to the total development of every worker as a
55complete human being.
56
57 SECTION 3. DEFINITION OF TERMS
 58
59 (a) Covered workplaces - refers to establishments, projects, sites and all other
60 places where work is being undertaken wherein the number of employees,
61 nature of operations, and risk or hazard involved in the business, as determined
62 by the Secretary of Labor and Employment;

63 (b) Employer - refers to any person, natural or juridical, including the principal
64 employer, contractor or subcontractor, if any, who directly or indirectly benefits
65 from the services of the employee;

66 (c) Workplace - refers to any site or location where workers need to be or to go to

67 by reason of their work, and which are under direct or indirect control of the
68 employer.

69 SECTION 4. COVERAGE. This Ordinance shall apply to all workplaces,

70employers and workers in the private sector.

71 SECTION 5. WORKER’S RIGHTS IN THE WORKPLACE. The following are the

72worker’s rights in the workplace, herein provided to ensure the promotion health and
73safety as well as their protection against the risk of exposure to the Covid-19 virus in the
74workplace:

75 (a) Worker’s Right to Know – The right to safety and heatlh at work shall be
76 guaranteed. All workers shall be appropriately informed by the employer
77 about all types of hazards in the workplace, provide access to training,
78 education and orientation on the various safety standards and protocols,
79 especially regarding the prevention and control of Covid-19 in the workplace;
80 (b) Worker’s Right to Refuse Unsafe Work – The worker has the right of refusal
81 to work without threat or reprisal from the employer if, as determined by the
82 DOLE or the City Health Office, an imminent danger situation exists in the
83 workplace that may result in illness, injury or death, and corrective actions to
84 eliminate the danger have not been undertaken by the employer, especially
85 with regard to the measures to prevent and/or mitigate the spread of Covid-19
86 in the workplace;
87 (c) Worker’s Right to Report Accidents – Workers and their representatives shall
88 have the right to report accidents, dangerous occurrences and hazards to the
89 employer, to the DOLE, the City Health Office and other concerned
90 government agencies exercising jurisdiction as the competent authority in the
91 specific industry or economic industry;
92 (d) Worker’s Right to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Every employer
93 shall provide his workers, free of charge, protective equipment for their eyes,
94 face, hands and feet, and lifeline, gas or dust respirator or masks, and
95 protective shields necessary by reason of the hazardous work process
96 environment, including the risk of exposure to Covid-19 virus in the
97 workplace. All PPE shall be of the appropriate type as tested and approved
98 by the appropriate authorities on its standards.
99

100 SECTION 6. GUIDELINES ON SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE

101 The following safety and health standards shall be implemented in all workplaces
102aligned with the objectives of the minimum health standards of the Department of
103Health:
104 (a) Increase Physical and Mental Resilience in the Workplace. Emphasize to
105 all workers the everyday actions to stay healthy such as:
106
107 i. Eat nutritious and well-cooked food;
108 ii. Drink plenty of fluids and avoid alcoholic beverages;
109 iii. Increase the body’s resistance by having adequate rest and at least
110 eight (8) hours of sleep, and
111 iv. Enjoin companies to provide free medicines and vitamins; and
112 v. Provide referral for workers needing counseling or presenting with
113 mental health concerns
114
115 (b) Prevention and Control of Transmission of CoVid-19 Virus in the
116 Workplace. Prior to entrance in buildings or workplaces, all employers and
117 workers shall:
118
119 i. Wear face masks at all time and remove the same only when
120 eating/drinking;
121 ii. Employers shall provide the appropriate face masks for workers.
122 Should cloth masks be used, the washable type shall be worn but
123 additional filter material such as tissue papers inside the masks may
124 be added;
125 iii. Accomplish daily the health symptoms questionnaire and submit to the
126 guard or designated safety officer prior to entry;
127 iv. Have their temperature checked and recorded in the health symptoms
128 questionnaire;
129 v. For any personnel with temperature > 37.5 C, even after a 5-minute
130 rest, or if their response in the questionnaire needs further evaluation
131 by the clinic staff, the person shall be isolated in an area identified by
132 the company and not allowed to enter the premises. The isolation
133 should be well-ventilated and must be disinfected frequently;
134 vi. Clinic staff assigned to assess the workers held in the isolation are
135 shall be provided the appropriate medical grade PPEs by the
136 establishment which shall include but not limited to, face masks,
137 goggles/face shields, and/or gloves; and spray alcohol/sanitizers to
138 both hands; and provide disinfectant foot baths at the entrance if
139 practicable;
140 vii. Equipment or vehicle entering hub operational are must go through a
141 disinfection process; and
142 viii. If there will be a long queue outside the office or store premises, roving
143 officers should instill physical distancing of at least one (1) meter.
144
145 (c) Inside the Workplace. Employers and workers shall at all times observe the
146 following safety and health guidelines while they are inside their office
147 premises:
148
149 i. All work areas and frequently handled objects such as door knobs and
150 handles, shall be cleaned and disinfected regularly, at least once every
151 two (2) hours;
152 ii. All washrooms and toilets shall have sufficient clean water and soap,
153 workers are encouraged to wash their hands frequently and avoid
154 touching their eyes, nose and mouth;
155 iii. Sanitizers shall be made available in corridors, conference areas,
156 elevators, stairways and areas where workers pass;
157 iv. Workers, whether in office workstations or in operations area, shall
158 always practice physical distancing meaning at the minimum one (1)
159 meter radius space (side, back and front) between workers;
160 v. Employers shall provide visible markers, lanes or indicators in queuing
161 counters or waiting areas to ensure physical distancing in the
162 workplace;
163 vi. Eating in communal areas is discouraged. It is best to eat in individual
164 work are and all wastes shall be disposed properly. If eating in
165 individual work areas is not possible, the employer shall ensure that
166 physical distancing is maintained in dining areas with one worker per
167 table and one (1) meter distancing per worker. It is discouraged that
168 workers engage in conversation with masks off during meal times.
169 Tables and chairs shall be cleaned or disinfected after every use of the
170 area, and before as well as at the end of the work day; and
171 vii. Canteens and kitchens should be cleaned and disinfected regularly.
172
173 (d) Minimize Contact Rate. The physical contact between and among
174 employers, workers and their clients or customers must be reduced in order
175 to minimize the risk of exposure to the CoVid-19 virus. For this purpose, the
176 employers and workers must observe the following guidelines:
177
178 i. Alternative work arrangements, such as working – hour shifts, work
179 from home (WFH), where feasible and on rotation basis;
180 ii. Prolonged face-to-face interactions between workers and with clients
181 are discouraged and masks shall be worn at all times and not
182 removed; Meetings needing physical presence shall be kept to a
183 minimum number of participants and with short duration. Video
184 conferencing shall be utilized lengthy discussions among workers;
185 iii. Office tables should be arranged in order to maintain proper physical
186 distancing. Barriers may be provided between tables;
187 iv. Workstation layout should be designed to allow for unidirectional
188 movement in aisles, corridors or walkways;
189 v. To maintain physical distancing, number of people inside an enclosed
190 space such as a room, store or hall shall be limited. Elevator use
191 should consider physical distancing and limit the number of persons in
192 order to observe the 1 –meter physical distancing;
193 vi. Use of stairs should be encouraged subject to physical distancing
194 requirements. If more than 2 stairways are accessible, one stairway
195 may be used exclusively for going up another for going down;
196 vii. Online system shall be highly encouraged to be utilized for clients
197 needing assistance from offices including the use of video
198 conferencing; and
199 viii. Roving officers shall always ensure physical distancing and
200 observance if minimum health protocols.
201
202 (e) On Reducing the Risk of Infection from COVID – 19
203
204 i. In the event that a worker is suspected as having COVID – 19:
205
206 1) The worker shall immediately proceed to the isolation are
207 designated in the workplace and never remove his/her mask;
208 2) Clinic personnel attending to the workers should wear appropriate
209 PPEs and if needed should require the transport of the affected
210 worker to the nearest hospital. Company protocols for transport for
211 suspect COVID-19 cases and for PCR testing, should be in place
212 including providing for ambulance conduction. Hospitals will report
213 to the DOH for COVID – 19 suspect; and
214
215 ii. Decontamination of workplace:
216
217 1) Workplace shall be decontaminated with appropriate disinfectant
218 (e.g. chlorine bleaching solution and 1:100 phenol based
219 disinfectant);
220 2) After denomination of the work are, work can resume after 24
221 hours; and
222 3) Workers present in the work area with the suspect COVID – 19
223 workers shall go on fourteen (14) days home quarantine with
224 specific instructions from the clinic staff on monitoring of symptoms
225 and possible next steps. If suspect COVID – 19 worker has
226 negative result, co-workers may be allowed to report back to work.
227
228 iii. In the event that a worker is sick or has fever but is not suspected to
229 have COVID – 19 (ex., urinary infection, wound infection or any
230 diseases not related to lungs or respiratory tract) the employer must
231 advise the worker to take prudent measures to limit the spread of
232 communicable diseases, as follows:
233
234 1) Stay at home and keep away from work or crowds;
235 2) Take adequate rest and take plenty of fluids;
236 3) Practice personal hygiene to prevent spread of disease; and
237 4) Seek appropriate medical care if there is persistent fever, when
238 difficulty of breathing has started, or when he/she becomes weak.
239
240 SECTION 7. DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS
241
242 The employers shall:
243
244 (a) Provide the necessary company policies for the presentation and
245 control of COVID – 19 in consultation with worker. Advocacy and
246 Information and Education Campaign (IEC) programs should be taken
247 from DOH and other reliable sources of information on COVID – 19;
248 (b) Provide resources and materials needed to keep the workers healthy
249 and the workplace safe, e.g., masks, soap, sanitizer, disinfectant,
250 PPEs, including COVID – 19 testing kits;
251 (c) Designate the safety officer to monitor COVID – 19 prevention and
252 control measures such as physical distancing, wearing of masks,
253 regular disinfection, compliance to thermal scanning and
254 accomplishing health symptoms questionnaire;
255 (d) Enhance health insurance provision for workers;
256 (e) Where feasible, provide shuttle services and/or decent accommodation
257 on near-site location to lessen travel and people movement;
258 (f) Give preference or priority to the hiring of workers from the local
259 community; and
260 (g) Put up a COVID-19 Hotline and Call Center for employees to report if
261 symptomatic, and daily monitoring scheme of our “suspect” employee
262 condition.
263
264 The Workers shall:
265
266 (a) Comply with all workplace measures in place for the prevention and
267 control of COVID-19, such as, frequent hand washing, wearing of
268 masks, observe physical distancing always;
269 (b) Observe proper respiratory etiquette;
270 (c) Coughing and sneezing into tissue or into shirt sleeve if tissue is not
271 available;
272 (d) Disposing used tissue properly; and
273 (e) Disinfecting hands immediately through proper washing with soap and
274 water or alcohol-based sanitizer immediately after a cough or sneeze.
275 SECTION 8. WORKPLACE WITH IMMINENT DANGER SITUATIONS. In
276workplace where workers are evidently at risk of infection as in health-care and other
277frontline services, the employer shall comply with DOH Department Memorandum No.
2782020-0178: Interim Guidelines on Health Care Provider Networks during the COVID-19
279Pandemic (dated 11 April 2020).
280 Workers in said workplace must take extra precautionary measures which
281include strict hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Employers
282shall ensure the PPE (e.g. respirators such as N95, gowns, gloves) is properly worn by
283the workers while at work and disposed of accordingly after use.
284 SECTION 9. COVID- 19 TESTING. Employers may test workers for COVID – 19.
285Testing kits used and procured shall be the responsibility of the employer. DOH
286Protocols shall be followed for the testing of workers and interpretation of results in
287accordance with DOH Department Memorandum No. 2020-0180: Revised Interim
288Guidelines on Expanded Testing for COVID – 19, 16 April 2020 and DOH
289Administrative Order No. 2020-0014; Guidelines in Securing a License to Operate a
290COVID-19 Testing Laboratory in the Philippines, 07 April 2020. Company policy on
291COVID – 19 testing shall be formulated and agreed upon by employers and workers in
292conformity with the DOH protocols.
293 Workers with a negative test shall continue to work. They should be given
294appropriate advice and instructions once they develop any health complaints or
295symptoms. The company Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) personnel shall
296continue to monitor all workers.
297 SECTION 10. MOST AT RISK WORKERS AND VULNERABLE GROUPS.
298Employers are highly encouraged to allow these workers to do work from home
299arrangement. Work Agreements should be developed to detail the deliverables from
300these employees and there shall be no diminution in wages or benefits.
301 SECTION 11. ASSISTANCE BY THE DTI AND DOLE. DTI and DOLE shall
302extend assistance and technical support to all workplaces, employers and workers in
303complying with this Ordinance.
304 SECTION 12. REPORTING OF ILLNESSES/ DISEASE/INJURIES. The
305employer shall provide the City Health Office DOLE through is Regional Office copy
306furnished DOH, monthly reporting of illness, diseases and injuries utilizing the DOLE
307Work Accident/Illness Report Form (WAIR)
308 SECTION 13. EFFECT OF FUTURE GUIDELINES. This Ordinance may be
309amended or superseded by later guidelines set by the DOH and other appropriate
310agencies of the government.
311 SECTION 14. PENALTIES – Any person or entity to have violated this ordinance
312will be penalized:
313
314 For Employers:
315
316 1st Offense: Fine of One Thousand Five Hundred Pesos (P1, 500.00)

317 2nd Offense: Fine of Three Thousand Five Hundred Pesos (P3,500)
318and/ or suspension business permit for 1 month

319 3rd Offense: Fine of Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00), or

320imprisonment for one (1) year and cancellation or revocation of business permit,
321or both, at the discretion of the court.

322 For juridical entities, the company president, chief executive officer, manager or
323its director shall be held primarily liable.

324 For Employees:

325 1st Offense: Fine of One Thousand Pesos (P 1, 000.00)

326 2nd Offense: Fine of Two Thousand Pesos (P2,000)

327 3rd Offense: Three Thousand Pesos (P 3,000.00), or imprisonment for

328one (1) year, or both, at discretion of the court.

329 SECTION 15. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE – If for any reason or reasons, any part
330of or provision of this Ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, other parts
331or provisions thereof not affected shall continue to be in full force and effect.
332
333 SECTION 17. REPEALING CLAUSE – All executive orders, ordinances,
334resolutions, and issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent herewith are hereby
335repealed or modified accordingly.
336
337 SECTION 18. APPLICABILITY – This Ordinance shall be applicable only to
338Covid-19 cases and only during the duration of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
339
340 SECTION 19. EFFECTIVITY CLAUSE – This ordinance shall take effect
341immediately upon approval.
342
343
344HON. CHERRY MAY G. BUSA
345Author
346
347