Bill that seeks to protect couriers filed at House

HOUSE Deputy Majority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera has filed a bill that aims to broaden protection for couriers delivering people’s orders from e- commerce companies.

The lawmaker filed House Bill 7559, or the proposed “Magna Carta of E- Commerce Delivery Personnel,” on September 1.

Herrera on Sunday said it was only right and just to provide delivery riders, who had become “inadvertent frontliners” in the fight against the coronavirus, wider protection.

“In order to increase efficiency and protect the welfare of delivery riders whose lives [are] put at stake to keep us safe within our homes, this bill seeks to provide more secure measures to these service providers and penalize those who unreasonably and inconveniently cancel their orders upon delivery,” she added.

The bill seeks to ensure the safety of riders “by promoting cashless payment for home deliveries” and punishing cancellation of cash- on- delivery transactions.

“Customers are more responsible for their purchases when they opt to pay online and in advance, while delivery rider[s] simply transport the items to the customers’ homes without having to bear the costs,” Herrera said.

Under the bill, those who cancel their orders face imprisonment and a fine of P10,000 to P50,000.

The measure also prohibits the cancellation of confirmed orders when the items have been paid for by the delivery rider, are in the delivery driver’s possession, or are “in transit to the customer.” Violators could be fined up to P50,000.

Harsher penalties will be imposed on those who shall post their cancellations on social media for “purposes of pranking, gaining popularity or notoriety, vlogging, among others.”