Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno has filed House Bill No. 10362, the proposed AI Governance Act, which would give the Philippines its first unified national framework for regulating artificial intelligence.
The proposed law would require companies to give workers at least six months’ notice before rolling out “high-impact” AI systems, and to offer reskilling, upskilling, and job transition support to anyone displaced. Employees and unions would also get a say before AI adoption decisions are made, and the bill blocks companies from using AI to evaluate or fire workers without a human actually reviewing the decision.
Diokno filed the bill with fellow Akbayan Reps. Perci Cendaña and Dadah Kiram Ismula, along with Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao. In his explanatory note, Diokno said the country currently has no complete framework covering AI safeguards, worker protection, transparency in automated decisions, or accountability standards. He pointed out that existing laws, including the Data Privacy Act of 2012, the Cybercrime Prevention Act, and the Philippine Innovation Act, only address pieces of the problem.
“At present, there is no unified national framework that establishes safeguards against harmful AI systems, protects workers from AI-driven displacement, guarantees transparency in automated decision-making, promotes AI literacy, establishes accountability standards, or creates institutional mechanisms for AI governance,” Diokno said.
Beyond labor protections, HB 10362 introduces an AI Bill of Rights covering privacy, transparency, and protection from unfair AI decisions. It includes a right to be forgotten and a right to human review for job applications and bank loan decisions, an area where Filipino consumers regularly deal with automated credit scoring from banks and lending apps. The bill would also require AI data centers to disclose their energy and water use, consult nearby communities, and follow environmental standards, an issue that is starting to come up as more data centers open around Metro Manila and Cebu to support AI and cloud services.
To carry out the law, the bill sets up an Artificial Intelligence Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Council made up of representatives from government agencies, academia, labor groups, civil society, media, youth organizations, and the tech sector. Violations carry real consequences: unlawful use of AI could mean six months to six years in prison depending on severity, and public officials found non-compliant risk permanent disqualification from holding office.
Diokno cited the Philippine AI Report 2025, which found that more than 92% of surveyed Philippine organizations have already adopted AI in some form, while 54% have used generative AI tools for over a year. That adoption curve is part of why he’s pushing for the bill now.
“Innovation and regulation must go hand in hand. We must put clear rules in place today if we want to protect the rights and welfare of the people while harnessing the benefits of AI,” Diokno said.
HB 10362 joins a growing pile of AI-related bills in the 20th Congress, including earlier labor-focused measures like Quezon City Rep. Arjo Atayde’s Protection of Labor Against AI Automation Act.
