ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AT WORK: NAVIGATING THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE IN THE PHILIPPINES

The future is for those who are prepared.

We can barely keep up with the rapid development of AI tools in the open-source community. Agentic AI. Deep-research. Vibe-coding. MCP. Reflective Models. AI in mass HR systems. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already influencing who are hired, who gets monitored, and who gets left behind. The question we must ask — especially for those of us in the legal and regulatory trenches — is this: are our laws evolving as fast as the tech that's reshaping our jobs?

Let's be honest. The Philippine Labor Code is a 1974 vintage. It was not built with algorithms in mind. It was designed in a time when determinations and decisions could only be made by people. Today, that's no longer the case. Imagine a warehouse worker flagged as "underperforming" by a machine that doesn't understand she took time off to care for a sick child. Or a young applicant getting auto-rejected by a chatbot trained on decades of biased hiring data.

To its credit, the National Privacy Commission stepped up last December with Advisory No. 2024-04. It is one of the first serious attempts to put guardrails around AI in the Philippines. The advisory insists on transparency, fairness, and accountability — solid principles, yes, but easier said than enforced when the algorithm is a black box even its creators barely understand.

Here's the thing: just because AI made the call doesn't mean the employer is off the hook. Under the NPC's guidelines, companies must explain what data they're collecting, how decisions are made, and what recourse is available.

In March 2025, the Department of Labor and Employment held national consultations on AI in the workplace. One recurring theme stood out: Who's responsible when AI gets it wrong?

Let's say a facial recognition system used for attendance keeps misidentifying workers. Or a scheduling algorithm cuts hours for caregivers who need flexible time. Can the affected employee sue? Is the employer liable? What about the software vendor? Right now, the answers are murky — and that's a problem.

Here's another legal concern — collective bargaining agreements. Most CBAs weren't written with algorithmic managers in mind. What happens when AI starts dictating schedules, tasks, and evaluations?

These aren't just policy concerns. They're live legal questions. And the longer we delay giving them answers, the greater the risk that we allow automation to quietly chip away at workers' rights.