MANILA -- A member of the House of Representatives on Monday said he would propose a law to protect actors, in honor of screen icon Eddie Garcia, who passed away last week after an accident during the shooting of a television series.
Rep. Michael Romero of 1-PACMAN party list said he expected around 100 of his colleagues to support the Actors Occupational Safety and Health Standard Bill or "Eddie Garcia Law", which he said will be the first bill he would file in the upcoming 18th Congress.
Romero is Garcia's stepson.
Under the measure, there will be mandatory insurance and specific working hours for actors, medical and emergency procedures on the production set, and deployment of safety officers on site, Romero said in a Facebook post.
"The 'Eddie Garcia Bill' will be a means to safeguard the welfare and well being of all actors working in the television and/or in the movie industries," he said.
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto, a former actor and television host, is expected to file a counterpart measure, Romero said.
Senator-elect Lito Lapid, a former action star, said last week that Garcia's accident could be reviewed in an effort to further promote occupational safety regulations in the entertainment industry.
The 90-year-old Garcia tripped and fell on the set of a GMA Network series last June 8 and it reportedly took time before he was brought to the hospital. He passed away on Friday.
GMA Network said it was reviewing the video of the incident and the absence of a medical team on site.