8
The right to social security of the workers in the informal economy/ sector
not have the necessary technical equipment or devices (i.e. smart phones, tablets, or laptops)
and technical knowledge to accomplish the online survey.
To guide the discussions during the FGDs, a monitoring tool was utilized by the
facilitators. The tool is composed of items that would describe the availability, accessibility,
and adequacy of the social protection programs of the government for the WIES before, during,
and after the imposition of the Enhanced Community Quarantine from March to May 2020
(sometimes referred to as “lockdown”), including items relating to the experiences of the WIES
on indebtedness. The tool is also composed of items that would bring forth the perceptions and
understanding of the WIES on issues concerning the right to social protection. The monitoring
tool was developed by the ESCR Center team and was presented for review to the
representatives of the Workers in the Informal Sector of the National Anti-Poverty Commission
(NAPC) and other representatives of the civil society organizations (CSOs).
After the FGDs, plenary discussions were held to present the summary of the
discussions of each group and to elicit more information from the other participants. Some
questions were likewise addressed during this session.
To gather more data about the social protection programs and projects of the
government for the WIES, a consultation with the relevant national government agencies
(NGAs) was held on 17 June 2021. Representatives from the invited government agencies were
requested to present their respective programs during the virtual meeting, which was
subsequently followed by a structured question and answer session.
In the process of obtaining the data about events, situations, practices, processes, and
trends during the FGDs, the following would be considered in this report:
a. Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the workers in the informal economy/ sector;
b. Level of implementation of the social security programs as assessed by the
respondents in terms of:
i. Availability;
ii. Accessibility; and
iii. Adequacy.
c. Human rights issues; and
d. Policy gaps and implementation bottlenecks.