Corporate social responsibility bill gets final House nod

By Filane Mikee Cervantes  May 20, 2020, 10:02 pm

MANILA – The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third reading a bill seeking to
institutionalize corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the operation of corporations in the country. 
 
A total of 209 lawmakers voted in favor of House Bill 6137, or the proposed Corporate Social Responsibility
Act, while no one voted against it nor abstained.  
 
The bill seeks to encourage all domestic and foreign business organizations, established and operating under
Philippine laws, to observe corporate social responsibility in the operations of their businesses in the
country. 
 
Under the measure, CSR is defined as the commitment of businesses to contribute on a voluntary basis to
sustainable development by working with relevant stakeholders to improve their lives in ways that are good
for business, sustainable development agenda, and society at large. 
 
CSR-related activities shall include charitable programs and projects, scientific research, youth and sports
development, cultural or educational promotion, services to veterans and senior citizens, social welfare,
environmental sustainability, health development, disaster relief and assistance, socialized and low-cost
housing, and employee and worker welfare.  
 
To encourage companies to engage in CSR, the bill allows stock corporations to retain profits in excess of 100
percent of paid-in capital stock to be used for expansion or corporate social responsibility projects and
programs. 
 
Furthermore, the Department of Trade and Industry shall recognize and reward all business organizations for
outstanding, innovative, and world-class CSR-related services, projects, and programs. 
 
Local government units shall also be mandated to extend whatever assistance is necessary for business
establishments to accomplish CSR programs and projects. 
 
"Plowing back corporate resources to communities, especially those underserved by the government, would
help cure the deficit in state spending in areas that cry out for development," Deputy Speaker Michael
Romero said.
 
Romero, main author of  the CSR bill, said such schemes can be seen as direct intervention by the private
sector in which they get to spend money which would have been paid as taxes “but in an efficient manner
without the overhead associated with the bureaucracy.” (PNA)