(UPDATE) MANILA, Philippines: The Philippines has ratified the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. Officials deposited the ratification instrument on February 20, 2024 at the ILO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Senate concurred in the ratification of the ILO Convention 190 in December last year, making the Philippines the 37th country to do so. The country has been a member of the ILO since 1948.

"By ratifying this convention, you ensure that every worker, regardless of gender or background, can contribute to the workforce without facing the scourge of violence or harassment," ILO Deputy Director General Celeste Drake said.

"Through this act, the Philippines sends a powerful message on the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment," she added.

Labor Undersecretary Benedicto Ernesto Bitonio Jr. and Ambassador Carlos Sorreta, Permanent Representative of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations, were among officials who transmitted the documents.

"Beyond the formal act of depositing the ratification instrument today are the country's sustained commitment to international labor standards, both in law and in practice, and its solidarity with the tripartite constituents worldwide in the conviction that coordinated international and national action is critical in attaining decent work and lasting social peace and justice," Bitonio said.

"The government employed social dialogue and tripartism in mustering consensus to ratify the convention, we will continue to use the same process in seeing to it that the convention will be fully implemented," he added.