This article outlines two realities about the Philippine labor market: the continuing expansion of the large informal economy and the continuing “flexibilization” of work in the narrow organized sector of the economy. The first is a consequence of the uneven development of the economy and its weak capacity to create stable jobs for a growing population. This expansion is reflected in the chain of urban and rural poor colonies mushrooming all over the archipelago. On the other hand, the flexibilization phenomenon in the formal labor market is manifested in various forms of flexible hiring arrangements, primarily through the service contracting modality. Flexibilization has generated fierce legal debates, especially regarding the so-called management prerogative of firms to outsource jobs held by regular workers. The article contends that social protection for the “precariat” in both the formal and informal sectors requires not only the passage of protective labor laws but also, and more importantly, an overhaul of the neoliberal and crisis-ridden economic policy regime that has been in place for nearly four decades.