OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE PHILIPPINES MICROENTERPRISES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE AND TRAINING

Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [311] OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE PHILIPPINES MICROENTERPRISES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE AND TRAINING Kristine Mae Jamili, RCE* Administrative Assistant, Occupational Safety and Health Center Regional Extension Unit XI [email protected] Aristeo Salapa Professor, University of Southeastern Philippines https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0934-3571 ABSTRACT This paper investigates the awareness and compliance of OSH, as well as training modalities among microenterprises in the Philippines based on a systematic review of literature. Fifteen (15) studies were well reviewed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Inclusion and exclusion criteria were set, sources of information came from Scopus (13%), Web of Science (7%) and Google Scholar (80%) articles that made qualitative (40%), quantitative (47%) and mixed method studies. The proportions of primary data (60%) and secondary data (40%) sources were calculated. The SLR findings revealed six (6) main themes: OSH awareness and knowledge gaps, regulatory compliance barriers, training needs and modalities, resource deprivation in micro firms, implementation hurdles and government support infrastructures. OSH legislation is available in the Philippines, however, enforcement, dissemination of information and compliance especially by micro enterprises are problematic (particularly in terms of access to training and availability of resources). Keywords: Occupational Safety and Health, Micro Enterprises, Training Modalities, Compliance, Philippines, PRISMA INTRODUCTION Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) has become increasingly critical in the Philippine business landscape, particularly for micro enterprises that constitute the majority of business establishments in the country. Recent situational analysis reveals that despite legislative advances, significant gaps persist in OSH implementation, particularly among smaller enterprises (Conda et al., 2025). Micro enterprises, as defined in the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (RA 9501) to be a business entity with assets equal or less than PHP 3 million and employing less than 10 people, have specific difficulties in implementing OSH standards (Adobas et al., 2024). Workplace safety issues in the Philippines are of a massive magnitude. Lu (2022a) reported data regarding occupational injuries from 2010-2020, showing patterns of work-related accidents and occupational health hazards in the various sectors. The majority of the Filipino workforce works in micro or small enterprises, as per historical data from the Philippine Statistics Authority in their Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment. However, micro and small businesses consistently with the lowest compliance rates in regard to labor standards, including OSH (PSA-2016; PSA-2018; PSA-2020). This creates a significant, vulnerable population where occupational hazards are largely overlooked. Despite the comprehensive regulatory framework provided by Republic Act No. 11058 (Philippine Occupational Safety and Health Law) in 2018, micro enterprises still demonstrate regular non-compliance towards the law (Francisco et al., 2022). Lu (2022b) highlighted the condition of occupational health and safety in the Philippines continues pervasive with various challenges, such as weak enforcement mechanisms (lack of workers' unionization), lack of awareness among workers and employers, lack of training facility and limited resources that largely affect the small enterprises. A further challenge, it comes in the form of the informal structure of micro enterprises which makes them inaccessible to the government regulation and support. The difficulty in enforcing OSH regulation to micro enterprises can be attributed to factors including lack of financial resources, lack of awareness of OSH implementation, lack of technical knowledge and lack of access to Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [312] training (Albert et al., 2023). In contrast to large enterprises that have safety officers and budgets for OSH compliance, micro enterprises, due to their small margins, lack the resources to establish organizational structures for OSH implementation (Flaminiano et al., 2021). According to Conda et al. (2025), the lack of access creates a scenario where formal and large establishments have compliant OSH while micro enterprises are still struggling with the basic principle of OSH, further accessing the prevalence of workplace inequalities and health disparities. The data on occupation injuries paints a disturbing picture. From an examination conducted by Lu (2022a) on occupation injuries, it emerged that despite some progress on reporting systems, there continues to be an underreporting on occupation injuries and diseases. According to data from the Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment, occupation injuries among employees of micro enterprises remain relatively high compared to occupation injuries among employees of larger enterprises, but remain lower on compensation and medical assistance (PSA, 2020). Training modes are very significant for reducing the knowledge gap in OSH among micro enterprise owners and employees. Conventional training sessions conducted personally, as they are considered highly successful, have limitations for micro entrepreneurs who cannot afford to be away from their businesses for a prolonged period of time (Pasaoa et al., 2023). The recent COVID-19 pandemic experience has significantly promoted alternative modes for conducting trainings, and these modes have shown promise as well as constraints within OSH training sessions (Flaminiano et al., 2021). Nonetheless, it was highlighted that despite various modes for conducting trainings, the rate of participation remains pity low among micro enterprises as well (Conda et al., 2025). The literature typically indicates that the awareness of OSH among micro-enterprises influences their compliance behaviour. Yet, Lu (2022b) warns that consciousness is but insufficient to securing compliance. Microenterprises are confronted with many structural barriers, including the high cost of compliance and overly unmanageable regulations as well as weak enforcement which prevent their full implementation. To respond to this problem, the Philippine government came up with a series of programs in the country in order to inspire OSH compliance through DOLE. These have ranged from reduced procedures, heavily subsided training scheme and the technical advisory visit tailor for micro enterprises (Adobas et al., 2024). Nonetheless, evidence-based reviews have shown that these programs are, to date, reaching small fractions of their target populations. Yet despite such interventions, evidence from the real world suggests that micro enterprises still find it difficult to get large numbers of employees to comply with OSH rules (Akiate et al., 2024). Regulation and enforcement are particularly challenging since micro enterprises are frequently home-based or informal, and their activities are separate. The data in both labor force surveys have consistently shown that the workers in the informal sector, who are predominantly employed by micro establishments, have limited access to social protection coverage such as workplace injury insurance and occupational health services (PSA, 2018; PSA, 2020). Also, the variety of microenterprise sectors, from food processing to manufacturing, construction to retail, requires customized occupational safety and health approaches rather than one-size-fits-all solutions (Albert et al., 2023). Unexamined relationships between OSH compliance and business sustainability in the Philippine context are unexplored, though recent evidence suggests many linkages. Some studies show that the acceptable use of OSH practices can reduce workplace accident costs and increase productivity. However, micro entrepreneurs see the rules in OSH as hard imposed regulations and not so much as investments on their workers (Flaminiano et al., 2021). Lu (2022b) highlighted this difference of views as a need to create better communication strategies that clarify the business benefits of workplace safety, particularly the short-term benefits relevant to micro entrepreneurs concerned about immediate survival. The link between OSH compliance and the sustainability of companies in the Philippines is still unclear, nevertheless, recent evidence is suggesting a few connections between them. Some researchers claim that the right measures taken in the occupational safety and health (OSH) are able to not only cut down the workplace accident costs but also boost productivity. However, micro entrepreneurs view OSH regulations as heavy penalties imposed on them instead of workers’ investments (Flaminiano et al., 2021). Lu (2022b) stressed this perception gap as a communication challenge that needs to be overcome and then, in regard to workplace safety, he pointed out the commercial benefits that are especially linked to the immediate impacts. Additionally, the ability of local government units (LGUs) to promote and enforce OSH standards at the local level is still not clear and varies from region to region. The decentralized government system in the Philippines enables localized OSH initiatives while simultaneously causing a disconnect between national policies and local execution (Garambas & Pinos-an, 2021). Conda et al. (2025) found that many local governments (LGUs) don't have the technical skills, resources, or clear authority to successfully help enhance occupational safety and health (OSH) for micro businesses. This leads to gaps in implementation at the point of service delivery. Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [313] The persistent issues that recent reviews drawn to the surface are recommending a systematic literature review that will bring together the existing evidence about OSH in Philippine micro enterprises (Conda et al., 2025; Lu, 2022a; Lu, 2022b). There have been discrete investigations that dealt with particular factors such as injury trends, regulatory compliance, and training programs; yet, no literature review has ever combined the available evidence on OSH knowledge and practices in microenterprises based on a strict PRISMA method. This systematic literature review will systematically evaluate the current status of OSH awareness, micro enterprise compliance and training modalities in the Philippines. By synthesizing the current evidence from the literature published from 2015-2025, this investigation will identify gaps, best practices and challenges, and policy constraints. Findings of this investigation will provide evidence-based recommendations to improve OSH outcomes in the micro enterprise sector, in line with decent work and sustainable development. Accordingly, the following are the key research questions (KRQs) of this study: RQ1. What are the data sources, research designs, and data types of articles examining OSH awareness, compliance, and training in Philippine micro enterprises? RQ2. What are the key challenges affecting OSH awareness and compliance among Philippine micro enterprises? RQ3. What training modalities and support mechanisms have been identified for improving OSH implementation in Philippine micro enterprises? METHOD 2.1 Research Design. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine OSH awareness, micro enterprise compliance, and training modalities in the Philippines. This study followed the criteria of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). PRISMA was used to ensure that the research process would follow a rigorous method of systematic literature review. PRISMA was designed to transparently report why the review was done, what the researcher did, and what they found (Page et al., 2021). Traditionally, PRISMA includes the following processes: (a) eligibility criteria; (b) information sources; (c) search terms; (d) study selection; and (e) data collection process and synthesis. 2.2 Eligibility criteria. Materials were eligible for inclusion if they: (1) presented empirical or conceptual evidence related to OSH awareness, compliance, training, or workplace safety in Philippine micro or small enterprises; (2) were directly relevant to occupational safety and health practices, regulatory compliance, workplace conditions, or capacity building; (3) were published between 2015 to 2025; and (4) were available as full-text open access publications. Studies not published or written in English, materials based on opinion essays without empirical grounding, and papers not available in full text were excluded from this study. 2.3 Information sources. The researchers conducted an organized, systematic, and comprehensive search on three (3) online databases: Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, and Google Scholar. The choice of these databases was based on the fact that they are the only sources of high-impact journals, conference proceedings, and gray literature that are relevant to OSH research in developing country contexts. Furthermore, the authors determined that there were no existing systematic literature reviews on the topic of OSH awareness, compliance, and training methods specifically targeted at Philippine micro enterprises by applying the PRISMA framework. In Table 1, the search activity for each database is presented with the details of the source category, source name, search method, and date of search. Source Category Source Name Search Method Date of Search Online Database WOS Abstract, Title, and keywords 2025-09-13 Scopus Abstract, Title, and keywords 2025-09-20 Search Engine Google Scholar Full Text, Abstract, Title, and keywords 2025-09-27 Table 1. Search space for selected databases. 2.4 Search Terms. The search procedure was perfected with the use of keywords that were closely related to the topic of the study. As the timeline was set from 2015 to 2025 on OSH awareness, micro enterprise compliance and training in the Philippines, the researchers came up with some detailed search strings. Search Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [314] phrases included variations such as "occupational safety and health" or "workplace safety" or "OSH" and "micro enterprises" or "microenterprises" or "small business" or "SME" or "MSME" and "Philippines." Moreover, the words like "training," "compliance," "awareness," "DOLE," "safety standards," "workplace hazards," and "RA 11058" were also included. To produce more targeted results, techniques such as double quotes, Boolean operators, and proximity operators were applied. Illustrations are: "occupational safety and health" AND "Philippines," "MSME" and "workplace safety" and "Philippines," "business resilience" and "training" and "Philippines," and "regulatory compliance" and "small enterprises" and "Philippines." 2.5 Study Selection. A systematic study selection process was established to identify appropriate articles for review. Table 2 presents the stages of the study selection process. Stage Description S1 Identification of studies through database searches related to OSH, micro enterprises, workplace safety, and training in the Philippines. S2 Removal of duplicate studies across different information sources. S3 Screening of studies based on title and abstract against eligibility criteria. S4 Exclusion of studies not focused on Philippines or not available in full text. S5 Final inclusion of studies meeting all eligibility criteria with accessible links. Table 2. Stages of the study selection process As illustrated in Figure 1, the identification stage began by searching relevant databases and removing duplicates, followed by screening based on title and abstract, and finally assessing full-text articles against eligibility criteria. Figure 1. Contextualized PRISMA Model Used Based on the initial database searches, 387 articles were identified across all sources. After removing duplicates (n=94), 293 articles remained for title and abstract screening. Following this screening against eligibility criteria and verification of open access availability, 42 articles were retained for full-text assessment. After thorough full- Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [315] text review and verification of Philippine context relevance, 15 articles met all inclusion criteria and were included in the final systematic review. Source Before After Web of Science (WOS) 28 1 Scopus 41 2 Google Scholar 318 12 Total 387 15 Table 3. Distribution of Articles Before and After the selection process 2.6 Data extraction and Synthesis. The data extraction and synthesis process involved carefully reading all 15 articles. Microsoft Excel was used to record extracted data and results. The summary table presented columns for such details as the article title, authors, year of publication, research design, participants/respondents or data sources, observed variables, a short description of the study, and key findings corresponding to OSH awareness, compliance, and training modalities in Philippine micro enterprises. Thematic analysis was performed to pinpoint recurring themes, difficulties, and guidelines in the literature being reviewed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This section provides the results and discussion of the systematic literature review. Data sources, research design, and data types are discussed first, followed by analysis of key themes identified across the reviewed literature. 3.1 Data Sources, Research Design, and Data Types. As presented in Table 4, the majority of reviewed articles were obtained from Google Scholar (80%), while Scopus contributed 13% and Web of Science 7% of the reviewed articles. This distribution reflects the accessibility of Philippine OSH research through open-access repositories and local institutional publications. Distribution of Articles n % Based on Sources Scopus 2 13 Web of Science (WOS) 1 7 Google Scholar 12 80 Based on Research Design Quantitative 7 47 Qualitative 6 40 Mixed Method 2 13 Based on the Type of Data Primary 9 60 Secondary 6 40 Table 4. Distribution of Articles Based on Sources, Research Design, and Type of Data Regarding research design, forty-seven percent (47%) of the articles employed quantitative methods, primarily surveys and descriptive statistics to assess OSH awareness levels, compliance rates, and training effectiveness. Qualitative research designs accounted for 40% of the studies, utilizing interviews, case studies, and policy reviews to explore implementation challenges and contextual factors. Mixed methods research represented 13% of the reviewed articles, combining quantitative measurements with qualitative insights. The data sources showed 60% using primary data (surveys, interviews, observations) and 40% utilizing secondary data (policy documents, administrative records, literature reviews). 3.2 Key Themes in OSH Implementation Challenges. The systematic review identified six major themes representing critical barriers to OSH implementation in Philippine micro enterprises. These themes are summarized in Table 5 and discussed in detail below. Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [316] Theme Key Findings Primary Sources OSH Awareness and Knowledge Gaps Limited understanding of workplace safety requirements among owners, workers, and local officials; 65% lack access to OSH information Adobas et al., 2024; Albert et al., 2023; Garambas & Pinosan, 2021 Regulatory Compliance Challenges Complex regulations increase time costs; each additional compliance hour reduces growth probability by 2.3%; 68% struggle with documentation requirements Francisco et al., 2022; Flaminiano & Francisco, 2021; Akiate et al., 2024 Training Needs and Access Barriers Only 23% participated in OSH training in past 3 years; traditional modalities fail to accommodate scheduling constraints; digital literacy gaps limit online training effectiveness Albert et al., 2023; Flaminiano et al., 2021; Pasaoa et al., 2023 Resource Constraints 73% identify lack of capital as primary compliance barrier; limited access to appropriate financing for safety investments Flaminiano & Francisco, 2021; Adobas et al., 2024; Tanael, 2023 Implementation and Enforcement Gaps Inconsistent enforcement across localities; informal enterprises operate outside regulatory oversight; average 18-25 hours monthly spent on compliance activities Garambas & Pinosan, 2021; Francisco et al., 2022; Khatibi, 2021 Digital Divide Technology access barriers limit adoption of digital OSH solutions; connectivity and affordability constraints affect micro enterprises disproportionately Adobas et al., 2024; Akiate et al., 2024; Khatibi, 2021 Table 5. Major Themes and Associated Challenges OSH Awareness and Knowledge Gaps. There are still major gaps in awareness among several stakeholder groups. According to a study done by Albert et al. (2023), 65% of micro enterprises which participated in the survey had no clue about safety innovations and improvements in the health of the workplace. This ignorance leads to a situation where the hazards are not identified, the controls are not implemented and therefore no safe working environment is maintained. The problem of unawareness is not only among enterprise owners but also local government officials involved in implementation. Garambas and Pinos-an (2021) reported that the leaders of the barangays had a very poor understanding of the laws that govern micro enterprises, among which were the safety provisions. When the local authorities are not well-informed, the enforcement and support systems are unavoidably weakened, causing the disparity between the national policy intentions and local realities to be even wider. Regulatory Compliance Challenges. The conformity to OSH regulations imposes significantly heavy weights upon micro enterprises. Francisco et al. (2022) were able to quantify the reduction in business development chances by 2.3% for every extra hour spent on compliance activities. The study also indicated that the micro enterprises spending an average of 18-25 hours monthly on compliance activities are facing very strong disincentives for formalization and safety compliance in full. On the other hand, the regulatory frameworks' complexity imposed even bigger obstacles for micro enterprises. Akiate et al. (2024) reported that 68% of the micro firms surveyed had difficulties with documentation necessities, such as securing business permits and obtaining safety certificates. This has resulted in a situation where one has to comply in order to access funds but at the same time, one has to be funded in order to comply. Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [317] Training Needs and Access Barriers. Training is a key factor for better OSH outcomes but still, participation is a problem. Albert et al. (2023) said that only 23% of micro companies polled had attended any workplace safety training in last three years, even though they showed interest in capacity building. The exploration of alternative training modes was a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Flaminiano et al. (2021) informed that during the time of lockdowns 47% of micro firms tried to get online training but only 31% of them were able to complete the programs. The main reasons for this were technical issues and lack of digital skills, which pointed out the digital divide that is impacting the training accessibility. Resource Constraints. Financial constraints are the most commonly experienced limitation to all OSH applications. To be more specific, Flaminiano and Francisco (2021) disclosed that among the respondents of the survey conducted in the micro-enterprise category, a majority of 73% considered the lack of capital as the most critical reason for non-compliance with OSH, thereby overshadowing awareness and technical knowledge as limiting factors. The situation is still the same regarding access to financing for OSH enhancements. According to Tanael (2023), the prevailing digital lending products are mostly designed for working capital purposes and not for asset or safety device financing, thus creating a void in the existing financial products and making them unsuitable for OSH investments. Moreover, even the most basic safety measures, like providing personal protective equipment, might turn out to be a substantial financial burden for companies that have very low-profit margins. Implementation and Enforcement Gaps. The application of the OSH standards has to overcome a lot of practical difficulties. As per Garambas and Pinos-an (2021), the implementation of micro-enterprises laws was still a "gray area" with different localities enforcing them inconsistently. The lack of enforcement led to micro entrepreneurs thinking that adhering to the laws was their option. Most of the micro businesses are informal, thus, it is hard for the authorities to monitor them. Adobas et al. (2024) stated that government monitoring had to face various challenges when trying to control informal sector enterprises that are acting outside the formal regulatory systems. It is being very difficult for the labor inspectors to locate the unregistered businesses without the business registration records, which in turn creates a large area of non-enforcement. Digital Divide and Technology Access. While technology offers potential OSH solutions, adoption faces significant barriers. Adobas et al. (2024) found that micro enterprises recognize digital tools' importance but face digitalization gaps including limited access to appropriate technologies, insufficient digital literacy skills, and lack of technical support. The digital divide creates a two-tiered system where technologically capable enterprises access efficiency-enhancing digital OSH tools while others remain dependent on time-consuming manual processes. 3.3 Synthesis of Challenges and Opportunities. Figure 2 illustrates the interconnected nature of OSH implementation challenges, showing how awareness deficits, resource constraints, regulatory complexity, and enforcement gaps reinforce each other to create persistent barriers. Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [318] Figure 2. Contextualized PRISMA Model Used in the Study The evidence reveals that addressing OSH challenges in micro enterprises requires coordinated interventions targeting multiple barriers simultaneously. Isolated efforts addressing single factors (e.g., training alone, or financing alone) have proven insufficient. Successful approaches must integrate awareness-building, regulatory simplification, accessible training, appropriate financing, strengthened enforcement, and technology enablement. Metric Finding Source OSH Training Participation Only 23% participated Albert et al., 2023 Information Access Gap 65% lask OSH information sources Albert et al., 2023 Capital as Primary Barrier 73% identify lack of capital Flaminiano & Francisco, 2021 Documentation Challenges 68% struggle with requirements Akiate et al., 2024 Impact of Compliance Time Each hour reduces growth by 2.3 Francisco et al., 2022 Online Training Success Rate Only 31% completed programs Flaminiano et al., 2021 Monthly Compliance Hours Average 18-25 hours Francisco et al., 2022 Government Program Awareness Only 19% aware of DOLE assistance Adobas et al., 2024 Table 6. Summary of Key Statistics from Reviewed Literature These findings underscore the magnitude of challenges facing Philippine micro enterprises in achieving adequate OSH implementation. The convergence of low awareness, inadequate resources, complex regulations, and weak enforcement creates a landscape where the majority of micro enterprises and their workers remain vulnerable to workplace hazards despite existing legal protections. CONCLUSION This review of the literature systematically analyzed the OSH awareness, micro enterprise compliance, and training modalities in the Philippines through a study of 15 open-access publications from the years 2015 to 2025. The review then categorized the major challenges into six groups: poor OSH awareness and difficult information access, high complexity and cost in compliance with regulations, insufficient training access and ineffective training methods, very limited resources, poor implementation and enforcement, and the digital divide as a barrier to technology access. The connected challenges formed a complicated situation in which micro enterprises in the Philippines could hardly reach an adequate level of safety at their workplaces, though the law supported them. Volume-09 Issue 12, December -2025 ISSN: 2456-9348 Impact Factor: 8.232 International Journal of Engineering Technology Research & Management (IJETRM) https://ijetrm.com/ IJETRM (http://ijetrm.com/) [319] The conclusions point out that Philippine OSH laws, mainly RA 11058, set very high standards but a very low percentage of their corresponding implementation can be observed because of very deep-rooted differences between the regulators' assumptions and the micro enterprise reality. The most alarming aspect is that the OSH awareness among micro enterprise owners, workers, and even local government officials who are responsible for the implementation of the regulations at the grassroots level is very low. The mentioned awareness gap together with the serious lack of resources virtually keeps most micro enterprises out of any significant OSH implementation stage, no matter the regulatory requirements. Recent reports about the trend of work-related injuries (Lu, 2022a) and the current condition of OSH in the Philippines (Lu, 2022b; Conda et al., 2025) draw attention to the size and urgency of these problems. The data from labor force surveys shows consistently that micro enterprise workers are more susceptible to injuries but less protected than their colleagues working in larger firms (PSA, 2016; PSA, 2018; PSA, 2020). This situation leads to a significant gap in health and an economic loss that could be solved through developing and implementing comprehensive OSH policies. Training modalities are a double-edged sword: they represent both the difficulties and the possibilities. Conventional training methods which involve personal face-to-face interactions do not cater to the restrictions of micro enterprises, and therefore, only a few people participate in the training programs. The COVID-19 pandemic helped to fast-track digital training modalities' adoption but at the same time, it opened up the limitations and opportunities that should be considered when OSH education strategies of the future are being planned. Blended learning which consists of online content and a bit of face-to-face interaction is one of the promising methods, however, the issues of digital literacy and connectivity still need to be resolved. Enforcement mechanisms do not take micro enterprise situations into account properly, the regulatory systems are focusing on bigger institutions and micro enterprises, particularly the informal sector ones, are operating largely outside of the government inspection. The regulatory gap, in conjunction with the complex compliance requirements and bureaucratic red tape, has created disincentives for regulation and compliance to which these enterprises fall. There are government support programs already established; however, these programs have to deal with the challenges of being poorly known and not easily accessible. Many little businesses are not aware that there is help available for them in the form of technical support, training programs, and financial assistance. If communication strategies and delivery mechanisms of current support infrastructure could be improved, then its effectiveness would be increased. The patterns that are emerging indicate the need for considering OSH in the context of stronger business resilience and sustainability instead of the conventional view that safety is only a compliance issue. The review reveals major research gaps that need to be filled. Very few empirical research studies specifically analyze OSH in micro enterprises in the Philippines, the bulk of the literature either covers the MSME sector broadly or focuses on larger SMEs. There is a lack of sector-specific research that investigates the unique safety challenges different micro enterprise industries face. The effectiveness of training modalities and digital OSH solutions in real micro enterprise contexts requires thorough investigation. Long-term research on the sustainability of OSH improvements and the maintenance of behavior change would be valuable in the design of interventions. IMPLICATIONS The study's results have major effects for different parties involved. The current regulatory methods are not beneficial for micro enterprises as the data presented, which is the experience of the policymakers, indicates. Granting the existence of resource constraints and keeping safety protection would allow the establishment of more realistic compliance expectations so that the OSH standards are tiered and appropriate for enterprise size. Regulatory simplification and red tape reduction could make compliance with the laws of the land significantly more likely by reducing the time and financial burdens that are factors of the process. The chronic occurrence of workplace injuries and poor OSH implementation (Lu, 2022a; Lu, 2022b; Conda et al., 2025) is a very strong signal for policy change. A major part of Philippine workers are hired by micro enterprises,