Kasambahay Law

1. Who is a Kasambahay or Domestic Worker?
Domestic worker or Kasambahay refers to any person engaged in domestic work

within an employment relationship such as, but not limited to, the following: general
househelp, nursemaid or yaya, cook, gardener, or laundry person, but shall
exclude any person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically
and not on an occupational basis.
The term shall not include children who are under foster family arrangement, and
are provided access to education and given an allowance incidental to education,
i.e. baon, transportation, school projects and school activities.
2. Minimum age of domestic workers
Its criminally punishable to employ any person below 15 years of age as a domestic
worker.
3. Employers reportorial duties
The employers shall register all domestic workers under their employment in the
Registry of Domestic Workers in the barangay where the employers residence is
located. [Back to the top]
4. Requirement of a contract
An employment contract shall be executed by and between the domestic worker and
the employer before the commencement of the service in a language or dialect
understood by both the domestic worker and the employer. The domestic worker
shall be provided a copy of the duly signed employment contract which must include
the following:
(a) Duties and responsibilities of the domestic worker
(b) Period of employment
(c) Compensation
(d) Authorized deductions
(e) Hours of work and proportionate additional payment
(f) Rest days and allowable leaves
(g) Board, lodging and medical attention
(h) Agreements on deployment expenses, if any
(i) Loan agreement
(j) Termination of employment
(k) Any other lawful condition agreed upon by both parties
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall develop and disseminate a
model employment contract for domestic workers. In cases where the employment
of the domestic worker is facilitated through a private employment agency, the PEA
shall keep a copy of all employment contracts of domestic workers and shall be
made available for verification and inspection by the DOLE. [Back to the top]
5. Wage provisions
What is the minimum wage of domestic helpers?
The minimum wage of domestic workers shall not be less than the following:
a. P2,500 a month for those employed in the National Capital Region (NCR)
b. P2,000 a month for those employed in chartered cities and first class
municipalities
c. P1,500 a month for those employed in other municipalities
The Regional Tripartite and Productivity Wage Boards (RTPWBs) are required to
periodically adjust, if proper, the minimum wage rates of domestic workers.
What is the manner of paying wages?
Payment of wages shall be made on time directly to the domestic worker to whom
they are due in cash at least once a month. The employer, unless allowed by the
domestic worker through a written consent, shall make no deductions from the
wages other than that which is mandated by law. No employer shall pay the wages
of a domestic worker by means of promissory notes, vouchers, coupons, tokens,
tickets, chits, or any object other than the cash wage.
Is the kasambahay entitled to 13th-month pay?
The domestic worker is entitled to a thirteenth month pay.
Is the employer required to keep pay slips?
Yes. The employer shall at all times provide the domestic worker with a copy of the
pay slip containing the amount paid in cash every pay day, and indicating all
deductions made, if any.
What is more, copies of the pay slip shall be kept by the employer for a period of 3
years.
What are additional prohibitions in relation to wages?
Interference in the disposal of wages. It shall be unlawful for the employer to interfere
with the freedom of any domestic worker to dispose of the latters wages. The
employer shall not force, compel or oblige the domestic worker to purchase
merchandise, commodities or other properties from the employer or from any other
person, or otherwise make use of any store or services of such employer or any
other person.
Withholding of wages. It shall be unlawful for an employer, directly or indirectly, to
withhold the wages of the domestic worker. If the domestic worker leaves without
any justifiable reason, any unpaid salary for a period not exceeding 15 days shall be
forfeited. Likewise, the employer shall not induce the domestic worker to give up any
part of the wages by force, stealth, intimidation, threat or by any other means
whatsoever. [Back to the top]
6. Rest periods and leave credits
How many hours of rest period per day?
Domestic workers are entitled to an aggregate daily rest period of 8 hours per day.
What is the required weekly rest period?
The domestic worker shall be entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in a
week. The employer and the domestic worker shall agree in writing on the schedule
of the weekly rest day of the domestic worker, but the employer shall respect the
preference of the domestic worker as to the weekly rest day when such preference
is based on religious grounds. The domestic worker and the employer may agree on
the following:
a. Offsetting a day of absence with a particular rest day
b. Waiving a particular rest day in return for an equivalent daily rate of pay
c. Accumulating rest days not exceeding 5 days, or
d. Other similar arrangements [Back to the top]
How may days are required for leave credits?
A domestic worker who has rendered at least 1 year of service shall be entitled to an
annual service incentive leave of 5 days with pay. Any unused portion of said annual
leave shall not be cumulative or carried over to the succeeding years. Unused
leaves shall not be convertible to cash. [Back to the top]
7. SSS and other social benefits

A domestic worker who has rendered at least 1 month of service shall be covered by
the Social Security System (SSS), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth), and the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG, and shall be
entitled to all the benefits in accordance with the pertinent provisions provided by
law.
Premium payments or contributions shall be shouldered by the employer. However,
if the domestic worker is receiving a wage of P5,000 and above per month, the
domestic worker shall pay the proportionate share in the premium payments or
contributions, as provided by law.
The domestic worker shall be entitled to all other benefits under existing laws. [Back
to the top]
8. Assignment to non-household work
No domestic worker shall be assigned to work in a commercial, industrial or
agricultural enterprise at a wage rate lower than that provided for agricultural or non-
agricultural workers. In such cases, the domestic worker shall be paid the applicable
minimum wage. [Back to the top]
9. Assignment in another home
The domestic worker and the employer may mutually agree for the former to
temporarily perform a task that is outside the latters household for the benefit of
another household. However, any liability that will be incurred by the domestic
worker on account of such arrangement shall be borne by the original employer. In
addition, such work performed outside the household shall entitle the domestic
worker to an additional payment of not less than the existing minimum wage rate of
a domestic worker. It shall be unlawful for the original employer to charge any
amount from the said household where the service of the domestic worker was
temporarily performed. [Back to the top]
10. Deposits for loss or damage
Its unlawful for the employer or any other person to require a domestic worker to
make deposits from which deductions shall be made for the reimbursement of loss
or damage to tools, materials, furniture and equipment in the household. [Back to the
top]
11. Prohibition on debt bondage
Its unlawful for the employer or any person acting on behalf of the employer to place
the domestic worker under debt bondage, whichrefers to the rendering of service by
the domestic worker as security or payment for a debt where the length and nature
of service is not clearly defined or when the value of the service is not reasonably
applied in the payment of the debt. [Back to the top]
12. Rights and Privileges of Kasambahay
Standard of Treatment
The employer or any member of the household shall not subject a domestic worker
or kasambahay to any kind of abuse nor inflict any form of physical violence or
harassment or any act tending to degrade the dignity of a domestic worker.
Board, Lodging and Medical Attendance
The employer shall provide for the basic necessities of the domestic worker to
include at least 3 adequate meals a day and humane sleeping arrangements that
ensure safety.
The employer shall provide appropriate rest and assistance to the domestic worker
in case of illnesses and injuries sustained during service without loss of benefits.
At no instance shall the employer withdraw or hold in abeyance the provision of
these basic necessities as punishment or disciplinary action to the domestic worker.
Guarantee of Privacy
Respect for the privacy of the domestic worker shall be guaranteed at all times and
shall extend to all forms of communication and personal effects. This guarantee
equally recognizes that the domestic worker is obliged to render satisfactory service
at all times.
Access to Outside Communication
The employer shall grant the domestic worker access to outside communication
during free time: Provided, That in case of emergency, access to communication
shall be granted even during work time. Should the domestic worker make use of
the employers telephone or other communication facilities, the costs shall be borne
by the domestic worker, unless such charges are waived by the employer.
Right to Education and Training
The employer shall afford the domestic worker the opportunity to finish basic
education and may allow access to alternative learning systems and, as far as
practicable, higher education or technical and vocational training. The employer
shall adjust the work schedule of the domestic worker to allow such access to
education or training without hampering the services required by the employer.
Prohibition Against Privileged Information
All communication and information pertaining to the employer or members of the
household shall be treated as privileged and confidential, and shall not be publicly
disclosed by the domestic worker during and after employment. Such privileged
information shall be inadmissible in evidence except when the suit involves the
employer or any member of the household in a crime against persons, property,
personal liberty and security, and chastity. [Back to the top]
13. Cessation of employment
Termination of service
Neither the domestic worker nor the employer may terminate the contract before the
expiration of the term except on reasons allowed by law. If the domestic worker is
unjustly dismissed, the domestic worker shall be paid the compensation already
earned plus the equivalent of 15 days work by way of indemnity. If the domestic
worker leaves without justifiable reason, any unpaid salary due not exceeding the
equivalent 15 days work shall be forfeited. In addition, the employer may recover
from the domestic worker costs incurred related to the deployment expenses, if any,
provided that the service has been terminated within 6 months from the domestic
workers employment.
If the duration of the domestic service is not determined either in stipulation or by the
nature of the service, the employer or the domestic worker may give notice to end
the working relationship 5 days before the intended termination of the service.
The domestic worker and the employer may mutually agree upon written notice to
pre-terminate the contract of employment to end the employment relationship.
Termination initiated by the domestic worker
The domestic worker may terminate the employment relationship at any time before
the expiration of the contract for any of the following causes:
(a) Verbal or emotional abuse of the domestic worker by the employer or any
member of the household;
(b) Inhuman treatment including physical abuse of the domestic worker by the
employer or any member of the household;
(c) Commission of a crime or offense against the domestic worker by the employer
or any member of the household;
(d) Violation by the employer of the terms and conditions of the employment contract
and other standards set forth under this law;
(e) Any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the employer, or
member/s of the household; and
(f) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
Termination initiated by the employer
An employer may terminate the services of the domestic worker at any time before
the expiration of the contract, for any of the following causes:
(a) Misconduct or willful disobedience by the domestic worker of the lawful order of
the employer in connection with the formers work;
(b) Gross or habitual neglect or inefficiency by the domestic worker in the
performance of duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach of the trust reposed by the employer on the domestic
worker;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the domestic worker against the person of
the employer or any immediate member of the employers family;
(e) Violation by the domestic worker of the terms and conditions of the employment
contract and other standards set forth under this law;
(f) Any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the employer, or
member/s of the household; and
(g) Other causes analogous to the foregoing. [Back to the top]

Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Fifteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand twelve.
[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10361]
AN ACT INSTITUTING POLICIES FOR THE PROTECTION
AND WELFARE OF DOMESTIC WORKERS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the Domestic Workers Act or Batas Kasambahay.
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policies. It is hereby declared that:
(a) The State strongly affirms labor as a primary social force and is committed to respect, promote, protect and
realize the fundamental principles and rights at work including, but not limited to, abolition of child labor,
elimination of all forms of forced labor, discrimination in employment and occupation, and trafficking in persons,
especially women and children;
(b) The State adheres to internationally accepted working conditions for workers in general, and establishes
labor standards for domestic workers in particular, towards decent employment and income, enhanced
coverage of social protection, respect for human rights and strengthened social dialogue;
(c) The State recognizes the need to protect the rights of domestic workers against abuse, harassment,
violence, economic exploitation and performance of work that is hazardous to their physical and mental health;
and
(d) The State, in protecting domestic workers and recognizing their special needs to ensure safe and healthful
working conditions, promotes gender-sensitive measures in the formulation and implementation of policies and
programs affecting the local domestic work.
SEC. 3. Coverage. This Act applies to all domestic workers employed and working within the country.
SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act, the term:
(a) Debt bondage refers to the rendering of service by the domestic worker as security or payment for a debt
where the length and nature of service is not clearly defined or when the value of the service is not reasonably
applied in the payment of the debt.
(b) Deployment expenses refers to expenses that are directly used for the transfer of the domestic worker from
place of origin to the place of work covering the cost of transportation. Advances or loans by the domestic
worker are not included in the definition of deployment expenses.
(c) Domestic work refers to work performed in or for a household or households.
(d) Domestic worker or Kasambahay refers to any person engaged in domestic work within an employment
relationship such as, but not limited to, the following: general househelp, nursemaid or yaya, cook, gardener,
or laundry person, but shall exclude any person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically
and not on an occupational basis.
The term shall not include children who are under foster family arrangement, and are provided access to
education and given an allowance incidental to education, i.e. baon, transportation, school projects and
school activities.
(e) Employer refers to any person who engages and controls the services of a domestic worker and is party to
the employment contract.
(f) Household refers to the immediate members of the family or the occupants of the house that are directly
provided services by the domestic worker.
(g) Private Employment Agency (PEA) refers to any individual, legitimate partnership, corporation or entity
licensed to engage in the recruitment and placement of domestic workers for local employment.
(h) Working children, as used under this Act, refers to domestic workers who are fifteen (15) years old and
above but below eighteen (18) years old.
ARTICLE II
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES
SEC. 5. Standard of Treatment. The employer or any member of the household shall not subject a domestic
worker or kasambahay to any kind of abuse nor inflict any form of physical violence or harassment or any act
tending to degrade the dignity of a domestic worker.
SEC. 6. Board, Lodging and Medical Attendance. The employer shall provide for the basic necessities of the
domestic worker to include at least three (3) adequate meals a day and humane sleeping arrangements that
ensure safety.
The employer shall provide appropriate rest and assistance to the domestic worker in case of illnesses and
injuries sustained during service without loss of benefits.
At no instance shall the employer withdraw or hold in abeyance the provision of these basic necessities as
punishment or disciplinary action to the domestic worker.
SEC. 7. Guarantee of Privacy. Respect for the privacy of the domestic worker shall be guaranteed at all times
and shall extend to all forms of communication and personal effects. This guarantee equally recognizes that the
domestic worker is obliged to render satisfactory service at all times.
SEC. 8. Access to Outside Communication. The employer shall grant the domestic worker access to outside
communication during free time: Provided, That in case of emergency, access to communication shall be
granted even during work time. Should the domestic worker make use of the employers telephone or other
communication facilities, the costs shall be borne by the domestic worker, unless such charges are waived by
the employer.
SEC. 9. Right to Education and Training. The employer shall afford the domestic worker the opportunity to
finish basic education and may allow access to alternative learning systems and, as far as practicable, higher
education or technical and vocational training. The employer shall adjust the work schedule of the domestic
worker to allow such access to education or training without hampering the services required by the employer.
SEC. 10. Prohibition Against Privileged Information. All communication and information pertaining to the
employer or members of the household shall be treated as privileged and confidential, and shall not be publicly
disclosed by the domestic worker during and after employment. Such privileged information shall be
inadmissible in evidence except when the suit involves the employer or any member of the household in a
crime against persons, property, personal liberty and security, and chastity.
ARTICLE III
PRE-EMPLOYMENT
SEC. 11. Employment Contract. An employment contract shall be executed by and between the domestic
worker and the employer before the commencement of the service in a language or dialect understood by both
the domestic worker and the employer. The domestic worker shall be provided a copy of the duly signed
employment contract which must include the following:
(a) Duties and responsibilities of the domestic worker;
(b) Period of employment;
(c) Compensation;
(d) Authorized deductions;
(e) Hours of work and proportionate additional payment;
(f) Rest days and allowable leaves;
(g) Board, lodging and medical attention;
(h) Agreements on deployment expenses, if any;
(i) Loan agreement;
(j) Termination of employment; and
(k) Any other lawful condition agreed upon by both parties.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall develop a model employment contract for domestic
workers which shall, at all times, be made available free of charge to domestic workers, employers,
representative organizations and the general public. The DOLE shall widely disseminate information to
domestic workers and employers on the use of such model employment contract.
In cases where the employment of the domestic worker is facilitated through a private employment agency, the
PEA shall keep a copy of all employment contracts of domestic workers and shall be made available for
verification and inspection by the DOLE.
SEC. 12. Pre-Employment Requirement. Prior to the execution of the employment contract, the employer
may require the following from the domestic worker:
(a) Medical certificate or a health certificate issued by a local government health officer;
(b) Barangay and police clearance;
(c) National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance; and
(d) Duly authenticated birth certificate or if not available, any other document showing the age of the domestic
worker such as voters identification card, baptismal record or passport.
However, Section 12(a), (b), (c) and (d) shall be standard requirements when the employment of the domestic
worker is facilitated through the PEA.
The cost of the foregoing shall be borne by the prospective employer or agency, as the case may be.
SEC. 13. Recruitment and Finders Fees. Regardless of whether the domestic worker was hired through a
private employment agency or a third party, no share in the recruitment or finders fees shall be charged
against the domestic worker by the said private employment agency or third party.
SEC. 14. Deposits for Loss or Damage. It shall be unlawful for the employer or any other person to require a
domestic worker to make deposits from which deductions shall be made for the reimbursement of loss or
damage to tools, materials, furniture and equipment in the household.
SEC. 15. Prohibition on Debt Bondage. It shall be unlawful for the employer or any person acting on behalf of
the employer to place the domestic worker under debt bondage.
SEC. 16. Employment Age of Domestic Workers. It shall be unlawful to employ any person below fifteen (15)
years of age as a domestic worker. Employment of working children, as defined under this Act, shall be subject
to the provisionsof Section 10(A), paragraph 2 of Section 12-A, paragraph 4 of Section 12-D, and Section 13 of
Republic Act No. 7610, as amended, otherwise known as the Special Protection of Children Against Child
Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.
Working children shall be entitled to minimum wage, and all benefits provided under this Act.
Any employer who has been sentenced by a court of law of any offense against a working child under this Act
shall be meted out with a penalty one degree higher and shall be prohibited from hiring a working child.
SEC. 17. Employers Reportorial Duties. The employers shall register all domestic workers under their
employment in the Registry of Domestic Workers in the barangay where the employers residence is located.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall, in coordination with the DOLE, formulate a
registration system for this purpose.
SEC. 18. Skills Training, Assessment and Certification. To ensure productivity and assure quality services,
the DOLE, through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), shall facilitate access
of domestic workers to efficient training, assessment and certification based on a duly promulgated training
regulation.
ARTICLE IV
EMPLOYMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
SEC. 19. Health and Safety. The employer shall safeguard the health and safety of the domestic worker in
accordance with laws, rules and regulations, with due consideration of the peculiar nature of domestic work.
SEC. 20. Daily Rest Period. The domestic worker shall be entitled to an aggregate daily rest period of eight
(8) hours per day.
SEC. 21. Weekly Rest Period. The domestic worker shall be entitled to at least twenty-four (24) consecutive
hours of rest in a week. The employer and the domestic worker shall agree in writing on the schedule of the
weekly rest day of the domestic worker: Provided, That the employer shall respect the preference of the
domestic worker as to the weekly rest day when such preference is based on religious grounds. Nothing in this
provision shall deprive the domestic worker and the employer from agreeing to the following:
(a) Offsetting a day of absence with a particular rest day;
(b) Waiving a particular rest day in return for an equivalent daily rate of pay;
(c) Accumulating rest days not exceeding five (5) days; or
(d) Other similar arrangements.
SEC. 22. Assignment to Nonhousehold Work. No domestic worker shall be assigned to work in a commercial,
industrial or agricultural enterprise at a wage rate lower than that provided for agricultural or nonagricultural
workers. In such cases, the domestic worker shall be paid the applicable minimum wage.
SEC. 23. Extent of Duty. The domestic worker and the employer may mutually agree for the former to
temporarily perform a task that is outside the latters household for the benefit of another household. However,
any liability that will be incurred by the domestic worker on account of such arrangement shall be borne by the
original employer. In addition, such work performed outside the household shall entitle the domestic worker to
an additional payment of not less than the existing minimum wage rate of a domestic worker. It shall be
unlawful for the original employer to charge any amount from the said household where the service of the
domestic worker was temporarily performed.
SEC 24. Minimum Wage. The minimum wage of domestic workers shall not be less than the following:
(a) Two thousand five hundred pesos (P2,500.00) a month for those employed in the National Capital Region
(NCR);
(b) Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) a month for those employed in chartered cities and first class
municipalities; and
(c) One thousand five hundred pesos (P1,500.00) a month for those employed mother municipalities.
After one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, and periodically thereafter, the Regional Tripartite and
Productivity Wage Boards (RTPWBs) shall review, and if proper, determine and adjust the minimum wage
rates of domestic workers.
SEC 25. Payment of Wages. Payment of wages shall be made on time directly to the domestic worker to
whom they are due in cash at least once a month. The employer, unless allowed by the domestic worker
through a written consent, shall make no deductions from the wages other than that which is mandated by law.
No employer shall pay the wages of a domestic worker by means of promissory notes, vouchers, coupons,
tokens, tickets, chits, or any object other than the cash wage as provided for under this Act.
The domestic worker is entitled to a thirteenth month pay as provided for by law.
SEC. 26. Pay Slip. The employer shall at all times provide the domestic worker with a copy of the pay slip
containing the amount paid in cash every pay day, and indicating all deductions made, if any. The copies of the
pay slip shall be kept by the employer for a period of three (3) years.
SEC. 27. Prohibition on Interference in the Disposal of Wages. It shall be unlawful for the employer to
interfere with the freedom of any domestic worker to dispose of the latters wages. The employer shall not
force, compel or oblige the domestic worker to purchase merchandise, commodities or other properties from
the employer or from any other person, or otherwise make use of any store or services of such employer or any
other person.
SEC 28. Prohibition Against Withholding of Wages. It shall be unlawful for an employer, directly or indirectly,
to withhold the wages of the domestic worker. If the domestic worker leaves without any justifiable reason, any
unpaid salary for a period not exceeding fifteen (15) days shall be forfeited. Likewise, the employer shall not
induce the domestic worker to give up any part of the wages by force, stealth, intimidation, threat or by any
other means whatsoever.
SEC. 29. Leave Benefits. A domestic worker who has rendered at least one (1) year of service shall be
entitled to an annual service incentive leave of five (5) days with pay: Provided, That any unused portion of said
annual leave shall not be cumulative or carried over to the succeeding years. Unused leaves shall not be
convertible to cash.
SEC. 30. Social and Other Benefits. A domestic worker who has rendered at least one (1) month of service
shall be covered by the Social Security System (SSS), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth), and the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG, and shall be entitled to all the benefits in
accordance with the pertinent provisions provided by law.
Premium payments or contributions shall be shouldered by the employer. However, if the domestic worker is
receiving a wage of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) and above per month, the domestic worker shall pay the
proportionate share in the premium payments or contributions, as provided by law.
The domestic worker shall be entitled to all other benefits under existing laws.
SEC. 31. Rescue and Rehabilitation of Abused Domestic Workers. Any abused or exploited domestic worker
shall be immediately rescued by a municipal or city social welfare officer or a social welfare officer from the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in coordination with the concerned barangay officials.
The DSWD and the DILG shall develop a standard operating procedure for the rescue and rehabilitation of
abused domestic workers, and in coordination with the DOLE, for possible subsequent job placement.
ARTICLE V
POST EMPLOYMENT
SEC. 32. Termination of Service. Neither the domestic worker nor the employer may terminate the contract
before the expiration of the term except for grounds provided for in Sections 33 and 34 of this Act. If the
domestic worker is unjustly dismissed, the domestic worker shall be paid the compensation already earned
plus the equivalent of fifteen (15) days work by way of indemnity. If the domestic worker leaves without
justifiable reason, any unpaid salary due not exceeding the equivalent fifteen (15) days work shall be forfeited.
In addition, the employer may recover from the domestic worker costs incurred related to the deployment
expenses, if any: Provided, That the service has been terminated within six (6) months from the domestic
workers employment.
If the duration of the domestic service is not determined either in stipulation or by the nature of the service, the
employer or the domestic worker may give notice to end the working relationship five (5) days before the
intended termination of the service.
The domestic worker and the employer may mutually agree upon written notice to pre-terminate the contract of
employment to end the employment relationship.
SEC. 33. Termination Initiated by the Domestic Worker. The domestic worker may terminate the employment
relationship at any time before the expiration of the contract for any of the following causes:
(a) Verbal or emotional abuse of the domestic worker by the employer or any member of the household;
(b) Inhuman treatment including physical abuse of the domestic worker by the employer or any member of the
household;
(c) Commission of a crime or offense against the domestic worker by the employer or any member of the
household;
(d) Violation by the employer of the terms and conditions of the employment contract and other standards set
forth under this law;
(e) Any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the employer, or member/s of the household;
and
(f) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
SEC. 34. Termination Initiated by the Employer. An employer may terminate the services of the domestic
worker at any time before the expiration of the contract, for any of the following causes:
(a) Misconduct or willful disobedience by the domestic worker of the lawful order of the employer in connection
with the formers work;
(b) Gross or habitual neglect or inefficiency by the domestic worker in the performance of duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach of the trust reposed by the employer on the domestic worker;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the domestic worker against the person of the employer or any
immediate member of the employers family;
(e) Violation by the domestic worker of the terms and conditions of the employment contract and other
standards set forth under this law;
(f) Any disease prejudicial to the health of the domestic worker, the employer, or member/s of the household;
and
(g) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
SEC. 35. Employment Certification. Upon the severance of the employment relationship, the employer shall
issue the domestic worker within five (5) days from request a certificate of employment indicating the nature,
duration of the service and work performance.
ARTICLE VI
PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES
SEC. 36. Regulation of Private Employment Agencies (PEAs). The DOLE shall, through a system of licensing
and regulation, ensure the protection of domestic workers hired through the PEAs.
The PEA shall be jointly and severally liable with the employer for all the wages, wage-related benefits, and
other benefits due a domestic worker.
The provision of Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the
Philippines, on qualifications of the PEAs with regard to nationality, networth, owners and officers, office space
and other requirements, as well as nontransferability of license and commission of prohibited practices, shall
apply.
In addition, PEAs shall have the following responsibilities:
(a) Ensure that domestic workers are not charged or levied any recruitment or placement fees;
(b) Ensure that the employment agreement between the domestic worker and the employer stipulates the
terms and conditions of employment and all the benefits prescribed by this Act;
(c) Provide a pre-employment orientation briefing to the domestic worker and the employer about their rights
and responsibilities in accordance with this Act;
(d) Keep copies of employment contracts and agreements pertaining to recruited domestic workers which shall
be made available during inspections or whenever required by the DOLE or local government officials;
(e) Assist domestic workers with respect to complaints or grievances against their employers; and
(f) Cooperate with government agencies in rescue operations involving abused or exploited domestic workers.
ARTICLE VII
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
SEC. 37. Mechanism for Settlement of Disputes. All labor-related disputes shall be elevated to the DOLE
Regional Office having jurisdiction over the workplace without prejudice to the filing of a civil or criminal action
in appropriate cases. The DOLE Regional Office shall exhaust all conciliation and mediation efforts before a
decision shall be rendered.
Ordinary crimes or offenses committed under the Revised Penal Code and other special penal laws by either
party shall be filed with the regular courts.
ARTICLE VIII
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 38. Information Program. The DOLE shall, in coordination with the DILG, the SSS, the PhilHealth and
Pag-IBIG develop and implement a continuous information dissemination program on the provisions of this Act,
both at the national and local level, immediately after the enactment of this law.
SEC. 39. Araw Ng Mga Kasambahay. The date upon which the President shall approve this Domestic
Workers Act shall be designated as the Araw ng mga Kasambahay.
ARTICLE IX
PENAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. 40. Penalty. Any violation of the provisions of this Act declared unlawful shall be punishable with a fine
of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than Forty thousand pesos (P40,000.00)
without prejudice to the filing of appropriate civil or criminal action by the aggrieved party.
SEC. 41. Transitory Provision; Non-Diminution of Benefits. All existing arrangements between a domestic
worker and the employer shall be adjusted to conform to the minimum standards set by this Act within a period
of sixty (60) days after the effectivity of this Act: Provided, That adjustments pertaining to wages shall take
effect immediately after the determination and issuance of the appropriate wage order by the RTWPBs:
Provided, further, That nothing in this Act shall be construed to cause the diminution or substitution of any
benefits and privileges currently enjoyed by the domestic worker hired directly or through an agency.
SEC. 42. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, the
Secretary of Labor and Employment, the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, the Secretary of the
Interior and Local Government, and the Director General of the Philippine National Police, in coordination with
other concerned government agencies and accredited nongovernment organizations (NGOs) assisting
domestic workers, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this
Act.
ARTICLE X
FINAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 43. Separability Clause. If any provision or part of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the
remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.
SEC. 44. Repealing Clause. All articles or provisions of Chapter III (Employment of Househelpers) of
Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended and renumbered by Republic Act No. 10151 are hereby expressly
repealed. All laws, decrees, executive orders, issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 45. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication in the
Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,
(Sgd.) FELICIANO BELMONTE JR.
Speaker of the House
of Representatives
(Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE
President of the Senate
This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 78 and House Bill No. 6144 was finally passed by the
Senate and the House of Representatives on November 27, 2012 and November 26, 2012, respectively.
(Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP
Secretary General
House of Representatives
(Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO-REYES
Secretary of the Senate
Approved: JAN 18 2013

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7277

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE REHABILITATION, SELF-
DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-RELIANCE OF DISABLED PERSONS
AND THEIR INTEGRATION INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF SOCIETY
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

TITLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER I
BASIC PRINCIPLE
Section 1. Title. This Act shall be known and cited as
the "Magna Carta for Disabled Persons."
chan robl es virtual l awl ibrary

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy The grant of the rights and
privileges for disabled persons shall be guided by the following
principles:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

(a) Disabled persons are part of Philippine society, thus the State
shall give full support to the improvement of the total well-being
of disabled persons and their integration into the mainstream of
society. Toward this end, the State shall adopt policies ensuring
the rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of disabled
persons. It shall develop their skills and potentials to enable them
to compete favorably for available opportunities.
(b) Disabled persons have the same rights as other people to take
their proper place in society. They should be able to live freely
and as independently as possible. This must be the concern of
everyone the family, community and all government and
nongovernment organizations. Disabled persons' rights must
never be perceived as welfare services by the Government.
(c) The rehabilitation of the disabled persons shall be the concern
of the Government in order to foster their capacity to attain a
more meaningful, productive and satisfying life. To reach out to a
greater number of disabled persons, the rehabilitation services
and benefits shall be expanded beyond the traditional urban-based
centers to community based programs, that will ensure full
participation of different sectors as supported by national and
local government agencies. chan robles virtual l awlibrary
(d) The State also recognizes the role of the private sector in
promoting the welfare of disabled persons and shall encourage
partnership in programs that address their needs and concerns.
(e) To facilitate integration of disabled persons into the
mainstream of society, the State shall advocate for and encourage
respect for disabled persons. The State shall exert all efforts to
remove all social, cultural, economic, environmental and
attitudinal barriers that are prejudicial to disabled persons.

Sec. 3. Coverage. This Act shall cover all disabled persons and,
to the extent herein provided, departments, offices and agencies
of the National Government or nongovernment organizations
involved in the attainment of the objectives of this Act.chanrobles virtual law library

Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. For purposes of this Act, these
terms are defined as follows:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

(a) Disabled persons are those suffering from restriction or
different abilities, as a result of a mental, physical or sensory
impairment, to perform an activity in the manner or within the
range considered normal for a human being;
(b) Impairment is any loss, diminution or aberration of
psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function;
(c) Disability shall mean 1) a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more psychological, physiological or
anatomical function of an individual or activities of such
individual; 2) a record of such an impairment; or 3) being
regarded as having such an impairment; chan robles virtual l awlibrary
(d) Handicap refers to a disadvantage for a given individual,
resulting from an impairment or a disability, that limits or
prevents the function or activity, that is considered normal given
the age and sex of the individual;
(e) Rehabilitation is an integrated approach to physical, social,
cultural, spiritual, educational and vocational measures that
create conditions for the individual to attain the highest possible
level of functional ability;
(f) Social Barriers refer to the characteristics of institutions,
whether legal, economic, cultural, recreational or other, any
human group, community, or society which limit the fullest
possible participation of disabled persons in the life of the group.
Social barriers include negative attitudes which tend to single out
and exclude disabled persons and which distort roles and inter-
personal relationships;
(g) Auxiliary Aids and Services include:
(1) qualified interpreters or other effective methods of delivering
materials to individuals with hearing impairments;
(2) qualified readers, taped tests, or other effective methods of
delivering materials to individuals with visual impairments;
(3) acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and chan robles virtual l awlibrary
(4) other similar services and actions or all types of aids and
services that facilitate the learning process of people with mental
disability.
(h) Reasonable Accommodation include 1) improvement of
existing facilities used by employees in order to render these
readily accessible to and usable by disabled persons; and 2)
modification of work schedules, reassignment to a vacant
position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices,
appropriate adjustments or modifications of examinations,
training materials or company policies, rules and regulations, the
provision of auxiliary aids and services, and other similar
accommodations for disabled persons;
(i) Sheltered Employment refers to the provision of productive
work for disabled persons through workshops providing special
facilities, income-producing projects or homework schemes with
a view to giving them the opportunity to earn a living thus
enabling them to acquire a working capacity required in open
industry;
(j) Auxiliary Social Services are the supportive activities in the
delivery of social services to the marginalized sectors of society;
(k) Marginalized Disabled Persons refer to disabled persons who
lack access to rehabilitative services and opportunities to be able
to participate fully in socioeconomic activities and who have no
means of livelihood and whose incomes fall below the poverty
threshold; chan robles vi rtual l awl ibrary
(l) Qualified Individual with a Disability shall mean an individual
with a disability who, with or without reasonable
accommodations, can perform the essential functions of the
employment position that such individual holds or desires.
However, consideration shall be given to the employer's judgment
as to what functions of a job are essential, and if an employer has
prepared a written description before advertising or interviewing
applicants for the job, this description shall be considered
evidence of the essential functions of the job;
(m) Readily Achievable means a goal can be easily attained and
carried out without much difficulty or expense. In determining
whether an action is readily achievable, factors to be considered
include
(1) the nature and cost of the action;
(2) the overall financial resources of the facility or facilities
involved in the action; the number of persons employed at such
facility; the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact
otherwise of such action upon the operation of the facility;
(3) the overall financial resources of the covered entity with
respect to the number of its employees; the number, type and
location of its facilities; and chan robl es virtual l awl ibrary
(4) the type of operation or operations of the covered entity,
including the composition, structure and functions of the work
force of such entity; the geographic separateness, administrative
or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the
covered entity.
(n) Public Transportation means transportation by air, land and
sea that provides the public with general or special service on a
regular and continuing basis;
(o) Covered Entity means an employer, employment agency, labor
organization or joint-labor management committee; and
(p) Commerce shall be taken to mean as travel, trade, traffic,
commerce, transportation, or communication among the
provinces or between any foreign country or any territory or
possession and any province.
TITLE II
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF DISABLED PERSONS
CHAPTER I
EMPLOYMENT

Sec. 5. Equal Opportunity for Employment. No disable person
shall be denied access to opportunities for suitable employment.
A qualified disabled employee shall be subject to the same terms
and conditions of employment and the same compensation,
privileges, benefits, fringe benefits, incentives or allowances as a
qualified able bodied person. chan robles virtual l awlibrary

Five percent (5%) of all casual emergency and contractual
positions in the Departments of Social Welfare and Development;
Health; Education, Culture and Sports; and other government
agencies, offices or corporations engaged in social development
shall be reserved for disabled persons.
Sec. 6. Sheltered Employment If suitable employment for
disabled persons cannot be found through open employment as
provided in the immediately preceding Section, the State shall
endeavor to provide it by means of sheltered employment. In the
placement of disabled persons in sheltered employment, it shall
accord due regard to the individual qualities, vocational goals and
inclinations to ensure a good working atmosphere and efficient
production.cralaw
Sec. 7. Apprenticeship. Subject to the provisions of the Labor
Code as amended, disabled persons shall be eligible as apprentices
or learners: Provided, That their handicap is not as much as to
effectively impede the performance of job operations in the
particular occupation for which they are hired; Provided, further,
That after the lapse of the period of apprenticeship, if found
satisfactory in the job performance, they shall be eligible for
employment.cralaw
Sec. 8. Incentives for Employers. (a) To encourage the active
participation of the private sector in promoting the welfare of
disabled persons and to ensure gainful employment for qualified
disabled persons, adequate incentives shall be provided to private
entities which employ disabled persons.cralaw
(b) Private entities that employ disabled persons who meet the
required skills or qualifications, either as regular employee,
apprentice or learner, shall be entitled to an additional deduction,
from their gross income, equivalent to twenty-five percent (25%)
of the total amount paid as salaries and wages to disabled
persons: Provided, however, That such entities present proof as
certified by the Department of Labor and Employment that
disabled persons are under their employ: Provided, further, That
the disabled employee is accredited with the Department of Labor
and Employment and the Department of Health as to his
disability, skills and qualifications.
(c) Private entities that improve or modify their physical facilities
in order to provide reasonable accommodation for disabled
persons shall also be entitled to an additional deduction from
their net taxable income, equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the
direct costs of the improvements or modifications. This Section,
however, does not apply to improvements or modifications of
facilities required under Batas Pambansa Bilang 344. chan robl es virtual l awlibrary
Sec. 9. Vocational Rehabilitation. Consistent with the
principle of equal opportunity for disabled workers and workers in
general, the State shall take appropriate vocational rehabilitation
measures that shall serve to develop the skills and potentials of
disabled persons and enable them to compete favorably for
available productive and remunerative employment opportunities
in the labor market.cralaw
The State shall also take measures to ensure the provision of
vocational rehabilitation and livelihood services for disabled
persons in the rural areas. In addition, it shall promote
cooperation and coordination between the government and
nongovernmental organizations and other private entities
engaged in vocational rehabilitation activities.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development shall design
and implement training programs that will provide disabled
persons with vocational skills to enable them to engage in
livelihood activities or obtain gainful employment. The
Department of Labor and Employment shall likewise design and
conduct training programs geared towards providing disabled
persons with skills for livelihood.cralaw
Sec. 10. Vocational Guidance and Counseling. The Department
of Social and Welfare and Development, shall implement
measures providing and evaluating vocational guidance and
counseling to enable disabled persons to secure, retain and
advance in employment. It shall ensure the availability and
training of counselors and other suitably qualified staff
responsible for the vocational guidance and counseling of disabled
persons.chan robles virtual l awlibrary
Sec. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The Department
of Labor and Employment shall in coordination with the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and
National Council for the Welfare of the Disabled Persons (NCWDP)
shall promulgate the rules and regulations necessary to
implement the provisions under this Chapter.cralaw
CHAPTER II
EDUCATION

Sec. 12. Access to Quality Education. The State shall ensure
that disabled persons are provided with access to quality
education and ample opportunities to develop their skills. It shall
take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all
disabled persons. It shall be unlawful for any learning institution
to deny a disabled person admission to any course it offers by
reason of handicap or disability.chanrobles virtual law library

The State shall take into consideration the special requirements
of disabled persons in the formulation of educational policies and
programs. It shall encourage learning institutions to take into
account the special needs of disabled persons with respect to the
use of school facilities, class schedules, physical education
requirements, and other pertinent consideration.chanrobles virtual law library
The State shall also promote the provision by learning
institutions, especially higher learning institutions of auxiliary
services that will facilitate the learning process for disabled
persons. chan robles vi rtual l awl ibrary
Sec. 13. Assistance to Disabled Students. The State shall
provide financial assistance to economically marginalized but
deserving disabled students pursuing post secondary or tertiary
education. Such assistance may be in the form of scholarship
grants, student loan programs, subsidies, and other incentives to
qualified disabled students in both public and private schools. At
least five percent (5%) of the allocation for the Private Education
Student Financial Assistance Program created by virtue of R.A.
6725 shall be set aside for disabled students pursuing vocational
or technical and degree courses.
Sec. 14. Special Education. The State shall establish, maintain
and support complete, adequate and integrated system of special
education for the visually impaired, hearing impaired, mentally
retarded persons and other types of exceptional children in all
regions of the country. Toward this end, the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports shall establish, special education
classes in public schools in cities, or municipalities. It shall also
establish, where viable, Braille and Record Libraries in provinces,
cities or municipalities.cralaw
The National Government shall allocate funds necessary for the
effective implementation of the special education program
nationwide. Local government units may likewise appropriate
counterpart funds to supplement national funds.
Sec. 15. Vocational or Technical and Other Training Programs.
The State shall provide disabled persons with training in civics,
vocational efficiency, sports and physical fitness, and other skills.
The Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall establish
in at least one government-owned vocational and technical school
in every province a special vocational and technical training
program for disabled persons. It shall develop and implement
sports and physical fitness programs specifically designed for
disabled persons taking into consideration the nature of their
handicap.cralaw
Sec. 16. Non-Formal Education. The State shall develop non-
formal education programs intended for the total human
development of disabled persons. It shall provide adequate
resources for non-formal education programs and projects that
cater to the special needs of disabled persons.cralaw
Sec. 17. State Universities and Colleges. If viable and needed,
the State University or State College in each region or province
shall be responsible for (a) the development of material appliances
and technical aids for disabled persons; (b) the development of
training materials for vocational rehabilitation and special
education instructions; (c) the research on special problems,
particularly of the visually-impaired, hearing-impaired, speech-
impaired, and orthopedically-impaired students, mentally
retarded, and multi-handicapped and others, and the elimination
of social barriers and discrimination against disabled persons; and
(d) inclusion of the Special Education for Disabled (SPED) course
in the curriculum.cralaw
The National Government shall provide these state universities
and colleges with necessary special facilities for visually-
impaired, hearing-impaired, speech-impaired, and orthopedically-
impaired students. It shall likewise allocate the necessary funds
in support of the above.
CHAPTER III
HEALTH

Sec. 18. National Health Program. The Department of Health
in coordination with the National Council for the Welfare of
Disabled Persons, shall institute a national health program which
shall aim to attain the following:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

(a) prevention of disability, whether occurring prenatally or
postnatally;
(b) recognition and early diagnosis of disability; and
(c) early rehabilitation of the disabled.

Sec. 19. Rehabilitation Centers. The Department of Health
shall establish medical rehabilitation centers in government
provincial hospitals, and shall include in its annual appropriation
the necessary funds for the operation of such centers. chan robl es vi rtual l awl ibrary

The Department of Health shall formulate and implement a
program to enable marginalized disabled persons to avail of free
rehabilitation services in government hospitals.
Sec. 20. Health Services. The State shall protect and promote
the right to health of disabled persons and shall adopt an
integrated and comprehensive approach to their health
development which shall make essential health services available
to them at affordable cost.cralaw
The National Government shall provide an integrated health
service for disabled persons which shall include, but not limited
to, the following:
(a) prevention of disability through immunization, nutrition,
environmental protection and preservation, and genetic
counseling; and early detection of disability and timely
intervention to arrest disabling condition; and
(b) medical treatment and rehabilitation.chan robles virtual l awlibrary

The Department of Health shall field medical personnel
specializing in the treatment and rehabilitation of disabled
persons to provincial hospitals and, when viable, to municipal
health centers. It shall also train its field health personnel in the
provision of medical attention to disabled persons. It shall further
ensure that its field health units have the necessary capabilities
to fit prosthetic and orthotic appliances on disabled persons.chanrobles virtual law library

CHAPTER IV
AUXILIARY SOCIAL SERVICES

Sec. 21. Auxiliary Social Services. The State shall ensure that
marginalized persons are provided with the necessary auxiliary
services that will restore their social functioning and
participation in community affairs. Towards this end, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development shall develop and
implement programs on auxiliary social services that respond to
the needs of marginalized disabled persons. The components of
such a program shall be as follows:

(a) assistance in the acquisition of prosthetic devices and medical
intervention of specialty services;
(b) provision of specialized training activities designed to improve
functional limitations of disabled persons related to
communication skills;
(c) development among disabled persons of a positive self-image
through the provision of counseling, orientation and mobility and
strengthening daily living capability;
(d) provision of family care services geared towards developing
the capability of families to respond to the needs of the disabled
members of the family;
(e) provision of substitute family care services and the facilities
therefor for abandoned, neglected, abused and unattached
disabled persons who need custodial care; chan robles virtual l awlibrary
(f) provision of after care and follow-up services for the continued
rehabilitation in a community-based setting of disabled persons
who were released from residential care or rehabilitation centers;
and
(g) provision of day care services for disabled children of pre-
school age.
CHAPTER V
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
chan robl es vi rtual l awl ibrary

Sec. 22. Broadcast Media. Television stations shall be
encouraged to provide a signlanguage inset or subtitles in at
least one (1) newscast program a day and special programs
covering events of national significance.chanrobles virtual law library


Sec. 23. Telephone Services. All telephone companies shall be
encouraged to install special telephone devices or units for the
hearing-impaired and ensure that they are commercially available
to enable them to communicate through the telephone system.chanrobles virtual law library
Sec. 24. Free Postal Charges for the Disabled. Postal charges
shall be free on the following:
(a) articles and literatures like books and periodicals, orthopedic
and other devices, and teaching aids for the use of the disabled
sent by mail within the Philippines and abroad; and
(b) aids and orthopedic devices for the disabled sent by abroad by
mail for repair:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

Provided, That the aforesaid items are for personal purposes only:
Provided, further, That the disabled person is a marginalized
disabled as certified by the Social Welfare and Development Office
of the local government unit concerned or the Department of
Social Welfare and Development.chanrobles virtual law library

CHAPTER VI
ACCESSIBILITY
chan robles vi rtual l awl ibrary

Sec. 25. Barrier-Free Environment. The State shall ensure the
attainment of a barrier-free environment that will enable disabled
persons to have access in public and private buildings and
establishments and such other places mentioned in Batas
Pambansa Bilang 344, otherwise known as the "Accessibility
Law".chanrobles virtual law library


The national and local governments shall allocate funds for the
provision of architectural facilities or structural features for
disabled persons in government buildings and facilities.
Sec. 26. Mobility. The State shall promote the mobility of
disabled persons. Disabled persons shall be allowed to drive motor
vehicles, subject to the rules and regulations issued by the Land
Transportation Office pertinent to the nature of their disability
and the appropriate adaptations or modifications made on such
vehicles.
Sec. 27. Access to Public Transport Facilities. The Department
of Social Welfare and Development shall develop a program to
assist marginalized disabled persons gain access in the use of
public transport facilities. Such assistance may be in the form of
subsidized transportation fare.
The said department shall also allocate such funds as may be
necessary for the effective implementation of the public transport
program for the disabled persons. chan robles virtual l awlibrary
The "Accessibility Law", as amended, shall be made suppletory to
this Act.
of Transportation and Communications shall formulate the rules
and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this
Chapter.
chan robles virtual l awlibrary
CHAPTER VII
POLITICAL AND CIVIL RIGHTS
chan robles virtual l awlibrary

Sec. 29. System of Voting. Disabled persons shall be allowed to
be assisted by a person of his choice in voting in the national or
local elections. The person thus chosen shall prepare the ballot
for the disabled voter inside the voting booth. The person
assisting shall bind himself in a formal document under oath to
fill out the ballot strictly in accordance with the instructions of
the voter and not to reveal the contents of the ballot prepared by
him. Violation of this provision shall constitute an election
offense.

Polling places should be made accessible to disabled persons
during national or local elections.chanrobles virtual law library
Sec. 30. Right to Assemble. Consistent with the provisions of
the Constitution, the State shall recognize the right of disabled
persons to participate in processions, rallies, parades,
demonstrations, public meetings, and assemblages or other forms
of mass or concerned action held in public.
Sec. 31. Right to Organize. The State recognizes the right of
disabled persons to form organizations or associations that
promote their welfare and advance or safeguard their interests.
The National Government, through its agencies, instrumentalities
and subdivisions, shall assist disabled persons in establishing self-
help organizations by providing them with necessary technical
and financial assistance.cralaw
Concerned government agencies and offices shall establish close
linkages with organizations of the disabled persons in order to
respond expeditiously to the needs of disabled persons. National
line agencies and local government units shall assist disabled
persons in setting up specific projects that will be managed like
business propositions.
To ensure the active participation of disabled persons in the
social and economic development of the country, their
organizations shall be encouraged to participate in the planning,
organization and management of government programs and
projects for disabled persons.cralaw
Organizations of disabled persons shall participate in the
identification and preparation of programs that shall serve to
develop employment opportunities for the disabled persons.cralaw
TITLE III
PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DISABLED
PERSONS
CHAPTER I
DISCRIMINATION ON EMPLOYMENT
chan robl es virtual l awlibrary

Sec. 32. Discrimination on Employment. No entity, whether
public or private, shall discriminate against a qualified disabled
person by reason of disability in regard to job application
procedures, the hiring, promotion, or discharge of employees,
employee compensation, job training, and other terms,
conditions, and privileges of employment. The following
constitute acts of discrimination:

(a) Limiting, segregating or classifying a disabled job applicant in
such a manner that adversely affects his work opportunities;
(b) Using qualification standards, employment tests or other
selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out a disabled
person unless such standards, tests or other selection criteria are
shown to be job-related for the position in question and are
consistent with business necessity;
(c) Utilizing standards, criteria, or methods of administration
that:
(1) have the effect of discrimination on the basis of disability; or chan robl es
virtual l awlibrary
(2) perpetuate the discrimination of others who are subject to
common administrative control.
(d) Providing less compensation, such as salary, wage or other
forms of remuneration and fringe benefits, to a qualified disabled
employee, by reason of his disability, than the amount to which a
non-disabled person performing the same work is entitled;
(e) Favoring a non-disabled employee over a qualified disabled
employee with respect to promotion, training opportunities,
study and scholarship grants, solely on account of the latter's
disability;
(f) Re-assigning or transferring a disabled employee to a job or
position he cannot perform by reason of his disability;
(g) Dismissing or terminating the services of a disabled employee
by reason of his disability unless the employer can prove that he
impairs the satisfactory performance of the work involved to the
prejudice of the business entity: Provided, however, That the
employer first sought to provide reasonable accommodations for
disabled persons;
(h) Failing to select or administer in the most effective manner
employment tests which accurately reflect the skills, aptitude or
other factor of the disabled applicant or employee that such tests
purports to measure, rather than the impaired sensory, manual or
speaking skills of such applicant or employee, if any; and
(i) Excluding disabled persons from membership in labor unions or
similar organizations.

Sec. 33. Employment Entrance Examination. Upon an offer of
employment, a disabled applicant may be subjected to medical
examination, on the following occasions:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

(a) all entering employees are subjected to such an examination
regardless of disability;
(b) information obtained during the medical condition or history
of the applicant is collected and maintained on separate forms
and in separate medical files and is treated as a confidential
medical record; Provided, however, That:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(1) supervisors and managers may be informed regarding
necessary restrictions on the work or duties of the employees and
necessary accommodations;chan robl es vi rtual l awl ibrary
(2) first aid and safety personnel may be informed, when
appropriate, if the disability may require emergency treatment;
(3) government officials investigating compliance with this Act
shall be provided relevant information on request; and
(4) the results of such examination are used only in accordance
with this Act.
CHAPTER II
DISCRIMINATION ON TRANSPORTATION
c han robles virtual l awlibrary

Sec. 34. Public Transportation. It shall be considered
discrimination for the franchisees or operators and personnel of
sea, land, and air transportation facilities to charge higher fare or
to refuse to convey a passenger, his orthopedic devices, personal
effects, and merchandise by reason of his disability.

c han robles virtual l awlibrary
CHAPTER III
DISCRIMINATION ON THE USE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS
AND SERVICES
chan robl es vi rtual l awl ibrary

Sec. 35. Public Accommodations and Services. For purposes of
this Chapter, public accommodations and services shall include
the following:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

(a) an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging, except for an
establishment located within a building that contains not more
than five (5) rooms for rent or hire and that is actually occupied
by the proprietor of such establishment as the residence of such
proprietor;
(b) a restaurant, bar, or other establishment serving food or drink;
(c) a motion picture, theater, concert hall, stadium, or other place
of exhibition or entertainment;
(d) an auditorium, convention center, lecture hall, or other place
of public gathering;chan robl es virtual l awlibrary
(e) a bakery, grocery store, hardware store, shopping center, or
other sales or rental establishment;
(f) a bank, barber shop, beauty shop, travel service, funeral parlor,
gas station, office of a lawyer, pharmacy, insurance office,
professional office of a health care provider, hospital or other
service establishment;
(g) a terminal, depot, or other station used for specified public
transportation;
(h) a museum, gallery, library or other place of public display or
collection;
(i) a park, zoo, amusement park, or other place of recreation;
(j) a nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or post-
graduate private school, or other place of education;
(k) a gymnasium, health spa, bowling alley, golf course; or chan robl es virtual l awlibrary
(l) other place of exercise or recreation.

Sec. 36. Discrimination on the Use of Public Accommodations.
(a) No disabled person shall be discriminated on the basis of
disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services,
facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations of any place
of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases, or
operates a place of public accommodation. The following
constitute acts of discrimination:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

(1) denying a disabled person, directly or through contractual,
licensing, or other arrangement, the opportunity to participate in
or benefit from the goods, services, facilities, privileges,
advantages, or accommodations of an entity by reason of his
disability;
(2) affording a disabled person, on the basis of his disability,
directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangement,
with the opportunity to participate in or benefit from a good
service, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation that is
not equal to that afforded to other able-bodied persons; and
(3) providing a disabled person, on the basis of his disability,
directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangement,
with a good, service, facility, advantage, privilege, or
accommodation that is different or separate form that provided
to other able-bodied persons unless such action is necessary to
provide the disabled person with a good, service, facility,
advantage, privilege, or accommodation, or other opportunity
that is as effective as that provided to others;

For purposes of this Section, the term "individuals or class of
individuals" refers to the clients or customers of the covered
public accommodation that enters into the contractual, licensing
or other arrangement.


(b) Integrated Settings Goods, services, facilities, privileges,
advantages, and accommodations shall be afforded to individual
with a disability in the most integrated setting appropriate to the
needs of the individual.chan robl es virtual l awlibrary
(c) Opportunity to Participate Notwithstanding the existence of
separate or different programs or activities provided in
accordance with this Section, an individual with a disability shall
not be denied the opportunity to participate in such programs or
activities that are not separate or different.
(d) Association It shall be discriminatory to exclude or
otherwise deny equal goods, services, facilities, advantages,
privileges, accommodations or other opportunities to an
individual or entity because of the known disability of an
individual with whom the individual or entity is known to have a
relationship or association.
(e) Prohibitions For purposes of this Section, the following shall
be considered as discriminatory:
(1) the imposition or application of eligibility criteria that screen
out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or any
class or individuals with disabilities from fully and equally
enjoying any goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or
accommodations, unless such criteria can be shown to be
necessary for the provision of the goods, services, facilities,
privileges, or accommodations being offered;chan robles vi rtual l awl ibrary
(2) a failure to make reasonable modifications in policies,
practices, or procedures, when such modifications are necessary
to afford such goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or
accommodations to individuals with disabilities, unless the entity
can demonstrate that making such modifications would
fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, facilities, services,
privileges, advantages, or accommodations;
(3) failure to take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that
no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services,
segregated or otherwise treated differently than other individuals
because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless the
entity can demonstrate that taking such steps would
fundamentally alter the nature of the good, service, facility,
privilege, advantage or accommodation being offered or would
result in undue burden;
(4) a failure to remove architectural barriers, and communication
barriers that are structural in nature, in existing facilities, where
such removal is readily achievable; and
(5) where an entity can demonstrate that the removal of a barrier
under clause (4) is not readily achievable, a failure to make such
goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or
accommodations available through alternative methods if such
methods are readily achievable.chan robles virtual l awlibrary

Sec. 37. Use of Government Recreational or Sports Centers Free
of Charge. Recreational or sports centers owned or operated by
the Government shall be used, free of charge, by marginalized
disabled persons during their social, sports or recreational
activities.


of Public Works and Highways shall formulate the rules and
regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this
Chapter.chanrobles virtual law library

TITLE IV
FINAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 39. Housing Program. The National Government shall take
into consideration in its national shelter program the special
housing requirements of disabled persons.


Sec. 40. Role of National Agencies and Local Government Units.
Local government units shall promote the establishment of
organizations of disabled persons in their respective territorial
jurisdictions. National agencies and local government units may
enter into joint ventures with organizations or associations of
disabled persons to explore livelihood opportunities and other
undertakings that shall enhance the health, physical fitness and
the economic and social well-being of disabled persons.chanrobles virtual law library
Sec. 41. Support From Nongovernment Organizations.
Nongovernment organizations or private volunteer organizations
dedicated to the purpose of promoting and enhancing the welfare
of disabled persons shall, as they, are hereby encouraged, become
partners of the Government in the implementation of vocational
rehabilitation measures and other related programs and projects.
Accordingly, their participation in the implementation of said
measures, programs and projects is to be extended all possible
support by the Government.cralaw
The Government shall sponsor a volunteer service program which
shall harness the involvement of private individuals in the
provision of assistance to disabled persons. chan robl es virtual l awlibrary
Sec. 42. Tax Incentives. (a) Any donation, bequest, subsidy or
financial aid which may be made to government agencies engaged
in the rehabilitation of disabled persons and organizations of
disabled persons shall be exempt from the donor's tax subject to
the provisions of Section 94 of the National Internal Revenue
Code (NIRC), as amended and shall be allowed as deductions from
the donor's gross income for purposes of computing the taxable
income subject to the provisions of Section 29 (h) of the Code.
(b) Donations from foreign countries shall be exempt from taxes
and duties on importation subject to the provisions of Section
105 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as
amended, Section 103 of the NIRC, as amended and other
relevant laws and international agreements.cralaw
(c) Local manufacturing or technical aids and appliances used by
disabled persons shall be considered as a preferred area of
investment subject to the provisions of Executive Order No. 226
otherwise known as the "Omnibus Investments Code of 1987"
and, as such, shall enjoy the rights, privileges and incentives as
provided in said Code such as, but not limited, to the following:
(1) repatriation of investments;
(2) remittance of earnings;
(3) remittance of payments on foreign contracts;
(4) freedom from expropriations;
(5) freedom from requisition of investment; chan robl es virtual l awlibrary
(6) income tax holiday;
(7) additional deduction for labor expense;
(8) tax and duty exemption on imported capital equipment;
(9) tax credit on domestic capital equipment;
(10) exemption from contractor's tax;
(11) simplification of customs procedures; chan robles vi rtual l awl ibrary
(12) unrestricted use of consigned equipment;
(13) employment of foreign nationals;
(14) tax credit for taxes and duties on raw materials;
(15) access to bonded manufacturing/traded warehouse system;
(16) exemption from taxes and duties on imported spare parts;
and
(17) exemption from wharfage dues and any export tax, duty,
impost and fee.

Sec. 43. Continuity Clause. Should any department or agency
tasked with the enforcement or formulation of rules and
regulations and guidelines for implementation of any provision of
this Act is abolished, merged with another department or agency
or modified, such shall not affect the enforcement or formulation
of rules, regulations and guidelines for implementation of this Act
to the effect that

(a) In case of abolition, the department or agency established to
replace the abolished department or agency shall take-over the
functions under this Act of the abolished department or agency. chan robles virtual
lawlibrary
(b) In case the department or agency tasked with the enforcement
or formulation of rules, regulations and guidelines for
implementation of this Act is merged with another department or
agency, the former shall continue the functions under this Act of
the merged department or agency.chanrobles virtual law library
(c) In case of modification, the department or agency modified
shall continue the functions under this Act of the department or
agency that has undergone the modification.

Sec. 44. Enforcement by the Secretary of Justice.

(a) Denial of Right
(1) Duty to Investigate the Secretary of Justice shall
investigate alleged violations of this Act, and shall undertake
periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities under this Act.
(b) Potential Violations If the Secretary of Justice has
reasonable cause to believe that
(1) any person or group of persons is engaged in a pattern or
practice of discrimination under this Act; or
(2) any person or group or persons has been discriminated against
under this Act and such discrimination raises an issue of general
public importance, the Secretary of Justice may commence a
legal action in any appropriate court.chanrobles virtual law library

Sec. 45. Authority of Court. The court may grant any equitable
relief that such court considers to be appropriate, including, to
the extent required by this Act:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

(a) granting temporary, preliminary or permanent relief; chan robles virtual l awlibrary
(b) providing an auxiliary aid or service, modification of policy,
practice or procedure, or alternative method; and
(c) making facilities readily accessible to and usable by
individuals with disabilities.

Sec. 46. Penal Clause. (a) Any person who violates any
provision of this Act shall suffer the following penalties:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

(1) for the first violation, a fine of not less than Fifty thousand
pesos (P50,000.00) but not exceeding One hundred thousand
pesos (P100,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than six (6)
months but not more than two (2) years, or both at the discretion
of the court; and
(2) for any subsequent violation, a fine of not less than One
hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not exceeding Two
hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) or imprisonment for not
less than two (2) years but not more than six (6) years, or both at
the discretion of the court.chanrobles virtual law library

(b) Any person who abuses the privileges granted herein shall be
punished with imprisonment of not less than six (6) months or a
fine of not less than Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00), but not
more than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00), or both, at the
discretion of the court.


(c) If the violator is a corporation, organization or any similar
entity, the officials thereof directly involved shall be liable
therefor.chanrobles virtual law library
(d) If the violator is an alien or a foreigner, he shall be deported
immediately after service of sentence without further deportation
proceedings. chan robles virtual l awlibrary
Sec. 47. Appropriations. The amount necessary to carry out
the provisions of this Act shall be included in the General
Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law
and thereafter.
Sec. 48. Separability Clause. Should any provisions of this Act
be found unconstitutional by a court of law, such provisions shall
be severed from the remainder of the Act, and such action shall
not affect the enforceability of the remaining provisions of this
Act.cralaw
Sec. 49. Repealing Clause. All laws, presidential decrees,
executive orders and rules and regulations inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly. chan robl es virtual l awlibrary
Sec. 50. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in any two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved: March 24, 1992

Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Twelfth Congress
Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-eighth day of July, two thousand three.
December 19, 2003
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ELIMINATION OF THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR
AND AFFORDING STRONGER PROTECTION FOR THE WORKING CHILD, AMENDING FOR
THIS PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACTNO. 7610, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
"SPECIAL PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AGAINST CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND
DISCRIMINATION ACT"
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
Section 1. Sec. 2 of Republic Act No. 7610, as amended, otherwise known as the "Special
Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act", is hereby
amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 2. Declaration of State Policy and Principles. - It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
State to provide special protection to children from all forms of abuse, neglect, cruelty,
exploitation and discrimination, and other conditions prejudicial to their development including
child labor and its worst forms; provide sanctions for their commission and carry out a program
for prevention and deterrence of and crisis intervention in situations of child abuse, exploitation
and discrimination. The State shall intervene on behalf of the child when the parent, guardian,
teacher or person having care or custody of the child fails or is unable to protect the child against
abuse, exploitation and discrimination or when such acts against the child are committed by the
said parent, guardian, teacher or person having care and custody of the same.
"It shall be the policy of the State to protect and rehabilitate children gravely threatened or
endangered by circumstances which affect or will affect their survival and normal development
and over which they have no control.
"The best interests of children shall be the paramount consideration in all actions concerning
them, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law,
administrative authorities, and legislative bodies, consistent with the principle of First Call for
Children as enunciated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Every effort
shall be exerted to promote the welfare of children and enhance their opportunities for a useful
and happy life."chanroblesvirtual lawlibrary
Sec. 2. Sec. 12 of the same Act, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 2. Employment of Children - Children below fifteen (15) years of age shall not be employed
except:
"1) When a child works directly under the sole responsibility of his/her parents or legal guardian
and where only members of his/her family are employed: Provided, however, That his/her
employment neither endangers his/her life, safety, health, and morals, nor impairs his/her
normal development:Provided, further, That the parent or legal guardian shall provide the said
child with the prescribed primary and/or secondary education; or
"2) Where a child's employment or participation in public entertainment or information through
cinema, theater, radio, television or other forms of media is essential: Provided, That the
employment contract is concluded by the child's parents or legal guardian, with the express
agreement of the child concerned, if possible, and the approval of the Department of Labor and
Employment: Provided, further, That the following requirements in all instances are strictly
complied with:
"(a) The employer shall ensure the protection, health, safety, morals and normal development of
the child;cralaw
"(b) The employer shall institute measures to prevent the child's exploitation or discrimination
taking into account the system and level of remuneration, and the duration and arrangement of
working time; and
"(c) The employer shall formulate and implement, subject to the approval and supervision of
competent authorities, a continuing program for training and skills acquisition of the child.chanroblesvi rtuallawl ibrary
"In the above-exceptional cases where any such child may be employed, the employer shall first
secure, before engaging such child, a work permit from the Department of Labor and
Employment which shall ensure observance of the above requirements.
"For purposes of this Article, the term "child" shall apply to all persons under eighteen (18) years
of age."
Sec. 3. The same Act, as amended, is hereby further amended by adding new sections to be
denominated as Sections 12-A, 12-B, 12-C, and 12-D to read as follows:
"Sec. 2-A. Hours of Work of a Working Child. - Under the exceptions provided in Sec. 12 of this
Act, as amended:
"(1) A child below fifteen (15) years of age may be allowed to work for not more than twenty
(20) hours a week: Provided, That the work shall not be more than four (4) hours at any given
day;cralaw
"(2) A child fifteen (15) years of age but below eighteen (18) shall not be allowed to work for
more than eight (8) hours a day, and in no case beyond forty (40) hours a week;cralaw
"(3) No child below fifteen (15) years of age shall be allowed to work between eight o'clock in
the evening and six o'clock in the morning of the following day and no child fifteen (15) years of
age but below eighteen (18) shall be allowed to work between ten o'clock in the evening and six
o'clock in the morning of the following day."
"Sec. 12-B. Ownership, Usage and Administration of the Working Child's Income. - The wages,
salaries, earnings and other income of the working child shall belong to him/her in ownership
and shall be set aside primarily for his/her support, education or skills acquisition and secondarily
to the collective needs of the family: Provided,That not more than twenty percent (20%) of the
child's income may be used for the collective needs of the family.
"The income of the working child and/or the property acquired through the work of the child shall
be administered by both parents. In the absence or incapacity of either of the parents, the other
parent shall administer the same. In case both parents are absent or incapacitated, the order of
preference on parental authority as provided for under the Family Code shall apply.
"Sec. 12-C. Trust Fund to Preserve Part of the Working Child's Income. - The parent or legal
guardian of a working child below eighteen (18) years of age shall set up a trust fund for at least
thirty percent (30%) of the earnings of the child whose wages and salaries from work and other
income amount to at least two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) annually, for which
he/she shall render a semi-annual accounting of the fund to the Department of Labor and
Employment, in compliance with the provisions of this Act. The child shall have full control over
the trust fund upon reaching the age of majority.
"Sec. 12-D. Prohibition Against Worst Forms of Child Labor. - No child shall be engaged in the
worst forms of child labor. The phrase "worst forms of child labor" shall refer to any of the
following:
"(1) All forms of slavery, as defined under the "Anti-trafficking in Persons Act of 2003", or
practices similar to slavery such as sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom
and forced or compulsory labor, including recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; or
"(2) The use, procuring, offering or exposing of a child for prostitution, for the production of
pornography or for pornographic performances; or
"(3) The use, procuring or offering of a child for illegal or illicit activities, including the production
and trafficking of dangerous drugs and volatile substances prohibited under existing laws; or
"(4) Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is hazardous or
likely to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of children, such that it:
"a) Debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being;
or
"b) Exposes the child to physical, emotional or sexual abuse, or is found to be highly stressful
psychologically or may prejudice morals; or
"c) Is performed underground, underwater or at dangerous heights; or
"d) Involves the use of dangerous machinery, equipment and tools such as power-driven or
explosive power-actuated tools; or
"e) Exposes the child to physical danger such as, but not limited to the dangerous feats of
balancing, physical strength or contortion, or which requires the manual transport of heavy
loads; or
"f) Is performed in an unhealthy environment exposing the child to hazardous working
conditions, elements, substances, co-agents or processes involving ionizing, radiation, fire,
flammable substances, noxious components and the like, or to extreme temperatures, noise
levels, or vibrations; or
"g) Is performed under particularly difficult conditions; or
"h) Exposes the child to biological agents such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoans,
nematodes and other parasites; or
"i) Involves the manufacture or handling of explosives and other pyrotechnic products."
Sec. 4. Sec. 13 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 13. Access to Education and Training for Working Children - "a) No child shall be deprived
of formal or non-formal education. In all cases of employment allowed in this Act, the employer
shall provide a working child with access to at least primary and secondary education.
"b) To ensure and guarantee the access of the working child to education and training, the
Department of Education (DEPED) shall: (1) formulate, promulgate, and implement relevant and
effective course designs and educational programs; (2) conduct the necessary training for the
implementation of the appropriate curriculum for the purpose; (3) ensure the availability of the
needed educational facilities and materials; and (4) conduct continuing research and
development program for the necessary and relevant alternative education of the working child.
"c) The DEPED shall promulgate a course design under its non-formal education program aimed
at promoting the intellectual, moral and vocational efficiency of working children who have not
undergone or finished elementary or secondary education. Such course design shall integrate the
learning process deemed most effective under given circumstances."chanroblesvirtuallawl ibrary
"Sec. 14. Prohibition on the Employment of Children in Certain Advertisements. - No child shall
be employed as a model in any advertisement directly or indirectly promoting alcoholic
beverages, intoxicating drinks, tobacco and its byproducts, gambling or any form of violence or
pornography."chanroblesvirtual lawlibrary
Sec. 6. Sec. 16 of the same Act, is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 16. Penal Provisions -
"a) Any employer who violates Sections 12, 12-A, and Sec. 14 of this act, as amended, shall be
penalized by imprisonment of six (6) months and one (1) day to six (6) years or a fine of not
less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than Three hundred thousand pesos
(P300,000.00) or both at the discretion of the court.
"b) Any person who violates the provision of Sec. 12-D of this act or the employer of the
subcontractor who employs, or the one who facilitates the employment of a child in hazardous
work, shall suffer the penalty of a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos
(P100,000.00) but not more than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00), or imprisonment of not
less than twelve (12) years and one (1) day to twenty (20) years, or both such fine and
imprisonment at the discretion of the court.
"c) Any person who violates Sections 12-D(1) and 12-D(2) shall be prosecuted and penalized in
accordance with the penalty provided for by R. A. 9208 otherwise known as the "Anti-trafficking
in Persons Act of 2003":Provided, That Such penalty shall be imposed in its maximum period.
"d) Any person who violates Sec. 12-D (3) shall be prosecuted and penalized in accordance with
R.A. 9165, otherwise known as the "Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002"; Provided,
That such penalty shall be imposed in its maximum period.
"e) If a corporation commits any of the violations aforecited, the board of directors/trustees and
officers, which include the president, treasurer and secretary of the said corporation who
participated in or knowingly allowed the violation, shall be penalized accordingly as provided for
under this Sec. .
"f) Parents, biological or by legal fiction, and legal guardians found to be violating Sections 12,
12-A, 12-B and 12-C of this Act shall pay a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos
(P10,000.00) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or be required to
render community service for not less than thirty (30) days but not more than one (1) year, or
both such fine and community service at the discretion of the court:Provided, That the maximum
length of community service shall be imposed on parents or legal guardians who have violated
the provisions of this Act three (3) times; Provided, further, That in addition to the community
service, the penalty of imprisonment of thirty (30) days but not more than one (1) year or both
at the discretion of the court, shall be imposed on the parents or legal guardians who have
violated the provisions of this Act more than three (3) times.
"g) The Secretary, of Labor and Employment or his/her duly authorized representative may, after
due notice and hearing, order the closure of any business firm or establishment found to have
violated any of the provisions of this Act more than three (3) times. He/she shall likewise order
the immediate closure of such firm or establishment if:
"(1) The violation of any provision of this Act has resulted in the death, insanity or serious
physical injury of a child employed in such establishment; or
"(2) Such firm or establishment is engaged or employed in prostitution or in obscene or lewd
shows.chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
"h) In case of such closure, the employer shall be required to pay the employee(s) the
separation pay and other monetary benefits provided for by law."chanroblesvirtual lawlibrary
Sec. 7. The same Act is hereby further amended by adding a new section to be denominated as
Sec. 16-A, to read as follows:
"Sec. 16-A. Trust Fund from Fines and Penalties - The fine imposed by the court shall be treated
as a Trust Fund, administered by the Department of Labor and Employment and disbursed
exclusively for the needs, including the costs of rehabilitation and reintegration into the
mainstream of society of the working children who are victims of the violations of this Act, and
for the programs and projects that will prevent acts of child labor."chanroblesvirtual lawlibrary
"Sec. 27. Who May File a Complaint - Complaints on cases of unlawful acts committed against
children as enumerated herein may be filed by the following:
"(a) Offended party;cralaw
"(b) Parents or guardians;cralaw
"(c) Ascendant or collateral relative within the third degree of consanguinity;cralaw
"(d) Officer, social worker or representative of a licensed child-caring institution;cralaw
"(e) Officer or social worker of the Department of Social Welfare and Development;cralaw
"(f) Barangay chairman of the place where the violation occurred, where the child is residing or
employed; or
"(g) At least three (3) concerned, responsible citizens where the violation occurred."
Sec. 9. The same Act is hereby further amended by adding new sections to Sec. 16 to be
denominated as Sections 16-A, 16-B and 16-C to read as follows:
"Sec. 16-A. Jurisdiction - The family courts shall have original jurisdiction over all cases involving
offenses punishable under this Act: Provided, That in cities or provinces where there are no
family courts yet, the regional trial courts and the municipal trial courts shall have concurrent
jurisdiction depending on the penalties prescribed for the offense charged.
"The preliminary investigation of cases filed under this Act shall be terminated within a period of
thirty (30) days from the date of filing.
"If the preliminary investigation establishes a prima facie case, then the corresponding
information shall be filed in court within forty eight (48) hours from the termination of the
investigation.
"Trial of cases under this Act shall be terminated by the court not later than ninety (90) days
from the date of filing of information. Decision on said cases shall be rendered within a period of
fifteen (15) days from the date of submission of the case.
"Sec. 15. Exemptions from Filing Fees. - When the victim of child labor institutes a separate civil
action for the recovery of civil damages, he/she shall be exempt from payment of filing fees.
"Sec. 16-C. Access to Immediate Legal, Medical and Psycho-Social Services - The working child
shall have the right to free legal, medical and psycho-social services to be provided by the
State."chanroblesvirtual lawlibrary
Sec. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations - The Secretary of Labor and Employment, in
coordination with the Committees on Labor and Employment of both Houses of Congress, shall
issue the necessary Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) to effectively implement the
provisions of this Act, in consultation with concerned public and private sectors, within sixty (60)
days from the effectivity of this Act.
Such rules and regulations shall take effect upon their publication in two (2) national newspapers
of general circulation.chanroblesvi rtuallawlibrary
Sec. 11. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional,
the validity of the remaining provisions hereof shall remain in full force and effect.chanrobles virtualaw li brary
Sec. 12. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, or rules inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.chanrobles virtualaw library
Sec. 13. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its complete
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Metro Manila
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE MAGNA CARTA OF WOMEN
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as The Magna Carta of Women.
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. Recognizing that the economic, political, and sociocultural
realities affect womens current condition, the State affirms the role of women in nation building and
ensures the substantive equality of women and men. It shall promote empowerment of women and
pursue equal opportunities for women and men and ensure equal access to resources and to
development results and outcome. Further, the State realizes that equality of men and women entails the
abolition of the unequal structures and practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. To realize
this, the State shall endeavor to develop plans, policies, programs, measures, and mechanisms to
address discrimination and inequality in the economic, political, social, and cultural life of women and
men.
The State condemns discrimination against women in all its forms and pursues by all appropriate means
and without delay the policy of eliminating discrimination against women in keeping with the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other international
instruments consistent with Philippine law. The State shall accord women the rights, protection, and
opportunities available to every member of society.
The State affirms womens rights as human rights and shall intensify its efforts to fulfill its duties under
international and domestic law to recognize, respect, protect, fulfill, and promote all human rights and
fundamental freedoms of women, especially marginalized women, in the economic, social, political,
cultural, and other fields without distinction or discrimination on account of class, age, sex, gender,
language, ethnicity, religion, ideology, disability, education, and status.
The State shall provide the necessary mechanisms to enforce womens rights and adopt and undertake
all legal measures necessary to foster and promote the equal opportunity for women to participate in and
contribute to the development of the political, economic, social, and cultural realms.
The State, in ensuring the full integration of womens concerns in the mainstream of development, shall
provide ample opportunities to enhance and develop their skills, acquire productive employment and
contribute to their families and communities to the fullest of their capabilities.
In pursuance of this policy, the State reaffirms the right of women in all sectors to participate in policy
formulation, planning, organization, implementation, management, monitoring, and evaluation of all
programs, projects, and services. It shall support policies, researches, technology, and training programs
and other support services such as financing, production, and marketing to encourage active participation
of women in national development.
SECTION 3. Principles of Human Rights of Women. Human rights are universal and inalienable.
All people in the world are entitled to them. The universality of human rights is encompassed in the words
of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all human beings are free and
equal in dignity and rights.
Human rights are indivisible. Human rights are inherent to the dignity of every human being whether they
relate to civil, cultural, economic, political, or social issues.
Human rights are interdependent and interrelated. The fulfillment of one right often depends, wholly or in
part, upon the fulfillment of others.
All individuals are equal as human beings by virtue of the inherent dignity of each human person. No one,
therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual orientation,
race, color, religion, political, or other opinion, national, social, or geographical origin, disability, property,
birth, or other status as established by human rights standards.
All people have the right to participate in and access information relating to the decision-making
processes that affect their lives and well-being. Rights-based approaches require a high degree of
participation by communities, civil society, minorities, women, young people, indigenous peoples, and
other identified groups.
States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the observance of human rights. They have to comply
with the legal norms and standards enshrined in international human rights instruments in accordance
with the Philippine Constitution. Where they fail to do so, aggrieved rights-holders are entitled to institute
proceedings for appropriate redress before a competent court or other adjudicator in accordance with the
rules and procedures provided by law.
CHAPTER II
Definition of Terms
SECTION 4. Definitions. For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:
(a) Women Empowerment refers to the provision, availability, and accessibility of opportunities,
services, and observance of human rights which enable women to actively participate and contribute to
the political, economic, social, and cultural development of the nation as well as those which shall provide
them equal access to ownership, management, and control of production, and of material and
informational resources and benefits in the family, community, and society.
(b) Discrimination Against Women refers to any gender-based distinction, exclusion, or restriction
which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by
women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field.
It includes any act or omission, including by law, policy, administrative measure, or practice, that directly
or indirectly excludes or restricts women in the recognition and promotion of their rights and their access
to and enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or privileges.
A measure or practice of general application is discrimination against women if it fails to provide for
mechanisms to offset or address sex or gender-based disadvantages or limitations of women, as a result
of which women are denied or restricted in the recognition and protection of their rights and in their
access to and enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or privileges; or women, more than men, are shown to
have suffered the greater adverse effects of those measures or practices.
Provided, finally, that discrimination compounded by or intersecting with other grounds, status, or
condition, such as ethnicity, age, poverty, or religion shall be considered discrimination against women
under this Act.
(c) Marginalization refers to a condition where a whole category of people is excluded from useful
and meaningful participation in political, economic, social, and cultural life.
(d) Marginalized refers to the basic, disadvantaged, or vulnerable persons or groups who are
mostly living in poverty and have little or no access to land and other resources, basic social and
economic services such as health care, education, water and sanitation, employment and livelihood
opportunities, housing, social security, physical infrastructure, and the justice system.
These include, but are not limited to, women in the following sectors and groups:
(1) Small Farmers and Rural Workers refers to those who are engaged directly or indirectly in
small farms and forest areas, workers in commercial farms and plantations, whether paid or unpaid,
regular or season-bound. These shall include, but are not limited to, (a) small farmers who own or are still
amortizing for lands that is not more than three (3) hectares, tenants, leaseholders, and stewards; and (b)
rural workers who are either wage earners, self-employed, unpaid family workers directly and personally
engaged in agriculture, small-scale mining, handicrafts, and other related farm and off-farm activities;
(2) Fisherfolk refers to those directly or indirectly engaged in taking, culturing, or processing fishery
or aquatic resources. These include, but are not to be limited to, women engaged in fishing in municipal
waters, coastal and marine areas, women workers in commercial fishing and aquaculture, vendors and
processors of fish and coastal products, and subsistence producers such as shell-gatherers, managers,
and producers of mangrove resources, and other related producers;
(3) Urban Poor refers to those residing in urban and urbanizable slum or blighted areas, with or
without the benefit of security of abode, where the income of the head of the family cannot afford in a
sustained manner to provide for the familys basic needs of food, health, education, housing, and other
essentials in life;
(4) Workers in the Formal Economy refers to those who are employed by any person acting
directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee and shall include the
government and all its branches, subdivisions, and instrumentalities, all government-owned and -
controlled corporations and institutions, as well as nonprofit private institutions or organizations;
(5) Workers in the Informal Economy refers to self-employed, occasionally or personally hired,
subcontracted, paid and unpaid family workers in household incorporated and unincorporated enterprises,
including home workers, micro-entrepreneurs and producers, and operators of sari-sari stores and all
other categories who suffer from violation of workers rights;
(6) Migrant Workers refers to Filipinos who are to be engaged, are engaged, or have been
engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which they are not legal residents, whether documented
or undocumented;
(7) Indigenous Peoples refers to a group of people or homogenous societies identified by self-
ascription and ascription by other, who have continuously lived as organized community on communally
bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial,
occupied, possessed customs, tradition, and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through
resistance to political, social, and cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and culture,
became historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. They shall likewise include peoples who
are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country,
at the time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures,
or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social, economic,
cultural, and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their traditional domains or who
may have resettled outside their ancestral domains as defined under Section 3 (h), Chapter II of Republic
Act No. 8371, otherwise known as The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA of 1997);
(8) Moro refers to native peoples who have historically inhabited Mindanao, Palawan, and Sulu,
and who are largely of the Islamic faith;
(9) Children refers to those who are below eighteen (18) years of age or over but are unable to
fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or
discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition;
(10) Senior Citizens refers to those sixty (60) years of age and above;
(11) Persons with Disabilities refers to those who are suffering from restriction or different abilities,
as a result of a mental, physical, or sensory impairment to perform an activity in the manner or within the
range considered normal for a human being; and
(12) Solo Parents refers to those who fall under the category of a solo parent defined under
Republic Act No. 8972, otherwise known as the Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000.
(e) Substantive Equality refers to the full and equal enjoyment of rights and freedoms
contemplated under this Act. It encompasses de jure and de facto equality and also equality in outcomes.
(f) Gender Equality refers to the principle asserting the equality of men and women and their right
to enjoy equal conditions realizing their full human potentials to contribute to and benefit from the results
of development, and with the State recognizing that all human beings are free and equal in dignity and
rights.
(g) Gender Equity refers to the policies, instruments, programs, services, and actions that address
the disadvantaged position of women in society by providing preferential treatment and affirmative action.
Such temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall
not be considered discriminatory but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal
or separate standards. These measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of
opportunity and treatment have been achieved.
(h) Gender and Development (GAD) refers to the development perspective and process that are
participatory and empowering, equitable, sustainable, free from violence, respectful of human rights,
supportive of self-determination and actualization of human potentials. It seeks to achieve gender equality
as a fundamental value that should be reflected in development choices; seeks to transform societys
social, economic and political structures and questions the validity of the gender roles they ascribed to
women and men; contends that women are active agents of development and not just passive recipients
of development assistance; and stresses the need of women to organize themselves and participate in
political processes to strengthen their legal rights.
(i) Gender Mainstreaming refers to the strategy for making womens as well as mens concerns
and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of
policies and programs in all political, economic, and societal spheres so that women and men benefit
equally and inequality is not perpetuated. It is the process of assessing the implications for women and
men of any planned action, including legislation, policies, or programs in all areas and at all levels.
(j) Temporary Special Measures refers to a variety of legislative, executive, administrative, and
regulatory instruments, policies, and practices aimed at accelerating this de facto equality of women in
specific areas. These measures shall not be considered discriminatory but shall in no way entail as a
consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards. They shall be discontinued when their
objectives have been achieved.
(k) Violence Against Women refers to any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely
to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts,
coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. It shall be
understood to encompass, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence occurring in the family, including
battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, and
other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence, and violence related to exploitation;
(2) Physical, sexual, and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including
rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and
elsewhere, trafficking in women, and prostitution; and
(3) Physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it
occurs.
It also includes acts of violence against women as defined in Republic Acts No. 9208 and 9262.
(l) Women in the Military refers to women employed in the military, both in the major and
technical services, who are performing combat and/or noncombat functions, providing security to the
State, and protecting the people from various forms of threat. It also includes women trainees in all
military training institutions.
(m) Social Protection refers to policies and programs that seek to reduce poverty and vulnerability
to risks and enhance the social status and rights of all women, especially the marginalized by promoting
and protecting livelihood and employment, protecting against hazards and sudden loss of income, and
improving peoples capacity to manage risk. Its components are labor market programs, social insurance,
social welfare, and social safety nets.
CHAPTER III
Duties Related to the Human Rights of Women
The State, private sector, society in general, and all individuals shall contribute to the recognition, respect,
and promotion of the rights of women defined and guaranteed under this Act.
SECTION 5. The State as the Primary Duty-Bearer. The State, as the primary duty-bearer, shall:
(a) Refrain from discriminating against women and violating their rights;
(b) Protect women against discrimination and from violation of their rights by private corporations,
entities, and individuals; and
(c) Promote and fulfill the rights of women in all spheres, including their rights to substantive
equality and non-discrimination.
The State shall fulfill these duties through law, policy, regulatory instruments, administrative guidelines,
and other appropriate measures, including temporary special measures.
Recognizing the interrelation of the human rights of women, the State shall take measures and establish
mechanisms to promote the coherent and integrated implementation and enforcement of this Act and
related laws, policies, or other measures to effectively stop discrimination against and advance the rights
of women.
The State shall keep abreast with and be guided by progressive developments in human rights of women
under international law and design of policies, laws, and other measures to promote the objectives of this
Act.
SECTION 6. Duties of the State Agencies and Instrumentalities. These duties of the State shall
extend to all state agencies, offices, and instrumentalities at all levels and government-owned and -
controlled corporations, subject to the Constitution and pertinent laws, policies, or administrative
guidelines that define specific duties of state agencies and entities concerned.
SECTION 7. Suppletory Effect. This chapter shall be deemed integrated into and be suppletory
to other provisions of this Act, particularly those that guarantee specific rights to women and define
specific roles and require specific conduct of state organs.
CHAPTER IV
Rights and Empowerment
SECTION 8. Human Rights of Women. All rights in the Constitution and those rights recognized
under international instruments duly signed and ratified by the Philippines, in consonance with Philippine
law, shall be rights of women under this Act to be enjoyed without discrimination.
SECTION 9. Protection from Violence. The State shall ensure that all women shall be protected
from all forms of violence as provided for in existing laws. Agencies of government shall give priority to
the defense and protection of women against gender-based offenses and help women attain justice and
healing.
Towards this end, measures to prosecute and reform offenders shall likewise be pursued. (a) Within the
next five (5) years, there shall be an incremental increase in the recruitment and training of women in the
police force, forensics and medico-legal, legal services, and social work services availed of by women
who are victims of gender-related offenses until fifty percent (50%) of the personnel thereof shall be
women.
(b) Women shall have the right to protection and security in situations of armed conflict and
militarization. Towards this end, they shall be protected from all forms of gender-based violence,
particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all forms of violence in situations of armed conflict.
The State shall observe international standards for the protection of civilian population in circumstances of
emergency and armed conflict. It shall not force women, especially indigenous peoples, to abandon their
lands, territories, and means of subsistence, or relocate them in special centers for military purposes
under any discriminatory condition.
(c) All government personnel involved in the protection and defense of women against gender-
based violence shall undergo a mandatory training on human rights and gender sensitivity pursuant to
this Act.
(d) All local government units shall establish a Violence Against Womens Desk in every barangay
to ensure that violence against women cases are fully addressed in a gender-responsive manner.
SECTION 10. Women Affected by Disasters, Calamities, and Other Crisis Situations. Women have
the right to protection and security in times of disasters, calamities, and other crisis situations especially in
all phases of relief, recovery, rehabilitation, and construction efforts. The State shall provide for immediate
humanitarian assistance, allocation of resources, and early resettlement, if necessary. It shall also
address the particular needs of women from a gender perspective to ensure their full protection from
sexual exploitation and other sexual and gender-based violence committed against them. Responses to
disaster situations shall include the provision of services, such as psychosocial support, livelihood
support, education, psychological health, and comprehensive health services, including protection during
pregnancy.
SECTION 11. Participation and Representation. The State shall undertake temporary special
measures to accelerate the participation and equitable representation of women in all spheres of society
particularly in the decision-making and policy-making processes in government and private entities to fully
realize their role as agents and beneficiaries of development.
The State shall institute the following affirmative action mechanisms so that women can participate
meaningfully in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies, plans, and programs for
national, regional, and local development:
(a) Empowerment within the Civil Service. Within the next five (5) years, the number of women in
third (3rd) level positions in government shall be incrementally increased to achieve a fifty-fifty (50-50)
gender balance;
(b) Development Councils and Planning Bodies. To ensure the participation of women in all
levels of development planning and program implementation, at least forty percent (40%) of membership
of all development councils from the regional, provincial, city, municipal and barangay levels shall be
composed of women;
(c) Other Policy and Decision-Making Bodies. Womens groups shall also be represented in
international, national, and local special and decision-making bodies;
(d) International Bodies. The State shall take all appropriate measures to ensure the opportunity
of women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, to represent their governments at the
international level and to participate in the work of international organizations;
(e) Integration of Women in Political Parties. The State shall provide incentives to political parties
with womens agenda. It shall likewise encourage the integration of women in their leadership hierarchy,
internal policy-making structures, appointive, and electoral nominating processes; and
(f) Private Sector. The State shall take measures to encourage women leadership in the private
sector in the form of incentives.
SECTION 12. Equal Treatment Before the Law. The State shall take steps to review and, when
necessary, amend and/or repeal existing laws that are discriminatory to women within three (3) years
from the effectivity of this Act.
SECTION 13. Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in Education, Scholarships, and
Training. (a) The State shall ensure that gender stereotypes and images in educational materials and
curricula are adequately and appropriately revised. Gender-sensitive language shall be used at all times.
Capacity-building on gender and development (GAD), peace and human rights, education for teachers,
and all those involved in the education sector shall be pursued toward this end. Partnerships between
and among players of the education sector, including the private sector, churches, and faith groups shall
be encouraged.
(b) Enrollment of women in nontraditional skills training in vocational and tertiary levels shall be
encouraged.
(c) Expulsion and non-readmission of women faculty due to pregnancy outside of marriage shall be
outlawed. No school shall turn out or refuse admission to a female student solely on the account of her
having contracted pregnancy outside of marriage during her term in school.
SECTION 14. Women in Sports. The State shall develop, establish, and strengthen programs for
the participation of women and girl-children in competitive and noncompetitive sports as a means to
achieve excellence, promote physical and social well-being, eliminate gender-role stereotyping, and
provide equal access to the full benefits of development for all persons regardless of sex, gender identity,
and other similar factors.
For this purpose, all sports-related organizations shall create guidelines that will establish and integrate
affirmative action as a strategy and gender equality as a framework in planning and implementing their
policies, budgets, programs, and activities relating to the participation of women and girls in sports.
The State will also provide material and nonmaterial incentives to local government units, media
organizations, and the private sector for promoting, training, and preparing women and girls for
participation in competitive and noncompetitive sports, especially in local and international events,
including, but not limited to, the Palarong Pambansa, Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games, and the
Olympics.
No sports event or tournament will offer or award a different sports prize, with respect to its amount or
value, to women and men winners in the same sports category: Provided, That the said tournament,
contest, race, match, event, or game is open to both sexes: Provided, further, That the sports event or
tournament is divided into male or female divisions.
The State shall also ensure the safety and well-being of all women and girls participating in sports,
especially, but not limited to, trainees, reserve members, members, coaches, and mentors of national
sports teams, whether in studying, training, or performance phases, by providing them comprehensive
health and medical insurance coverage, as well as integrated medical, nutritional, and healthcare
services.
Schools, colleges, universities, or any other learning institution shall take into account its total women
student population in granting athletic scholarship. There shall be a pro rata representation of women in
the athletic scholarship program based on the percentage of women in the whole student population.
SECTION 15. Women in the Military. The State shall pursue appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination of women in the military, police, and other similar services, including revising or abolishing
policies and practices that restrict women from availing of both combat and noncombat training that are
open to men, or from taking on functions other than administrative tasks, such as engaging in combat,
security-related, or field operations. Women in the military shall be accorded the same promotional
privileges and opportunities as men, including pay increases, additional remunerations and benefits, and
awards based on their competency and quality of performance. Towards this end, the State shall ensure
that the personal dignity of women shall always be respected.
Women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be provided with the same right to
employment as men on equal conditions. Equally, they shall be accorded the same capacity as men to
act in and enter into contracts, including marriage.
Further, women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be entitled to leave benefits such as
maternity leave, as provided for by existing laws.
SECTION 16. Nondiscriminatory and Nonderogatory Portrayal of Women in Media and Film. The
State shall formulate policies and programs for the advancement of women in collaboration with
government and nongovernment media-related organizations. It shall likewise endeavor to raise the
consciousness of the general public in recognizing the dignity of women and the role and contribution of
women in the family, community, and the society through the strategic use of mass media.
For this purpose, the State shall ensure allocation of space, airtime, and resources, strengthen
programming, production, and image-making that appropriately present womens needs, issues, and
concerns in all forms of media, communication, information dissemination, and advertising.
The State, in cooperation with all schools of journalism, information, and communication, as well as the
national media federations and associations, shall require all media organizations and corporations to
integrate into their human resource development components regular training on gender equality and
gender-based discrimination, create and use gender equality guidelines in all aspects of management,
training, production, information, dissemination, communication, and programming; and convene a
gender equality committee that will promote gender mainstreaming as a framework and affirmative action
as a strategy, and monitor and evaluate the implementation of gender equality guidelines.
SECTION 17. Womens Right to Health. (a) Comprehensive Health Services. The State shall, at
all times, provide for a comprehensive, culture-sensitive, and gender-responsive health services and
programs covering all stages of a womans life cycle and which addresses the major causes of womens
mortality and morbidity: Provided, That in the provision for comprehensive health services, due respect
shall be accorded to womens religious convictions, the rights of the spouses to found a family in
accordance with their religious convictions, and the demands of responsible parenthood, and the right of
women to protection from hazardous drugs, devices, interventions, and substances.
Access to the following services shall be ensured:
(1) Maternal care to include pre- and post-natal services to address pregnancy and infant health and
nutrition;
(2) Promotion of breastfeeding;
(3) Responsible, ethical, legal, safe, and effective methods of family planning;
(4) Family and State collaboration in youth sexuality education and health services without prejudice
to the primary right and duty of parents to educate their children;
(5) Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, including sexually transmitted
diseases, HIV, and AIDS;
(6) Prevention and management of reproductive tract cancers like breast and cervical cancers, and
other gynecological conditions and disorders;
(7) Prevention of abortion and management of pregnancy-related complications;
(8) In cases of violence against women and children, women and children victims and survivors
shall be provided with comprehensive health services that include psychosocial, therapeutic, medical, and
legal interventions and assistance towards healing, recovery, and empowerment;
(9) Prevention and management of infertility and sexual dysfunction pursuant to ethical norms and
medical standards;
(10) Care of the elderly women beyond their child-bearing years; and
(11) Management, treatment, and intervention of mental health problems of women and girls.
In addition, healthy lifestyle activities are encouraged and promoted through programs and projects as
strategies in the prevention of diseases.
(b) Comprehensive Health Information and Education. The State shall provide women in all
sectors with appropriate, timely, complete, and accurate information and education on all the above-
stated aspects of womens health in government education and training programs, with due regard to the
following:
(1) The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth and the
development of moral character and the right of children to be brought up in an atmosphere of morality
and rectitude for the enrichment and strengthening of character;
(2) The formation of a persons sexuality that affirms human dignity; and
(3) Ethical, legal, safe, and effective family planning methods including fertility awareness.
SECTION 18. Special Leave Benefits for Women. A woman employee having rendered continuous
aggregate employment service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12) months shall be entitled
to a special leave benefit of two (2) months with full pay based on her gross monthly compensation
following surgery caused by gynecological disorders.
SECTION 19. Equal Rights in All Matters Relating to Marriage and Family Relations. The State
shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to
marriage and family relations and shall ensure:
(a) the same rights to enter into and leave marriages or common law relationships referred to under
the Family Code without prejudice to personal or religious beliefs;
(b) the same rights to choose freely a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full
consent. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect;
(c) the joint decision on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the
information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights;
(d) the same personal rights between spouses or common law spouses including the right to choose
freely a profession and an occupation;
(e) the same rights for both spouses or common law spouses in respect of the ownership,
acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment, and disposition of property;
(f) the same rights to properties and resources, whether titled or not, and inheritance, whether
formal or customary; and
(g) women shall have equal rights with men to acquire, change, or retain their nationality. The State
shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during
marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the
nationality of the husband. Various statutes of other countries concerning dual citizenship that may be
enjoyed equally by women and men shall likewise be considered.
Customary laws shall be respected: Provided, however, that they do not discriminate against women.
CHAPTER V
Rights and Empowerment of Marginalized Sectors
Women in marginalized sectors are hereby guaranteed all civil, political, social, and economic rights
recognized, promoted, and protected under existing laws including, but not limited to, the Indigenous
Peoples Rights Act, the Urban Development and Housing Act, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law,
the Fisheries Code, the Labor Code, the Migrant Workers Act, the Solo Parents Welfare Act, and the
Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act.
SECTION 20. Food Security and Productive Resources. The State recognizes the contribution of
women to food production and shall ensure its sustainability and sufficiency with the active participation of
women. Towards this end, the State shall guarantee, at all times, the availability in the market of safe and
health-giving food to satisfy the dietary needs of the population, giving particular attention to the specific
needs of poor girl-children and marginalized women, especially pregnant and lactating mothers and their
young children. To further address this, the State shall ensure:
(a) Right to Food. The State shall guarantee the availability of food in quantity and quality
sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, the physical and economic accessibility for everyone
to adequate food that is culturally acceptable and free from unsafe substances and culturally accepted,
and the accurate and substantial information to the availability of food, including the right to full, accurate,
and truthful information about safe and health-giving foods and how to produce and have regular and
easy access to them;
(b) Right to Resources for Food Production. The State shall guarantee women a vital role in food
production by giving priority to their rights to land, credit, and infrastructure support, technical training, and
technological and marketing assistance. The State shall promote women-friendly technology as a high
priority activity in agriculture and shall promote the right to adequate food by proactively engaging in
activities intended to strengthen access to, utilization of, and receipt of accurate and substantial
information on resources and means to ensure womens livelihood, including food security:
(1) Equal status shall be given to women and men, whether married or not, in the titling of the land
and issuance of stewardship contracts and patents;
(2) Equal treatment shall be given to women and men beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program,
wherein the vested right of a woman agrarian reform beneficiary is defined by a womans relationship to
tillage, i.e., her direct and indirect contribution to the development of the land;
(3) Customary rights of women to the land, including access to and control of the fruits and benefits,
shall be recognized in circumstances where private ownership is not possible, such as ancestral domain
claims;
(4) Information and assistance in claiming rights to the land shall be made available to women at all
times;
(5) Equal rights to women to the enjoyment, use, and management of land, water, and other natural
resources within their communities or ancestral domains;
(6) Equal access to the use and management of fisheries and aquatic resources, and all the rights
and benefits accruing to stakeholders in the fishing industry;
(7) Equal status shall be given to women and men in the issuance of stewardship or lease
agreements and other fishery rights that may be granted for the use and management of coastal and
aquatic resources. In the same manner, womens organizations shall be given equal treatment as with
other marginalized fishers organizations in the issuance of stewardship or lease agreements or other
fishery rights for the use and management of such coastal and aquatic resources which may include
providing support to women-engaged coastal resources;
(8) There shall be no discrimination against women in the deputization of fish wardens;
(9) Women-friendly and sustainable agriculture technology shall be designed based on accessibility
and viability in consultation with womens organizations;
(10) Access to small farmer-based and controlled seeds production and distribution shall be ensured
and protected;
(11) Indigenous practices of women in seed storage and cultivation shall be recognized, encouraged,
and protected;
(12) Equal rights shall be given to women to be members of farmers organizations to ensure wider
access to and control of the means of production;
(13) Provide opportunities for empowering women fishers to be involved in the control and
management, not only of the catch and production of aquamarine resources but also, to engage in
entrepreneurial activities which will add value to production and marketing ventures; and
(14) Provide economic opportunities for the indigenous women, particularly access to market for their
produce.
In the enforcement of the foregoing, the requirements of law shall be observed at all times.
SECTION 21. Right to Housing. The State shall develop housing programs for women that are
localized, simple, accessible, with potable water, and electricity, secure, with viable employment
opportunities and affordable amortization. In this regard, the State shall consult women and involve them
in community planning and development, especially in matters pertaining to land use, zoning, and
relocation.
SECTION 22. Right to Decent Work. The State shall progressively realize and ensure decent work
standards for women that involve the creation of jobs of acceptable quality in conditions of freedom,
equity, security, and human dignity.
(a) Decent work involves opportunities for work that are productive and fairly remunerative as family
living wage, security in the workplace, and social protection for families, better prospects for personal
development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize, participate in
the decisions that affect their lives, and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.
(b) The State shall further ensure:
(1) Support services and gears to protect them from occupational and health hazards taking into
account womens maternal functions;
(2) Support services that will enable women to balance their family obligations and work
responsibilities including, but not limited to, the establishment of day care centers and breast-feeding
stations at the workplace, and providing maternity leave pursuant to the Labor Code and other pertinent
laws;
(3) Membership in unions regardless of status of employment and place of employment; and
(4) Respect for the observance of indigenous peoples cultural practices even in the workplace.
(c) In recognition of the temporary nature of overseas work, the State shall exert all efforts to
address the causes of out-migration by developing local employment and other economic opportunities
for women and by introducing measures to curb violence and forced and involuntary displacement of local
women. The State shall ensure the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of migrant women
regardless of their work status, and protect them against discrimination in wages, conditions of work, and
employment opportunities in host countries.
SECTION 23. Right to Livelihood, Credit, Capital, and Technology. The State shall ensure that
women are provided with the following:
(a) Equal access to formal sources of credit and capital;
(b) Equal share to the produce of farms and aquatic resources; and
(c) Employment opportunities for returning women migrant workers taking into account their skills
and qualifications. Corollarily, the State shall also promote skills and entrepreneurship development of
returning women migrant workers.
SECTION 24. Right to Education and Training. The State shall ensure the following:
(a) Women migrant workers have the opportunity to undergo skills training, if they so desire, before
taking on a foreign job, and possible retraining upon return to the country;
(b) Gender-sensitive training and seminars; and
(c) Equal opportunities in scholarships based on merit and fitness, especially to those interested in
research and development aimed towards women-friendly farm technology.
SECTION 25. Right to Representation and Participation. The State shall ensure womens
participation in policy-making or decision-making bodies in the regional, national, and international levels.
It shall also ensure the participation of grassroots women leaders in decision and policy-making bodies in
their respective sectors including, but not limited to, the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) and
its local counterparts; community-based resource management bodies or mechanisms on forest
management and stewardship; the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council
(NFARMC) and its local counterparts; the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples; the Presidential
Commission for the Urban Poor; the National Anti-Poverty Commission; and, where applicable, the local
housing boards.
SECTION 26. Right to Information. Access to information regarding policies on women, including
programs, projects, and funding outlays that affect them, shall be ensured.
SECTION 27. Social Protection.
(a) The Social Security System (SSS) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)
shall support indigenous and community-based social protection schemes.
(b) The State shall institute policies and programs that seek to reduce the poverty and vulnerability
to risks and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalized women by promoting and protecting
livelihood and employment, protecting against hazards and sudden loss of income, and improving
peoples capacity to manage risks.
(c) The State shall endeavor to reduce and eventually eliminate transfer costs of remittances from
abroad through appropriate bilateral and multilateral agreements. It shall likewise provide access to
investment opportunities for remittances in line with national development efforts.
(d) The State shall establish a health insurance program for senior citizens and indigents.
(e) The State shall support women with disabilities on a community-based social protection scheme.
SECTION 28. Recognition and Preservation of Cultural Identity and Integrity. The State shall
recognize and respect the rights of Moro and indigenous women to practice, promote, protect, and
preserve their own culture, traditions, and institutions and to consider these rights in the formulation and
implementation of national policies and programs. To this end, the State shall adopt measures in
consultation with the sectors concerned to protect their rights to their indigenous knowledge systems and
practices, traditional livelihood, and other manifestations of their cultures and ways of life: Provided, That
these cultural systems and practices are not discriminatory to women.
SECTION 29. Peace and Development. The peace process shall be pursued with the following
considerations:
(a) Increase the number of women participating in discussions and decision-making in the peace
process, including membership in peace panels recognizing womens role in conflict-prevention and
peace-making and in indigenous system of conflict resolution;
(b) Ensure the development and inclusion of womens welfare and concerns in the peace agenda in
the overall peace strategy and womens participation in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and
evaluation of rehabilitation and rebuilding of conflict-affected areas;
(c) The institution of measures to ensure the protection of civilians in conflict-affected communities
with special consideration for the specific needs of women and girls;
(d) Include the peace perspective in the education curriculum and other educational undertakings;
and
(e) The recognition and support for womens role in conflict-prevention, management, resolution and
peacemaking, and in indigenous systems of conflict resolution.
SECTION 30. Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances. For purposes of this Act, Women in
Especially Difficult Circumstances (WEDC) shall refer to victims and survivors of sexual and physical
abuse, illegal recruitment, prostitution, trafficking, armed conflict, women in detention, victims and
survivors of rape and incest, and such other related circumstances which have incapacitated them
functionally. Local government units are therefore mandated to deliver the necessary services and
interventions to WEDC under their respective jurisdictions.
SECTION 31. Services and Interventions. WEDC shall be provided with services and interventions
as necessary such as, but not limited to, the following:
(a) Temporary and protective custody;
(b) Medical and dental services;
(c) Psychological evaluation;
(d) Counseling;
(e) Psychiatric evaluation;
(f) Legal services:
(g) Productivity skills capability building;
(h) Livelihood assistance;
(i) Job placement;
(j) Financial assistance; and
(k) Transportation assistance.
SECTION 32. Protection of Girl-Children. (a) The State shall pursue measures to eliminate all
forms of discrimination against girl-children in education, health and nutrition, and skills development.
(b) Girl-children shall be protected from all forms of abuse and exploitation.
(c) Equal access of Moro and indigenous girl-children in the Madaris, schools of living culture and
traditions, and the regular schools shall be ensured.
(d) Gender-sensitive curriculum, including legal literacy, books, and curriculum in the Madaris and
schools of living culture and traditions shall be developed.
(e) Sensitivity of regular schools to particular Moro and indigenous practices, such as fasting in the
month of Ramadan, choice of clothing (including the wearing of hijab), and availability of halal food shall
be ensured.
SECTION 33. Protection of Senior Citizens. The State shall protect women senior citizens from
neglect, abandonment, domestic violence, abuse, exploitation, and discrimination. Towards this end, the
State shall ensure special protective mechanisms and support services against violence, sexual abuse,
exploitation, and discrimination of older women.
SECTION 34. Women are entitled to the recognition and protection of their rights defined and
guaranteed under this Act including their right to nondiscrimination.
SECTION 35. Discrimination Against Women is Prohibited. Public and private entities and
individuals found to have committed discrimination against women shall be subject to the sanctions
provided in Section 41 hereof. Violations of other rights of women shall be subject to sanctions under
pertinent laws and regulations.
CHAPTER VI
Institutional Mechanisms
SECTION 36. Gender Mainstreaming as a Strategy for Implementing the Magna Carta of Women.
Within a period prescribed in the implementing rules and regulations, the National Commission on the
Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) shall assess its gender mainstreaming program for consistency with
the standards under this Act. It shall modify the program accordingly to ensure that it will be an effective
strategy for implementing this Act and attaining its objectives.
All departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges,
government-owned and -controlled corporations, local government units, and other government
instrumentalities shall adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy to promote womens human rights and
eliminate gender discrimination in their systems, structures, policies, programs, processes, and
procedures which shall include, but not limited to, the following:
(a) Planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation for GAD. GAD programs addressing gender
issues and concerns shall be designed and implemented based on the mandate of government agencies
and local government units, Republic Act No. 7192, gender equality agenda of the government and other
GAD-related legislation, policies, and commitments. The development of GAD programs shall proceed
from the conduct of a gender audit of the agency or the local government unit and a gender analysis of its
policies, programs, services and the situation of its clientele; the generation and review of sex-
disaggregated data; and consultation with gender/womens rights advocates and agency/women clientele.
The cost of implementing GAD programs shall be the agencys or the local government units GAD
budget which shall be at least five percent (5%) of the agencys or the local government units total budget
appropriations.
Pursuant to Republic Act No. 7192, otherwise known as the Women in Development and Nation Building
Act, which allocates five percent (5%) to thirty percent (30%) of overseas development assistance to
GAD, government agencies receiving official development assistance should ensure the allocation and
proper utilization of such funds to gender-responsive programs that complement the government GAD
funds and annually report accomplishments thereof to the National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA) and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW).
The utilization and outcome of the GAD budget shall be annually monitored and evaluated in terms of its
success in influencing the gender-responsive implementation of agency programs funded by the
remaining ninety-five percent (95%) budget.
The Commission on Audit (COA) shall conduct an annual audit on the use of the GAD budget for the
purpose of determining its judicious use and the efficiency, and effectiveness of interventions in
addressing gender issues towards the realization of the objectives of the countrys commitments, plans,
and policies on women empowerment, gender equality, and GAD.
Local government units are also encouraged to develop and pass a GAD Code based on the gender
issues and concerns in their respective localities based on consultation with their women constituents and
the womens empowerment and gender equality agenda of the government. The GAD Code shall also
serve as basis for identifying programs, activities, and projects on GAD.
Where needed, temporary gender equity measures shall be provided for in the plans of all departments,
including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges, government-owned
and -controlled corporations, local government units, and other government instrumentalities.
To move towards a more sustainable, gender-responsive, and performance-based planning and
budgeting, gender issues and concerns shall be integrated in, among others, the following plans:
(1) Macro socioeconomic plans such as the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan and
Medium-Term Philippine Investment Plan;
(2) Annual plans of all departments, including their attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state
universities and colleges, and government-owned and -controlled corporations; and
(3) Local plans and agenda such as executive-legislative agenda, comprehensive development plan
(CDP), comprehensive land use plan (CLUP), provincial development and physical framework plan
(PDPFP), and annual investment plan.
(b) Creation and/or Strengthening of the GAD Focal Points (GFP). All departments, including their
attached agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges, government-owned and -controlled
corporations, local government units, and other government instrumentalities shall establish or strengthen
their GAD Focal Point System or similar GAD mechanism to catalyze and accelerate gender
mainstreaming within the agency or local government unit.
The GAD Focal Point System shall be composed of the agency head or local chief executive, an
executive committee with an Undersecretary (or its equivalent), local government unit official, or office in a
strategic decision-making position as Chair; and a technical working group or secretariat which is
composed of representatives from various divisions or offices within the agency or local government unit.
The tasks and functions of the members of the GFP shall form part of their regular key result areas and
shall be given due consideration in their performance evaluation.
(c) Generation and Maintenance of GAD Database. All departments, including their attached
agencies, offices, bureaus, state universities and colleges, government-owned and -controlled
corporations, local government units, and other government instrumentalities shall develop and maintain
a GAD database containing gender statistics and sex-disaggregated data that have been systematically
gathered, regularly updated, and subjected to gender analysis for planning, programming, and policy
formulation.
SECTION 37. Gender Focal Point Officer in Philippine Embassies and Consulates. An officer duly
trained on GAD shall be designated as the gender focal point in the consular section of Philippine
embassies or consulates. Said officer shall be primarily responsible in handling gender concerns of
women migrant workers. Attached agencies shall cooperate in strengthening the Philippine foreign posts
programs for the delivery of services to women migrant workers.
SECTION 38. National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW). The National
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) shall be renamed as the Philippine Commission on
Women (PCW), the primary policy-making and coordinating body of the women and gender equality
concerns under the Office of the President. The PCW shall be the overall monitoring body and oversight
to ensure the implementation of this Act. In doing so, the PCW may direct any government agency and
instrumentality, as may be necessary, to report on the implementation of this Act and for them to
immediately respond to the problems brought to their attention in relation to this Act. The PCW shall also
lead in ensuring that government agencies are capacitated on the effective implementation of this Act.
The chairperson shall likewise report to the President in Cabinet meetings on the implementation of this
Act.
To the extent possible, the PCW shall influence the systems, processes, and procedures of the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of government vis--vis GAD to ensure the implementation of this Act.
To effectively and efficiently undertake and accomplish its functions, the PCW shall revise its structure
and staffing pattern with the assistance of the Department of Budget and Management.
SECTION 39. Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The Commission, acting as the Gender and
Development Ombud, consistent with its mandate, shall undertake measures such as the following:
(a) Monitor with the PCW and other state agencies, among others, in developing indicators and
guidelines to comply with their duties related to the human rights of women, including their right to
nondiscrimination guaranteed under this Act;
(b) Designate one (1) commissioner and/or its Womens Human Rights Center to be primarily
responsible for formulating and implementing programs and activities related to the promotion and
protection of the human rights of women, including the investigations and complaints of discrimination and
violations of their rights brought under this Act and related laws and regulations;
(c) Establish guidelines and mechanisms, among others, that will facilitate access of women to
legal remedies under this Act and related laws, and enhance the protection and promotion of the rights of
women, especially marginalized women;
(d) Assist in the filing of cases against individuals, agencies, institutions, or establishments that
violate the provisions of this Act; and
(e) Recommend to the President of the Philippines or the Civil Service Commission any possible
administrative action based on noncompliance or failure to implement the provisions of this Act.
SECTION 40. Monitoring Progress and Implementation and Impact of this Act. The PCW, in
coordination with other state agencies and the CHR, shall submit to Congress regular reports on the
progress of the implementation of this Act highlighting the impact thereof on the status and human rights
of women: Provided, That the second report shall include an assessment of the effectiveness of this Act
and recommend amendments to improve its provisions: Provided, finally, That these reports shall be
submitted to Congress every three (3) years or as determined in the implementing rules and regulations.
SECTION 41. Penalties. Upon finding of the CHR that a department, agency, or instrumentality of
government, government-owned and -controlled corporation, or local government unit has violated any
provision of this Act and its implementing rules and regulations, the sanctions under administrative law,
civil service, or other appropriate laws shall be recommended to the Civil Service Commission and/or the
Department of the Interior and Local Government. The person directly responsible for the violation as well
as the head of the agency or local chief executive shall be held liable under this Act.
If the violation is committed by a private entity or individual, the person directly responsible for the
violation shall be liable to pay damages.
Filing a complaint under this Act shall not preclude the offended party from pursuing other remedies
available under the law and to invoke any of the provisions of existing laws especially those recently
enacted laws protecting women and children, including the Women in Development and Nation Building
Act (Republic Act No. 7192), the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination Act (Republic Act No. 7610), the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (Republic Act No.
7877), the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8353), the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection
Act of 1998 (Republic Act No. 8505), the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9208)
and the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9262). If violence
has been proven to be perpetrated by agents of the State including, but not limited to, extrajudicial
killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and internal displacements, such shall be considered
aggravating offenses with corresponding penalties depending on the severity of the offenses.
SECTION 42. Incentives and Awards. There shall be established an incentives and awards system
which shall be administered by a board under such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the
PCW to deserving entities, government agencies, and local government units for their outstanding
performance in upholding the rights of women and effective implementation of gender-responsive
programs.
SECTION 43. Funding. The initial funding requirements for the implementation of this Act shall be
charged against the current appropriations of the agencies concerned. Thereafter, such sums as may be
necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be included in the agencies yearly budgets under the
General Appropriations Act.
The State shall prioritize allocation of all available resources to effectively fulfill its obligations specified
under this Act. The State agencies GAD budgets, which shall be at least five percent (5%) of their total
budgetary allocation, shall also be utilized for the programs and activities to implement this Act.
SECTION 44. Implementing Rules and Regulations. As the lead agency, the PCW shall, in
coordination with the Commission on Human Rights and all concerned government departments and
agencies including, as observers, both Houses of Congress through the Committee on Youth, Women
and Family Relations (Senate) and the Committee on Women and Gender Equality (House of
Representatives) and with the participation of representatives from nongovernment organizations (NGOs)
and civil society groups with proven track record of involvement and promotion of the rights and welfare of
Filipino women and girls identified by the PCW, formulate the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of
this Act within one hundred eighty (180) days after its effectivity.
SECTION 45. Separability Clause. If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or unconstitutional,
the remainder of the law or the provisions not otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.
SECTION 46. Repealing Clause. Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, letter
of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to, or inconsistent with, the provisions of
this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.
SECTION 47. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at
least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved: August 14, 2009

Supreme Court
Manila

EN BANC

ANTONIO M. SERRANO, G.R. No. 167614
Petitioner,
Present:

PUNO, C.J.,
QUISUMBING,
YNARES-SANTIAGO,
CARPIO,
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ,
- versus - CORONA,
CARPIO MORALES,
TINGA,
CHICO-NAZARIO,
VELASCO, Jr.,
NACHURA,
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO,
BRION, and
GALLANT MARITIME SERVICES, PERALTA, JJ.
INC. and MARLOW NAVIGATION
CO., INC., Promulgated:
Respondents. March 24, 2009
x - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x

D E C I S I O N

AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:

For decades, the toil of solitary migrants has helped lift entire families and communities
out of poverty. Their earnings have built houses, provided health care, equipped schools and
planted the seeds of businesses. They have woven together the world by transmitting ideas and
knowledge from country to country. They have provided the dynamic human link between
cultures, societies and economies.Yet, only recently have we begun to understand not only how
much international migration impacts development, but how smart public policies can magnify
this effect.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
Global Forum on Migration and Development
Brussels, July 10, 2007
[1]

For Antonio Serrano (petitioner), a Filipino seafarer, the last clause in the
5
th
paragraph of Section 10, Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8042,
[2]
to wit:

Sec. 10. Money Claims. - x x x In case of termination of overseas employment
without just, valid or authorized cause as defined by law or contract, the workers shall be
entitled to the full reimbursement of his placement fee with interest of twelve percent
(12%) per annum, plus his salaries for the unexpired portion of his employment contract or
for three (3) months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less.

x x x x (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)

does not magnify the contributions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to national
development, but exacerbates the hardships borne by them by unduly limiting their
entitlement in case of illegal dismissal to their lump-sum salary either for the unexpired
portion of their employment contract or for three months for every year of the
unexpired term, whichever is less (subject clause). Petitioner claims that the last clause
violates the OFWs' constitutional rights in that it impairs the terms of their contract,
deprives them of equal protection and denies them due process.

By way of Petition for Review under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, petitioner assails
the December 8, 2004 Decision
[3]
and April 1, 2005 Resolution
[4]
of the Court of Appeals
(CA), which applied the subject clause, entreating this Court to declare the subject clause
unconstitutional.

Petitioner was hired by Gallant Maritime Services, Inc. and Marlow Navigation Co.,
Ltd. (respondents) under a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)-
approved Contract of Employment with the following terms and conditions:
Duration of contract 12 months
Position Chief Officer
Basic monthly salary US$1,400.00
Hours of work 48.0 hours per week
Overtime US$700.00 per month
Vacation leave with pay 7.00 days per month
[5]

On March 19, 1998, the date of his departure, petitioner was constrained to
accept a downgraded employment contract for the position of Second Officer with a
monthly salary of US$1,000.00, upon the assurance and representation of respondents
that he would be made Chief Officer by the end of April 1998.
[6]

Respondents did not deliver on their promise to make petitioner Chief
Officer.
[7]
Hence, petitioner refused to stay on as Second Officer and was repatriated to
thePhilippines on May 26, 1998.
[8]

Petitioner's employment contract was for a period of 12 months or from March
19, 1998 up to March 19, 1999, but at the time of his repatriation on May 26, 1998, he
had served only two (2) months and seven (7) days of his contract, leaving an unexpired
portion of nine (9) months and twenty-three (23) days.

Petitioner filed with the Labor Arbiter (LA) a Complaint
[9]
against respondents for
constructive dismissal and for payment of his money claims in the total amount of
US$26,442.73, broken down as follows:

May 27/31, 1998 (5 days) incl. Leave pay US$ 413.90
June 01/30, 1998 2,590.00
July 01/31, 1998 2,590.00
August 01/31, 1998 2,590.00
Sept. 01/30, 1998 2,590.00
Oct. 01/31, 1998 2,590.00
Nov. 01/30, 1998 2,590.00
Dec. 01/31, 1998 2,590.00
Jan. 01/31, 1999 2,590.00
Feb. 01/28, 1999 2,590.00
Mar. 1/19, 1999 (19 days) incl. leave
pay
1,640.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25,382.23
Amount adjusted to chief mate's salary
(March 19/31, 1998 to April 1/30, 1998) + 1,060.50
[10]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL CLAIM US$
26,442.73
[11]

as well as moral and exemplary damages and attorney's fees.

The LA rendered a Decision dated July 15, 1999, declaring the dismissal of
petitioner illegal and awarding him monetary benefits, to wit:

WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered declaring that
the dismissal of the complainant (petitioner) by the respondents in the above-entitled case
was illegal and the respondents are hereby ordered to pay the complainant [petitioner],
jointly and severally, in Philippine Currency, based on the rate of exchange prevailing at the
time of payment, the amount of EIGHT THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED SEVENTY
U.S. DOLLARS (US $8,770.00), representing the complainants salary for three (3)
months of the unexpired portion of the aforesaid contract of employment.

The respondents are likewise ordered to pay the complainant [petitioner], jointly
and severally, in Philippine Currency, based on the rate of exchange prevailing at the time
of payment, the amount of FORTY FIVE U.S. DOLLARS (US$ 45.00),
[12]
representing
the complainants claim for a salary differential. In addition, the respondents are hereby
ordered to pay the complainant, jointly and severally, in Philippine Currency, at the
exchange rate prevailing at the time of payment, the complainants (petitioner's) claim for
attorneys fees equivalent to ten percent (10%) of the total amount awarded to the aforesaid
employee under this Decision.

The claims of the complainant for moral and exemplary damages are hereby
DISMISSED for lack of merit.

All other claims are hereby DISMISSED.

SO ORDERED.
[13]

(Emphasis supplied)

In awarding petitioner a lump-sum salary of US$8,770.00, the LA based his
computation on the salary period of three months only -- rather than the entire unexpired
portion of nine months and 23 days of petitioner's employment contract - applying the
subject clause. However, the LA applied the salary rate of US$2,590.00, consisting of
petitioner's [b]asic salary, US$1,400.00/month + US$700.00/month, fixed overtime pay,
+ US$490.00/month, vacation leave pay = US$2,590.00/compensation per month.
[14]

Respondents appealed
[15]
to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) to
question the finding of the LA that petitioner was illegally dismissed.

Petitioner also appealed
[16]
to the NLRC on the sole issue that the LA erred in not
applying the ruling of the Court in Triple Integrated Services, Inc. v. National Labor
Relations Commission
[17]
that in case of illegal dismissal, OFWs are entitled to their salaries
for the unexpired portion of their contracts.
[18]

In a Decision dated June 15, 2000, the NLRC modified the LA Decision, to wit:

WHEREFORE, the Decision dated 15 July 1999 is MODIFIED. Respondents are
hereby ordered to pay complainant, jointly and severally, in Philippine currency, at the
prevailing rate of exchange at the time of payment the following:

1. Three (3) months salary
$1,400 x 3 US$4,200.00
2. Salary differential 45.00
US$4,245.00
3. 10% Attorneys fees 424.50
TOTAL US$4,669.50

The other findings are affirmed.

SO ORDERED.
[19]

The NLRC corrected the LA's computation of the lump-sum salary awarded to
petitioner by reducing the applicable salary rate from US$2,590.00 to US$1,400.00
because R.A. No. 8042 does not provide for the award of overtime pay, which should be
proven to have been actually performed, and for vacation leave pay.
[20]

Petitioner filed a Motion for Partial Reconsideration, but

this time he questioned the
constitutionality of the subject clause.
[21]
The NLRC denied the motion.
[22]

Petitioner filed a Petition for Certiorari
[23]
with the CA, reiterating the constitutional
challenge against the subject clause.
[24]
After initially dismissing the petition on a
technicality, the CA eventually gave due course to it, as directed by this Court in its
Resolution dated August 7, 2003 which granted the petition for certiorari, docketed as
G.R. No. 151833, filed by petitioner.

In a Decision dated December 8, 2004, the CA affirmed the NLRC ruling on the
reduction of the applicable salary rate; however, the CA skirted the constitutional issue
raised by petitioner.
[25]

His Motion for Reconsideration
[26]
having been denied by the
CA,
[27]
petitioner brings his cause to this Court on the following grounds:

I
The Court of Appeals and the labor tribunals have decided the case in a way not in
accord with applicable decision of the Supreme Court involving similar issue of granting
unto the migrant worker back wages equal to the unexpired portion of his contract of
employment instead of limiting it to three (3) months

II
In the alternative that the Court of Appeals and the Labor Tribunals were merely
applying their interpretation of Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8042, it is submitted that the
Court of Appeals gravely erred in law when it failed to discharge its judicial duty to decide
questions of substance not theretofore determined by the Honorable Supreme Court,
particularly, the constitutional issues raised by the petitioner on the constitutionality of said
law, which unreasonably, unfairly and arbitrarily limits payment of the award for back
wages of overseas workers to three (3) months.

III
Even without considering the constitutional limitations [of] Sec. 10 of Republic
Act No. 8042, the Court of Appeals gravely erred in law in excluding from petitioners
award the overtime pay and vacation pay provided in his contract since under the contract
they form part of his salary.
[28]

On February 26, 2008, petitioner wrote the Court to withdraw his petition as he is
already old and sickly, and he intends to make use of the monetary award for his medical
treatment and medication.
[29]
Required to comment, counsel for petitioner filed a motion,
urging the court to allow partial execution of the undisputed monetary award and, at the
same time, praying that the constitutional question be resolved.
[30]

Considering that the parties have filed their respective memoranda, the Court now
takes up the full merit of the petition mindful of the extreme importance of the
constitutional question raised therein.

On the first and second issues

The unanimous finding of the LA, NLRC and CA that the dismissal of petitioner
was illegal is not disputed. Likewise not disputed is the salary differential of US$45.00
awarded to petitioner in all three fora. What remains disputed is only the computation of
the lump-sum salary to be awarded to petitioner by reason of his illegal dismissal.

Applying the subject clause, the NLRC and the CA computed the lump-sum salary
of petitioner at the monthly rate of US$1,400.00 covering the period of three months out of
the unexpired portion of nine months and 23 days of his employment contract or a total of
US$4,200.00.

Impugning the constitutionality of the subject clause, petitioner contends that, in
addition to the US$4,200.00 awarded by the NLRC and the CA, he is entitled to
US$21,182.23 more or a total of US$25,382.23, equivalent to his salaries for the entire
nine months and 23 days left of his employment contract, computed at the monthly rate of
US$2,590.00.
[31]

The Arguments of Petitioner

Petitioner contends that the subject clause is unconstitutional because it unduly
impairs the freedom of OFWs to negotiate for and stipulate in their overseas employment
contracts a determinate employment period and a fixed salary package.
[32]
It also impinges
on the equal protection clause, for it treats OFWs differently from local Filipino workers
(local workers) by putting a cap on the amount of lump-sum salary to which OFWs are
entitled in case of illegal dismissal, while setting no limit to the same monetary award for
local workers when their dismissal is declared illegal; that the disparate treatment is not
reasonable as there is no substantial distinction between the two groups;
[33]
and that it
defeats Section 18,
[34]
Article II of the Constitution which guarantees the protection of the
rights and welfare of all Filipino workers, whether deployed locally or overseas.
[35]

Moreover, petitioner argues that the decisions of the CA and the labor tribunals are
not in line with existing jurisprudence on the issue of money claims of illegally dismissed
OFWs. Though there are conflicting rulings on this, petitioner urges the Court to sort them
out for the guidance of affected OFWs.
[36]

Petitioner further underscores that the insertion of the subject clause into R.A. No.
8042 serves no other purpose but to benefit local placement agencies. He marks the
statement made by the Solicitor General in his Memorandum, viz.:

Often, placement agencies, their liability being solidary, shoulder the payment of
money claims in the event that jurisdiction over the foreign employer is not acquired by the
court or if the foreign employer reneges on its obligation. Hence, placement agencies that
are in good faith and which fulfill their obligations are unnecessarily penalized for the acts
of the foreign employer. To protect them and to promote their continued helpful
contribution in deploying Filipino migrant workers, liability for money claims was
reduced under Section 10 of R.A. No. 8042.
[37]

(Emphasis supplied)

Petitioner argues that in mitigating the solidary liability of placement agencies, the
subject clause sacrifices the well-being of OFWs. Not only that, the provision makes
foreign employers better off than local employers because in cases involving the illegal
dismissal of employees, foreign employers are liable for salaries covering a maximum of
only three months of the unexpired employment contract while local employers are liable
for the full lump-sum salaries of their employees. As petitioner puts it:

In terms of practical application, the local employers are not limited to the amount
of backwages they have to give their employees they have illegally dismissed, following
well-entrenched and unequivocal jurisprudence on the matter. On the other hand, foreign
employers will only be limited to giving the illegally dismissed migrant workers the
maximum of three (3) months unpaid salaries notwithstanding the unexpired term of the
contract that can be more than three (3) months.
[38]

Lastly, petitioner claims that the subject clause violates the due process clause, for it
deprives him of the salaries and other emoluments he is entitled to under his fixed-period
employment contract.
[39]

The Arguments of Respondents

In their Comment and Memorandum, respondents contend that the constitutional
issue should not be entertained, for this was belatedly interposed by petitioner in his appeal
before the CA, and not at the earliest opportunity, which was when he filed an appeal
before the NLRC.
[40]

The Arguments of the Solicitor General

The Solicitor General (OSG)
[41]
points out that as R.A. No. 8042 took effect on July
15, 1995, its provisions could not have impaired petitioner's 1998 employment
contract. Rather, R.A. No. 8042 having preceded petitioner's contract, the provisions
thereof are deemed part of the minimum terms of petitioner's employment, especially on
the matter of money claims, as this was not stipulated upon by the parties.
[42]

Moreover, the OSG emphasizes that OFWs and local workers differ in terms of the
nature of their employment, such that their rights to monetary benefits must necessarily be
treated differently. The OSG enumerates the essential elements that distinguish OFWs
from local workers: first, while local workers perform their jobs within Philippine territory,
OFWs perform their jobs for foreign employers, over whom it is difficult for our courts to
acquire jurisdiction, or against whom it is almost impossible to enforce judgment; and
second, as held in Coyoca v. National Labor Relations Commission
[43]
and Millares v.
National Labor Relations Commission,
[44]
OFWs are contractual employees who can never
acquire regular employment status, unlike local workers who are or can become regular
employees. Hence, the OSG posits that there are rights and privileges exclusive to local
workers, but not available to OFWs; that these peculiarities make for a reasonable and
valid basis for the differentiated treatment under the subject clause of the money claims of
OFWs who are illegally dismissed. Thus, the provision does not violate the equal
protection clause nor Section 18, Article II of the Constitution.
[45]

Lastly, the OSG defends the rationale behind the subject clause as a police power
measure adopted to mitigate the solidary liability of placement agencies for this redounds
to the benefit of the migrant workers whose welfare the government seeks to promote. The
survival of legitimate placement agencies helps [assure] the government that migrant
workers are properly deployed and are employed under decent and humane conditions.
[46]

The Court's Ruling

The Court sustains petitioner on the first and second issues.

When the Court is called upon to exercise its power of judicial review of the acts of
its co-equals, such as the Congress, it does so only when these conditions obtain: (1) that
there is an actual case or controversy involving a conflict of rights susceptible of judicial
determination;
[47]
(2) that the constitutional question is raised by a proper party
[48]
and at the
earliest opportunity;
[49]
and (3) that the constitutional question is the very lis mota of the
case,
[50]
otherwise the Court will dismiss the case or decide the same on some other
ground.
[51]

Without a doubt, there exists in this case an actual controversy directly involving
petitioner who is personally aggrieved that the labor tribunals and the CA computed his
monetary award based on the salary period of three months only as provided under the
subject clause.

The constitutional challenge is also timely. It should be borne in mind that the
requirement that a constitutional issue be raised at the earliest opportunity entails the
interposition of the issue in the pleadings before a competent court, such that, if the issue is
not raised in the pleadings before that competent court, it cannot be considered at the trial
and, if not considered in the trial, it cannot be considered on appeal.
[52]
Records disclose
that the issue on the constitutionality of the subject clause was first raised, not in petitioner's
appeal with the NLRC, but in his Motion for Partial Reconsideration with said labor
tribunal,
[53]
and reiterated in his Petition for Certiorari before the CA.
[54]
Nonetheless, the
issue is deemed seasonably raised because it is not the NLRC but the CA which has the
competence to resolve the constitutional issue. The NLRC is a labor tribunal that merely
performs a quasi-judicial function its function in the present case is limited to
determining questions of fact to which the legislative policy of R.A. No. 8042 is to be
applied and to resolving such questions in accordance with the standards laid down by the
law itself;
[55]
thus, its foremost function is to administer and enforce R.A. No. 8042, and not
to inquire into the validity of its provisions. The CA, on the other hand, is vested with the
power of judicial review or the power to declare unconstitutional a law or a provision
thereof, such as the subject clause.
[56]
Petitioner's interposition of the constitutional issue
before the CA was undoubtedly seasonable. The CA was therefore remiss in failing to take
up the issue in its decision.

The third condition that the constitutional issue be critical to the resolution of the
case likewise obtains because the monetary claim of petitioner to his lump-sum salary for
the entire unexpired portion of his 12-month employment contract, and not just for a period
of three months, strikes at the very core of the subject clause.

Thus, the stage is all set for the determination of the constitutionality of the subject
clause.

Does the subject clause violate Section 10,
Article III of the Constitution on non-impairment
of contracts?

The answer is in the negative.

Petitioner's claim that the subject clause unduly interferes with the stipulations in his
contract on the term of his employment and the fixed salary package he will receive
[57]
is
not tenable.

Section 10, Article III of the Constitution provides:

No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

The prohibition is aligned with the general principle that laws newly enacted have
only a prospective operation,
[58]
and cannot affect acts or contracts already
perfected;
[59]
however, as to laws already in existence, their provisions are read into
contracts and deemed a part thereof.
[60]
Thus, the non-impairment clause under Section 10,
Article II is limited in application to laws about to be enacted that would in any way
derogate from existing acts or contracts by enlarging, abridging or in any manner changing
the intention of the parties thereto.

As aptly observed by the OSG, the enactment of R.A. No. 8042 in 1995 preceded
the execution of the employment contract between petitioner and respondents in
1998. Hence, it cannot be argued that R.A. No. 8042, particularly the subject clause,
impaired the employment contract of the parties. Rather, when the parties executed
their 1998 employment contract, they were deemed to have incorporated into it all the
provisions of R.A. No. 8042.

But even if the Court were to disregard the timeline, the subject clause may not be
declared unconstitutional on the ground that it impinges on the impairment clause, for the
law was enacted in the exercise of the police power of the State to regulate a business,
profession or calling, particularly the recruitment and deployment of OFWs, with the noble
end in view of ensuring respect for the dignity and well-being of OFWs wherever they
may be employed.
[61]
Police power legislations adopted by the State to promote the health,
morals, peace, education, good order, safety, and general welfare of the people are
generally applicable not only to future contracts but even to those already in existence, for
all private contracts must yield to the superior and legitimate measures taken by the State to
promote public welfare.
[62]

Does the subject clause violate Section 1,
Article III of the Constitution, and Section 18,
Article II and Section 3, Article XIII on labor
as a protected sector?

The answer is in the affirmative.

Section 1, Article III of the Constitution guarantees:

No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law
nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the law.

Section 18,
[63]
Article II and Section 3,
[64]
Article XIII accord all members of the
labor sector, without distinction as to place of deployment, full protection of their rights and
welfare.

To Filipino workers, the rights guaranteed under the foregoing constitutional
provisions translate to economic security and parity: all monetary benefits should be
equally enjoyed by workers of similar category, while all monetary obligations should be
borne by them in equal degree; none should be denied the protection of the laws which is
enjoyed by, or spared the burden imposed on, others in like circumstances.
[65]

Such rights are not absolute but subject to the inherent power of Congress to
incorporate, when it sees fit, a system of classification into its legislation; however, to be
valid, the classification must comply with these requirements: 1) it is based on substantial
distinctions; 2) it is germane to the purposes of the law; 3) it is not limited to existing
conditions only; and 4) it applies equally to all members of the class.
[66]

There are three levels of scrutiny at which the Court reviews the constitutionality
of a classification embodied in a law: a) the deferential or rational basis scrutiny in which
the challenged classification needs only be shown to be rationally related to serving a
legitimate state interest;
[67]
b) the middle-tier or intermediate scrutiny in which the
government must show that the challenged classification serves an important state
interest and that the classification is at least substantially related to serving that
interest;
[68]
and c) strict judicial scrutiny
[69]
in which a legislative classification which
impermissibly interferes with the exercise of a fundamental right
[70]
or operates to the
peculiar disadvantage of a suspect class
[71]
is presumed unconstitutional, and the burden
is upon the government to prove that the classification is necessary to achieve
a compelling state interest and that it is the least restrictive means to protect such
interest.
[72]

Under American jurisprudence, strict judicial scrutiny is triggered by suspect
classifications
[73]
based on race
[74]
or gender
[75]
but not when the classification is drawn
along income categories.
[76]

It is different in the Philippine setting. In Central Bank (now Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas) Employee Association, Inc. v. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,
[77]
the
constitutionality of a provision in the charter of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), a
government financial institution (GFI), was challenged for maintaining its rank-and-file
employees under the Salary Standardization Law (SSL), even when the rank-and-file
employees of other GFIs had been exempted from the SSL by their respective
charters. Finding that the disputed provision contained a suspect classification based on
salary grade, the Court deliberately employed the standard of strict judicial scrutiny in its
review of the constitutionality of said provision. More significantly, it was in this case that
the Court revealed the broad outlines of its judicial philosophy, to wit:

Congress retains its wide discretion in providing for a valid classification, and its policies
should be accorded recognition and respect by the courts of justice except when they run afoul of
the Constitution. The deference stops where the classification violates a fundamental right,
or prejudices persons accorded special protection by the Constitution. When these violations arise,
this Court must discharge its primary role as the vanguard of constitutional guaranties, and require
a stricter and more exacting adherence to constitutional limitations. Rational basis should not
suffice.

Admittedly, the view that prejudice to persons accorded special protection by the
Constitution requires a stricter judicial scrutiny finds no support in American or English
jurisprudence. Nevertheless, these foreign decisions and authorities are not per se controlling in
this jurisdiction. At best, they are persuasive and have been used to support many of our decisions.
We should not place undue and fawning reliance upon them and regard them as indispensable
mental crutches without which we cannot come to our own decisions through the employment of
our own endowments. We live in a different ambience and must decide our own problems in the
light of our own interests and needs, and of our qualities and even idiosyncrasies as a people, and
always with our own concept of law and justice. Our laws must be construed in accordance with
the intention of our own lawmakers and such intent may be deduced from the language of each
law and the context of other local legislation related thereto. More importantly, they must be
construed to serve our own public interest which is the be-all and the end-all of all our laws. And it
need not be stressed that our public interest is distinct and different from others.

x x x x

Further, the quest for a better and more equal world calls for the use of equal
protection as a tool of effective judicial intervention.

Equality is one ideal which cries out for bold attention and action in the Constitution. The
Preamble proclaims equality as an ideal precisely in protest against crushing inequities in
Philippine society. The command to promote social justice in Article II, Section 10, in all phases of
national development, further explicitated in Article XIII, are clear commands to the State to take
affirmative action in the direction of greater equality. x x x [T]here is thus in the Philippine
Constitution no lack of doctrinal support for a more vigorous state effort towards achieving a
reasonable measure of equality.

Our present Constitution has gone further in guaranteeing vital social and economic
rights to marginalized groups of society, including labor. Under the policy of social justice, the law
bends over backward to accommodate the interests of the working class on the humane
justification that those with less privilege in life should have more in law. And the obligation to
afford protection to labor is incumbent not only on the legislative and executive branches but
also on the judiciary to translate this pledge into a living reality. Social justice calls for the
humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that
justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated.

x x x x

Under most circumstances, the Court will exercise judicial restraint in deciding questions
of constitutionality, recognizing the broad discretion given to Congress in exercising its legislative
power. Judicial scrutiny would be based on the rational basis test, and the legislative discretion
would be given deferential treatment.

But if the challenge to the statute is premised on the denial of a fundamental right,
or the perpetuation of prejudice against persons favored by the Constitution with special
protection, judicial scrutiny ought to be more strict. A weak and watered down view
would call for the abdication of this Courts solemn duty to strike down any law repugnant
to the Constitution and the rights it enshrines. This is true whether the actor committing the
unconstitutional act is a private person or the government itself or one of its
instrumentalities. Oppressive acts will be struck down regardless of the character or nature
of the actor.

x x x x

In the case at bar, the challenged proviso operates on the basis of the salary grade
or officer-employee status. It is akin to a distinction based on economic class and status,
with the higher grades as recipients of a benefit specifically withheld from the lower
grades. Officers of the BSP now receive higher compensation packages that are
competitive with the industry, while the poorer, low-salaried employees are limited to the
rates prescribed by the SSL. The implications are quite disturbing: BSP rank-and-file
employees are paid the strictly regimented rates of the SSL while employees higher in rank
- possessing higher and better education and opportunities for career advancement - are
given higher compensation packages to entice them to stay. Considering that majority, if
not all, the rank-and-file employees consist of people whose status and rank in life are
less and limited, especially in terms of job marketability, it is they - and not the officers -
who have the real economic and financial need for the adjustment . This is in accord with
the policy of the Constitution "to free the people from poverty, provide adequate social
services, extend to them a decent standard of living, and improve the quality of life for
all. Any act of Congress that runs counter to this constitutional desideratum deserves
strict scrutiny by this Court before it can pass muster. (Emphasis supplied)

Imbued with the same sense of obligation to afford protection to labor, the Court
in the present case also employs the standard of strict judicial scrutiny, for it perceives in
the subject clause a suspect classification prejudicial to OFWs.

Upon cursory reading, the subject clause appears facially neutral, for it applies to all
OFWs. However, a closer examination reveals that the subject clause has a discriminatory
intent against, and an invidious impact on, OFWs at two levels:

First, OFWs with employment contracts of less than one year vis--vis OFWs with
employment contracts of one year or more;

Second, among OFWs with employment contracts of more than one year; and

Third, OFWs vis--vis local workers with fixed-period employment;

OFWs with employment contracts of less
than one year vis--vis OFWs with
employment contracts of one year or more

As pointed out by petitioner,
[78]
it was in Marsaman Manning Agency, Inc. v.
National Labor Relations Commission
[79]
(Second Division, 1999) that the Court laid down
the following rules on the application of the periods prescribed under Section 10(5) of R.A.
No. 804, to wit:

A plain reading of Sec. 10 clearly reveals that the choice of which amount to
award an illegally dismissed overseas contract worker, i.e., whether his salaries for the
unexpired portion of his employment contract or three (3) months salary for every year
of the unexpired term, whichever is less, comes into play only when the employment
contract concerned has a term of at least one (1) year or more. This is evident from the
words for every year of the unexpired term which follows the words salaries x x x for
three months. To follow petitioners thinking that private respondent is entitled to three
(3) months salary only simply because it is the lesser amount is to completely disregard and
overlook some words used in the statute while giving effect to some. This is contrary to the
well-established rule in legal hermeneutics that in interpreting a statute, care should be
taken that every part or word thereof be given effect since the law-making body is
presumed to know the meaning of the words employed in the statue and to have used them
advisedly. Ut res magis valeat quam pereat.
[80]
(Emphasis supplied)

In Marsaman, the OFW involved was illegally dismissed two months into his 10-month
contract, but was awarded his salaries for the remaining 8 months and 6 days of his
contract.

Prior to Marsaman, however, there were two cases in which the Court made
conflicting rulings on Section 10(5). One was Asian Center for Career and Employment
System and Services v. National Labor Relations Commission (Second Division, October
1998),
[81]
which

involved an OFW who was awarded a two-year employment contract,but
was dismissed after working for one year and two months. The LA declared his dismissal
illegal and awarded him SR13,600.00 as lump-sum salary covering eight months,
the unexpired portion of his contract. On appeal, the Court reduced the award to
SR3,600.00 equivalent to his three months salary, this being the lesser value, to wit:

Under Section 10 of R.A. No. 8042, a worker dismissed from overseas
employment without just, valid or authorized cause is entitled to his salary for the unexpired
portion of his employment contract or for three (3) months for every year of the unexpired
term, whichever is less.

In the case at bar, the unexpired portion of private respondents employment contract is
eight (8) months. Private respondent should therefore be paid his basic salary corresponding to
three (3) months or a total of SR3,600.
[82]

Another was Triple-Eight Integrated Services, Inc. v. National Labor Relations
Commission (Third Division, December 1998),
[83]
which involved an OFW (therein
respondent Erlinda Osdana) who was originally granted a 12-month contract, which was
deemed renewed for another 12 months. After serving for one year and seven-and-a-half
months, respondent Osdana was illegally dismissed, and the Court awarded her salaries for
the entire unexpired portion of four and one-half months of her contract.

The Marsaman interpretation of Section 10(5) has since been adopted in the
following cases:

Case Title

Contract
Period

Period of
Service

Unexpired
Period

Period Applied in
the Computation
of the Monetary
Award
Skippers v.
Maguad
[84]

6 months 2 months 4 months 4 months
Bahia Shipping
v. Reynaldo
Chua
[85]

Centennial
Transmarine v.
dela Cruz l
[86]

Talidano v.
Falcon
[87]

Univan v.
CA
[88]

Oriental v.
CA
[89]

12 months more than 2
months
10 months 3 months
PCL v.
NLRC
[90]

12 months more than 2
months
more or less 9
months
3 months

Olarte v.
Nayona
[91]

12 months 21 days 11 months and 9
days
3 months
JSS v.
Ferrer
[92]

12 months 16 days 11 months and
24 days
3 months
Pentagon v.
Adelantar
[93]

12 months 9 months
and 7 days
2 months and 23
days
2 months and 23
days
Phil. Employ
v. Paramio,
et al
.[94]

12 months 10 months 2 months Unexpired portion
Flourish
Maritime v.
Almanzor
[95]

2 years 26 days 23 months and 4
days
6 months or 3
months for each
year of contract
Athenna
Manpower v.
Villanos
[96]

1 year, 10
months and
28 days
1 month 1 year, 9 months
and 28 days
6 months or 3
months for each
year of contract
As the foregoing matrix readily shows, the subject clause classifies OFWs into two
categories. The first category includes OFWs with fixed-period employment contracts of
less than one year; in case of illegal dismissal, they are entitled to their salaries for the entire
unexpired portion of their contract. The second category consists of OFWs with fixed-
period employment contracts of one year or more; in case of illegal dismissal, they are
entitled to monetary award equivalent to only 3 months of the unexpired portion of their
contracts.

The disparity in the treatment of these two groups cannot be
discounted. In Skippers, the respondent OFW worked for only 2 months out of his 6-
month contract, but was awarded his salaries for the remaining 4 months. In contrast, the
respondent OFWs in Oriental and PCL who had also worked for about 2 months out of
their 12-month contracts were awarded their salaries for only 3 months of the unexpired
portion of their contracts. Even the OFWs involved in Talidano and Univan who
had worked for a longer period of 3 months out of their 12-month contracts before being
illegally dismissed were awarded their salaries for only 3 months.

To illustrate the disparity even more vividly, the Court assumes a hypothetical
OFW-A with an employment contract of 10 months at a monthly salary rate of
US$1,000.00 and a hypothetical OFW-B with an employment contract of 15 months with
the same monthly salary rate of US$1,000.00. Both commenced work on the same day
and under the same employer, and were illegally dismissed after one month of
work. Under the subject clause, OFW-A will be entitled to US$9,000.00, equivalent to his
salaries for the remaining 9 months of his contract, whereas OFW-B will be entitled to only
US$3,000.00, equivalent to his salaries for 3 months of the unexpired portion of his
contract, instead of US$14,000.00 for the unexpired portion of 14 months of his contract,
as the US$3,000.00 is the lesser amount.

The disparity becomes more aggravating when the Court takes into account
jurisprudence that, prior to the effectivity of R.A. No. 8042 on J uly 14, 1995,
[97]
illegally
dismissed OFWs, no matter how long the period of their employment contracts, were
entitled to their salaries for the entire unexpired portions of their contracts. The matrix
below speaks for itself:

Case Title Contract
Period

Period of
Service

Unexpired
Period

Period Applied in the
Computation of the
Monetary Award
ATCI v. CA,
et al.
[98]

2 years 2 months 22 months 22 months
Phil. Integrated
v. NLRC
[99]

2 years 7 days 23 months and
23 days
23 months and 23
days
JGB v. NLC
[100]
Agoy v.
NLRC
[101]

EDI v. NLRC,
et al.
[102]

Barros v.
NLRC, et al.
[103]


Philippine
Transmarine v.
Carilla
[104]

12 months 6 months
and 22 days
5 months and
18 days
5 months and 18 days

It is plain that prior to R.A. No. 8042, all OFWs, regardless of contract periods or
the unexpired portions thereof, were treated alike in terms of the computation of their
monetary benefits in case of illegal dismissal. Their claims were subjected to a uniform
rule of computation: their basic salaries multiplied by the entire unexpired portion of their
employment contracts.

The enactment of the subject clause in R.A. No. 8042 introduced a differentiated
rule of computation of the money claims of illegally dismissed OFWs based on their
employment periods, in the process singling out one category whose contracts have an
unexpired portion of one year or more and subjecting them to the peculiar disadvantage of
having their monetary awards limited to their salaries for 3 months or for the unexpired
portion thereof, whichever is less, but all the while sparing the other category from such
prejudice, simply because the latter's unexpired contracts fall short of one year.

Among OFWs With Employment
Contracts of More Than One Year

Upon closer examination of the terminology employed in the subject clause, the
Court now has misgivings on the accuracy of the Marsaman interpretation.

The Court notes that the subject clause or for three (3) months for every year of the
unexpired term, whichever is less contains the qualifying phrases every year and
unexpired term. By its ordinary meaning, the word term means a limited or definite
extent of time.
[105]
Corollarily, that every year is but part of an unexpired term is
significant in many ways: first, the unexpired term must be at least one year, for if it
were any shorter, there would be no occasion for such unexpired term to be
measured by every year; and second, the original term must be more than one year, for
otherwise, whatever would be the unexpired term thereof will not reach even a
year. Consequently, the more decisive factor in the determination of when the subject
clause for three (3) months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less shall
apply is not the length of the original contract period as held in Marsaman,
[106]
but the
length of the unexpired portion of the contract period -- the subject clause applies in cases
when the unexpired portion of the contract period is at least one year, which arithmetically
requires that the original contract period be more than one year.

Viewed in that light, the subject clause creates a sub-layer of discrimination among
OFWs whose contract periods are for more than one year: those who are illegally
dismissed with less than one year left in their contracts shall be entitled to their salaries for
the entire unexpired portion thereof, while those who are illegally dismissed with one year
or more remaining in their contracts shall be covered by the subject clause, and their
monetary benefits limited to their salaries for three months only.

To concretely illustrate the application of the foregoing interpretation of the subject
clause, the Court assumes hypothetical OFW-C and OFW-D, who each have a 24-month
contract at a salary rate of US$1,000.00 per month. OFW-C is illegally dismissed on the
12
th
month, and OFW-D, on the 13
th
month. Considering that there is at least 12 months
remaining in the contract period of OFW-C, the subject clause applies to the computation
of the latter's monetary benefits. Thus, OFW-C will be entitled, not to US$12,000,00 or
the latter's total salaries for the 12 months unexpired portion of the contract, but to the
lesser amount of US$3,000.00 or the latter's salaries for 3 months out of the 12-month
unexpired term of the contract. On the other hand, OFW-D is spared from the effects of
the subject clause, for there are only 11 months left in the latter's contract period. Thus,
OFW-D will be entitled to US$11,000.00, which is equivalent to his/her total salaries for
the entire 11-month unexpired portion.

OFWs vis--vis Local Workers
With Fixed-Period Employment

As discussed earlier, prior to R.A. No. 8042, a uniform system of computation of
the monetary awards of illegally dismissed OFWs was in place. This uniform system was
applicable even to local workers with fixed-term employment.
[107]

The earliest rule prescribing a uniform system of computation was actually Article
299 of the Code of Commerce (1888),
[108]
to wit:

Article 299. If the contracts between the merchants and their shop clerks and
employees should have been made of a fixed period, none of the contracting parties,
without the consent of the other, may withdraw from the fulfillment of said contract until
the termination of the period agreed upon.

Persons violating this clause shall be subject to indemnify the loss and damage
suffered, with the exception of the provisions contained in the following articles.

In Reyes v. The Compaia Maritima,
[109]
the Court applied the foregoing provision
to determine the liability of a shipping company for the illegal discharge of its managers
prior to the expiration of their fixed-term employment. The Court therein held the shipping
company liable for the salaries of its managers for the remainder of their fixed-term
employment.

There is a more specific rule as far as seafarers are concerned: Article 605 of the
Code of Commerce which provides:

Article 605. If the contracts of the captain and members of the crew with the agent
should be for a definite period or voyage, they cannot be discharged until the fulfillment of
their contracts, except for reasons of insubordination in serious matters, robbery, theft,
habitual drunkenness, and damage caused to the vessel or to its cargo by malice or manifest
or proven negligence.

Article 605 was applied to Madrigal Shipping Company, Inc. v. Ogilvie,
[110]
in
which the Court held the shipping company liable for the salaries and subsistence
allowance of its illegally dismissed employees for the entire unexpired portion of their
employment contracts.

While Article 605 has remained good law up to the present,
[111]
Article 299 of the
Code of Commerce was replaced by Art. 1586 of the Civil Code of 1889, to wit:
Article 1586. Field hands, mechanics, artisans, and other laborers hired for a
certain time and for a certain work cannot leave or be dismissed without sufficient cause,
before the fulfillment of the contract. (Emphasis supplied.)

Citing Manresa, the Court in Lemoine v. Alkan
[112]
read the disjunctive "or" in Article
1586 as a conjunctive "and" so as to apply the provision to local workers who are
employed for a time certain although for no particular skill. This interpretation of Article
1586 was reiterated in Garcia Palomar v. Hotel de France Company.
[113]
And in
bothLemoine and Palomar, the Court adopted the general principle that in actions for
wrongful discharge founded on Article 1586, local workers are entitled to recover
damages to the extent of the amount stipulated to be paid to them by the terms of their
contract. On the computation of the amount of such damages, the Court in Aldaz v.
Gay
[114]
held:

The doctrine is well-established in American jurisprudence, and nothing has been brought
to our attention to the contrary under Spanish jurisprudence, that when an employee is wrongfully
discharged it is his duty to seek other employment of the same kind in the same community, for
the purpose of reducing the damages resulting from such wrongful discharge. However, while this
is the general rule, the burden of showing that he failed to make an effort to secure other
employment of a like nature, and that other employment of a like nature was obtainable, is upon
the defendant. When an employee is wrongfully discharged under a contract of employment his
prima facie damage is the amount which he would be entitled to had he continued in such
employment until the termination of the period. (Howard vs. Daly, 61 N. Y., 362; Allen vs. Whitlark,
99 Mich., 492; Farrell vs. School District No. 2, 98 Mich., 43.)
[115]

(Emphasis supplied)

On August 30, 1950, the New Civil Code took effect with new provisions on fixed-
term employment: Section 2 (Obligations with a Period), Chapter 3, Title I, and Sections 2
(Contract of Labor) and 3 (Contract for a Piece of Work), Chapter 3, Title VIII, Book
IV.
[116]
Much like Article 1586 of the Civil Code of 1889, the new provisions of the Civil
Code do not expressly provide for the remedies available to a fixed-term worker who is
illegally discharged. However, it is noted that in Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co., Inc. v.
Rich,
[117]
the Court carried over the principles on the payment of damages underlying
Article 1586 of the Civil Code of 1889 and applied the same to a case involving the illegal
discharge of a local worker whose fixed-period employment contract was entered into in
1952, when the new Civil Code was already in effect.
[118]

More significantly, the same principles were applied to cases involving overseas
Filipino workers whose fixed-term employment contracts were illegally terminated,

such
as in First Asian Trans & Shipping Agency, Inc. v. Ople,
[119]
involving seafarers who were
illegally discharged. In Teknika Skills and Trade Services, Inc. v. National Labor Relations
Commission,
[120]
an OFW who was illegally dismissed prior to the expiration of her fixed-
period employment contract as a baby sitter, was awarded salaries corresponding to the
unexpired portion of her contract. The Court arrived at the same ruling in Anderson v.
National Labor Relations Commission,
[121]
which involved a foreman hired in 1988 in Saudi
Arabia for a fixed term of two years, but who was illegally dismissed after only nine
months on the job -- the Court awarded him salaries corresponding to 15 months, the
unexpired portion of his contract. In Asia World Recruitment, Inc. v. National Labor
Relations Commission,
[122]
a Filipino working as a security officer in 1989 in Angola was
awarded his salaries for the remaining period of his 12-month contract after he was
wrongfully discharged. Finally, in Vinta Maritime Co., Inc. v. National Labor Relations
Commission,
[123]
an OFW whose 12-month contract was illegally cut short in the second
month was declared entitled to his salaries for the remaining 10 months of his contract.

In sum, prior to R.A. No. 8042, OFWs and local workers with fixed-term
employment who were illegally discharged were treated alike in terms of the computation
of their money claims: they were uniformly entitled to their salaries for the entire
unexpired portions of their contracts. But with the enactment of R.A. No. 8042,
specifically the adoption of the subject clause, illegally dismissed OFWs with an unexpired
portion of one year or more in their employment contract have since been differently
treated in that their money claims are subject to a 3-month cap, whereas no such
limitation is imposed on local workers with fixed-term employment.

The Court concludes that the subject clause contains a suspect classification in
that, in the computation of the monetary benefits of fixed-term employees who are
illegally discharged, it imposes a 3-month cap on the claim of OFWs with an unexpired
portion of one year or more in their contracts, but none on the claims of other OFWs or
local workers with fixed-term employment. The subject clause singles out one
classification of OFWs and burdens it with a peculiar disadvantage.

There being a suspect classification involving a vulnerable sector protected by the
Constitution, the Court now subjects the classification to a strict judicial scrutiny, and
determines whether it serves a compelling state interest through the least restrictive means.

What constitutes compelling state interest is measured by the scale of rights and
powers arrayed in the Constitution and calibrated by history.
[124]
It is akin to the paramount
interest of the state
[125]
for which some individual liberties must give way, such as the
public interest in safeguarding health or maintaining medical standards,
[126]
or in
maintaining access to information on matters of public concern.
[127]

In the present case, the Court dug deep into the records but found no compelling
state interest that the subject clause may possibly serve.

The OSG defends the subject clause as a police power measure designed to protect
the employment of Filipino seafarers overseas x x x. By limiting the liability to three
months [sic], Filipino seafarers have better chance of getting hired by foreign
employers. The limitation also protects the interest of local placement agencies, which
otherwise may be made to shoulder millions of pesos in termination pay.
[128]

The OSG explained further:

Often, placement agencies, their liability being solidary, shoulder the payment of
money claims in the event that jurisdiction over the foreign employer is not acquired by the
court or if the foreign employer reneges on its obligation. Hence, placement agencies that
are in good faith and which fulfill their obligations are unnecessarily penalized for the acts
of the foreign employer. To protect them and to promote their continued helpful
contribution in deploying Filipino migrant workers, liability for money
are reduced under Section 10 of RA 8042.

This measure redounds to the benefit of the migrant workers whose welfare the
government seeks to promote. The survival of legitimate placement agencies helps [assure]
the government that migrant workers are properly deployed and are employed under decent
and humane conditions.
[129]
(Emphasis supplied)

However, nowhere in the Comment or Memorandum does the OSG cite the source
of its perception of the state interest sought to be served by the subject clause.

The OSG locates the purpose of R.A. No. 8042 in the speech of Rep. Bonifacio
Gallego in sponsorship of House Bill No. 14314 (HB 14314), from which the law
originated;
[130]
but the speech makes no reference to the underlying reason for the adoption
of the subject clause. That is only natural for none of the 29 provisions in HB 14314
resembles the subject clause.

On the other hand, Senate Bill No. 2077 (SB 2077) contains a provision on money
claims, to wit:

Sec. 10. Money Claims. - Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the
Labor Arbiters of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) shall have the
original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide, within ninety (90) calendar days after
the filing of the complaint, the claims arising out of an employer-employee relationship or
by virtue of the complaint, the claim arising out of an employer-employee relationship or
by virtue of any law or contract involving Filipino workers for overseas employment
including claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages.

The liability of the principal and the recruitment/placement agency or any and all
claims under this Section shall be joint and several.

Any compromise/amicable settlement or voluntary agreement on any money
claims exclusive of damages under this Section shall not be less than fifty percent (50%) of
such money claims: Provided, That any installment payments, if applicable, to satisfy any
such compromise or voluntary settlement shall not be more than two (2) months. Any
compromise/voluntary agreement in violation of this paragraph shall be null and void.

Non-compliance with the mandatory period for resolutions of cases provided under
this Section shall subject the responsible officials to any or all of the following penalties:

(1) The salary of any such official who fails to render his decision or
resolution within the prescribed period shall be, or caused to be, withheld
until the said official complies therewith;

(2) Suspension for not more than ninety (90) days; or

(3) Dismissal from the service with disqualification to hold any appointive
public office for five (5) years.

Provided, however, That the penalties herein provided shall be without prejudice to
any liability which any such official may have incurred under other existing laws or rules
and regulations as a consequence of violating the provisions of this paragraph.

But significantly, Section 10 of SB 2077 does not provide for any rule on the computation
of money claims.

A rule on the computation of money claims containing the subject clause was
inserted and eventually adopted as the 5
th
paragraph of Section 10 of R.A. No. 8042. The
Court examined the rationale of the subject clause in the transcripts of the Bicameral
Conference Committee (Conference Committee) Meetings on the Magna Carta on OCWs
(Disagreeing Provisions of Senate Bill No. 2077 and House Bill No. 14314). However,
the Court finds no discernible state interest, let alone a compelling one, that is sought to be
protected or advanced by the adoption of the subject clause.

In fine, the Government has failed to discharge its burden of proving the existence
of a compelling state interest that would justify the perpetuation of the discrimination
against OFWs under the subject clause.

Assuming that, as advanced by the OSG, the purpose of the subject clause is to
protect the employment of OFWs by mitigating the solidary liability of placement
agencies, such callous and cavalier rationale will have to be rejected. There can never be a
justification for any form of government action that alleviates the burden of one sector, but
imposes the same burden on another sector, especially when the favored sector is
composed of private businesses such as placement agencies, while the disadvantaged
sector is composed of OFWs whose protection no less than the Constitution
commands. The idea that private business interest can be elevated to the level of a
compelling state interest is odious.

Moreover, even if the purpose of the subject clause is to lessen the solidary liability
of placement agencies vis-a-vis their foreign principals, there are mechanisms already in
place that can be employed to achieve that purpose without infringing on the
constitutional rights of OFWs.

The POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of
Land-Based Overseas Workers, dated February 4, 2002, imposes administrative
disciplinary measures on erring foreign employers who default on their contractual
obligations to migrant workers and/or their Philippine agents. These disciplinary
measures range from temporary disqualification to preventive suspension. The POEA
Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Seafarers,
dated May 23, 2003, contains similar administrative disciplinary measures against erring
foreign employers.

Resort to these administrative measures is undoubtedly the less restrictive means
of aiding local placement agencies in enforcing the solidary liability of their foreign
principals.

Thus, the subject clause in the 5
th
paragraph of Section 10 of R.A. No. 8042 is
violative of the right of petitioner and other OFWs to equal protection.

Further, there would be certain misgivings if one is to approach the declaration of
the unconstitutionality of the subject clause from the lone perspective that the clause
directly violates state policy on labor under Section 3,
[131]
Article XIII of the Constitution.

While all the provisions of the 1987 Constitution are presumed self-
executing,
,[132]
there are some which this Court has declared not judicially enforceable,
Article XIII being one,
[133]
particularly Section 3 thereof, the nature of which, this Court,
in Agabon v. National Labor Relations Commission,
[134]
has described to be not self-
actuating:

Thus, the constitutional mandates of protection to labor and security of tenure may be
deemed as self-executing in the sense that these are automatically acknowledged and observed
without need for any enabling legislation. However, to declare that the constitutional provisions are
enough to guarantee the full exercise of the rights embodied therein, and the realization of ideals
therein expressed, would be impractical, if not unrealistic. The espousal of such view presents the
dangerous tendency of being overbroad and exaggerated. The guarantees of "full protection to
labor" and "security of tenure", when examined in isolation, are facially unqualified, and the
broadest interpretation possible suggests a blanket shield in favor of labor against any form of
removal regardless of circumstance. This interpretation implies an unimpeachable right to
continued employment-a utopian notion, doubtless-but still hardly within the contemplation of the
framers. Subsequent legislation is still needed to define the parameters of these guaranteed rights
to ensure the protection and promotion, not only the rights of the labor sector, but of the
employers' as well. Without specific and pertinent legislation, judicial bodies will be at a loss,
formulating their own conclusion to approximate at least the aims of the Constitution.

Ultimately, therefore, Section 3 of Article XIII cannot, on its own, be a source of
a positive enforceable right to stave off the dismissal of an employee for just cause owing
to the failure to serve proper notice or hearing. As manifested by several framers of the
1987 Constitution, the provisions on social justice require legislative enactments for their
enforceability.
[135]
(Emphasis added)

Thus, Section 3, Article XIII cannot be treated as a principal source of direct
enforceable rights, for the violation of which the questioned clause may be declared
unconstitutional. It may unwittingly risk opening the floodgates of litigation to every
worker or union over every conceivable violation of so broad a concept as social justice for
labor.

It must be stressed that Section 3, Article XIII does not directly bestow on the
working class any actual enforceable right, but merely clothes it with the status of a
sector for whom the Constitution urges protection through executive or legislative
action and judicial recognition. Its utility is best limited to being an impetus not just
for the executive and legislative departments, but for the judiciary as well, to protect
the welfare of the working class. And it was in fact consistent with that constitutional
agenda that the Court inCentral Bank (now Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) Employee
Association, Inc. v. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, penned by then Associate Justice now
Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, formulated the judicial precept that when the
challenge to a statute is premised on the perpetuation of prejudice against persons
favored by the Constitution with special protection -- such as the working class or a
section thereof -- the Court may recognize the existence of a suspect classification and
subject the same to strict judicial scrutiny.

The view that the concepts of suspect classification and strict judicial scrutiny
formulated in Central Bank Employee Association exaggerate the significance of Section 3,
Article XIII is a groundless apprehension. Central Bank applied Article XIII in conjunction
with the equal protection clause. Article XIII, by itself, without the application of the equal
protection clause, has no life or force of its own as elucidated in Agabon.

Along the same line of reasoning, the Court further holds that the subject clause
violates petitioner's right to substantive due process, for it deprives him of property,
consisting of monetary benefits, without any existing valid governmental purpose.
[136]

The argument of the Solicitor General, that the actual purpose of the subject
clause of limiting the entitlement of OFWs to their three-month salary in case of illegal
dismissal, is to give them a better chance of getting hired by foreign employers. This is
plain speculation. As earlier discussed, there is nothing in the text of the law or the
records of the deliberations leading to its enactment or the pleadings of respondent that
would indicate that there is an existing governmental purpose for the subject clause, or
even just a pretext of one.

The subject clause does not state or imply any definitive governmental purpose;
and it is for that precise reason that the clause violates not just petitioner's right to equal
protection, but also her right to substantive due process under Section 1,
[137]
Article III of
the Constitution.

The subject clause being unconstitutional, petitioner is entitled to his salaries for
the entire unexpired period of nine months and 23 days of his employment contract,
pursuant to law and jurisprudence prior to the enactment of R.A. No. 8042.

On the Third Issue

Petitioner contends that his overtime and leave pay should form part of the salary
basis in the computation of his monetary award, because these are fixed benefits that
have been stipulated into his contract.

Petitioner is mistaken.

The word salaries in Section 10(5) does not include overtime and leave pay. For
seafarers like petitioner, DOLE Department Order No. 33, series 1996, provides a
Standard Employment Contract of Seafarers, in which salary is understood as the basic
wage, exclusive of overtime, leave pay and other bonuses; whereas overtime pay is
compensation for all work performed in excess of the regular eight hours, and holiday
pay is compensation for any work performed on designated rest days and holidays.

By the foregoing definition alone, there is no basis for the automatic inclusion of
overtime and holiday pay in the computation of petitioner's monetary award, unless
there is evidence that he performed work during those periods. As the Court held
in Centennial Transmarine, Inc. v. Dela Cruz,
[138]

However, the payment of overtime pay and leave pay should be disallowed in light of our
ruling in Cagampan v. National Labor Relations Commission, to wit:

The rendition of overtime work and the submission of sufficient proof
that said was actually performed are conditions to be satisfied before a seaman
could be entitled to overtime pay which should be computed on the basis of 30%
of the basic monthly salary. In short, the contract provision guarantees the right to
overtime pay but the entitlement to such benefit must first be established.

In the same vein, the claim for the day's leave pay for the unexpired
portion of the contract is unwarranted since the same is given during the actual
service of the seamen.

WHEREFORE, the Court GRANTS the Petition. The subject clause or for three
months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less in the 5
th
paragraph of
Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8042 is DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL; and the
December 8, 2004 Decision and April 1, 2005 Resolution of the Court of Appeals
areMODIFIED to the effect that petitioner is AWARDED his salaries for the entire
unexpired portion of his employment contract consisting of nine months and 23 days
computed at the rate of US$1,400.00 per month.No costs.SO ORDERED.

[34]
Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers and
promote their welfare.
[63]
Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers and
promote their welfare.
[64]
Section 3, The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote
full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.
[69]
There is also the "heightened scrutiny" standard of review which is less demanding than "strict scrutiny" but more
demanding than the standard rational relation test. Heightened scrutiny has generally been applied to cases that involve
discriminatory classifications based on sex or illegitimacy, such as in Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, where a heightened
scrutiny standard was used to invalidate a State's denial to the children of illegal aliens of the free public education that it
made available to other residents.
[73]
The concept of suspect classification first emerged in the famous footnote in the opinion of Justice Harlan Stone in U.S.
v. Carolene Products Co., 304 U.S. 144 (1938), the full text of which footnote is reproduced below:
Theremay benarrower scopefor operation of thepresumption of constitutionality when legislation appears
on its faceto bewithin a specific prohibition of theConstitution, such as those of the first ten amendments, which are
deemed equally specific when held to be embraced within the Fourteenth. See Stromberg v. California, 283 U.S. 359, 369-
370; Lovell v. Griffin, 303 U.S. 444, 452.
It is unnecessary to consider now whether legislation which restricts those political processes which can ordinarily
be expected to bring about repeal of undesirable legislation is to be subjected to more exacting judicial scrutiny under the
general prohibitions of the Fourteenth Amendment than are most other types of legislation. On restrictions upon the right
to vote, see Nixon v. Herndon, 273 U.S. 536; Nixon v. Condon, 286 U.S. 73; on restraints upon the dissemination of
information, see Near v. Minnesota ex rel. Olson, 283 U.S. 697, 713-714, 718-720, 722; Grosjean v. American Press Co.,
297 U.S. 233; Lovell v. Griffin, supra; on interferences with political organizations, see Stromberg v. California, supra,
369; Fiske v. Kansas, 274 U.S. 380; Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, 373-378; Herndon v. Lowry, 301 U.S. 242, and
see Holmes, J., in Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652, 673; as to prohibition of peaceable assembly, see De Jonge
v. Oregon, 299 U.S. 353, 365.
Nor need we enquire whether similar considerations enter into the review of statutes directed at particular
religious, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, or national, Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390; Bartels v. Iowa, 262
U.S. 404; Farrington v. Tokushige, 273 U.S. 284, or racial minorities, Nixon v. Herndon, supra; Nixon v. Condon, supra:
whether prejudice against discrete and insular minorities may be a special condition, which tends seriously to curtail the
operation of those political processes ordinarily to be relied upon to protect minorities, and which may call for a
correspondingly more searching judicial inquiry. Compare McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, 428; South Carolina v.
Barnwell Bros., 303U.S. 177, 184, n 2, and cases cited.
[107]
It is noted that both petitioner and the OSG drew comparisons between OFWs in general and local workers in general.
However, the Court finds that the more relevant comparison is between OFWs whose employment is necessarily subject
to a fixed term and local workers whose employment is also subject to a fixed term.

[118]
The Labor Code itself does not contain a specific provision for local workers with fixed-term employment
contracts. As the Court observed in Brent School, Inc., the concept of fixed-term employment has slowly faded away
from our labor laws, such that reference to our labor laws is of limited use in determining the monetary benefits to be
awarded to fixed-term workers who are illegally dismissed.

[131]
Section 3. The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote
full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and
peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to security of
tenure, humane conditions of work, and a living wage. They shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes
affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employers and the preferential
use of voluntary modes in settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their mutual compliance therewith to
foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just share in
the fruits of production and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns to investments, and to expansion and growth.
[132]

Who are night workers?
A night worker refers to any employed person whose work requires performance of
a substantial number of hours of night work which exceeds a specified limit. This
limit shall be fixed by the Secretary of Labor after consulting the workers
representatives/labor organizations and employers.
What is the coverage of the amendments introduced under R.A. 10151?
The amendments shall apply to all persons, who shall be employed or permitted or
suffered to work at night, except those employed in agriculture, stock raising, fishing,
maritime transport and inland navigation, during a period of not less than seven (7)
consecutive hours, including the interval from midnight to five oclock in the morning,
to be determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, after consulting the
workers representatives/labor organizations and employers.
Can workers demand a free health assessment before undergoing night work?
Yes. Workers, at their request, shall have the right to undergo a health assessment
without charge and to receive advice on how to reduce or avoid health problems
associated with their work:
1. Before taking up an assignment as a night worker;
2. At regular intervals during such an assignment; and
3. If they experience health problems during such an assignment which are not caused by
factors other than the performance of night work.
With the exception of a finding of unfitness for night work, the findings of such
assessments shall not be transmitted to others without the workers consent and
shall not be used to their detriment.
What happens to employees who are unfit for night work?
When transfer to similar job practicable. Night workers who are certified as unfit for
night work, due to health reasons, shall be transferred, whenever practicable, to a
similar job for which they are fit to work.
When transfer not practicable. If such transfer to a similar job is not practicable, these
workers shall be granted the same benefits as other workers who are unable to
work, or to secure employment during such period.
Temporary unfitness. A night worker certified as temporarily unfit for night work shall
be given the same protection against dismissal or notice of dismissal as other
workers who are prevented from working for reasons of health.
Can women be employed as night workers?
Yes. However, measures shall be taken to ensure that an alternative to night work is
available to women workers who would otherwise be called upon to perform such
work:
1. Before and after childbirth, for a period of at least sixteen (16) weeks, which shall be
divided between the time before and after childbirth;
2. For additional periods, in respect of which a medical certificate is produced stating that
said additional periods are necessary for the health of the mother or child: (a) During
pregnancy; and (b) During a specified time beyond the period after childbirth is fixed
pursuant to subparagraph [a] above, the length of which shall be determined by the DOLE
after consulting the labor organizations and employers.
During the periods mentioned above:
A woman worker shall not be dismissed or given notice of dismissal, except for just or
authorized causes provided for in theLabor Code that are not connected with pregnancy,
childbirth and childcare responsibilities.
A woman worker shall not lose the benefits regarding her status, seniority, and access to
promotion which may attach to her regular night work position.
Pregnant women and nursing mothers may he allowed to work at night only if a
competent physician, other than the company physician, shall certify their fitness to
render night work, and specify, in the ease of pregnant employees, the period of the
pregnancy that they can safely work.
The measures to ensure an alternative to night work for women workers may include
transfer to day work where this is possible, the provision of social security benefits or
an extension of maternity leave.
Nothing in these provisions shall not have the effect of reducing the protection and
benefits connected with maternity leave under existing laws.
What are the factors to be considered in fixing the salary for night workers?
The compensation for night workers in the form of working time, pay or similar
benefits shall recognize the exceptional nature of night work.
How does the employer fix the night work schedule?
Before introducing work schedules requiring the services of night workers, the
employer shall consult the workers representatives/labor organizations concerned
on the details of such schedules and the forms of organization of night work that are
best adapted to the establishment and its personnel, as well as on the occupational
health measures and social services which are required. In establishments
employing night workers, consultation shall take place regularly.
What are the mandatory facilities required from employers?
First aid. These are suitable first-aid facilities that shall be made available for
workers performing night work, including arrangements where such workers, where
necessary, can be taken immediately to a place for appropriate treatment. The
employers are likewise required to provide safe and healthful working conditions and
adequate or reasonable facilities such as sleeping or resting quarters in the
establishment and transportation from the work premises to the nearest point of their
residence subject to exceptions and guidelines to be provided by the DOLE.
Social services. Appropriate social services shall be provided for night workers and,
where necessary, for workers performing night work.
When must the measures implemented?
The measures referred to in this chapter shall be applied not later than six (6)
months from the effectivity of R.A. 10151. This law becomes effective after fifteen
(15) days following its publication in two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.
What are the imposable penalties in case of violations?
Any violation of R.A. 10151 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations shall be
punished with a fine of not less than Thirty Thousand Pesos (PhP30,000) nor more
than Fifty Thousand Pesos (PhP50,000) or imprisonment of not less than six (6)
months, or both, at the discretion of the court. If the offense is committed by a
corporation, trust, firm, partnership or association, or other entity, the penalty shall
be imposed upon the guilty officer or officers of such corporation, trust, firm,
partnership or association, or entity.

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1. Who is a Kasambahay or Domestic Worker?

Domestic worker or Kasambahay refers to any person engaged in domestic work

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