Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
Nineteenth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _________ 
Introduced by : Rep. Manuel T. Sagarbarria 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
An efficient, justly compensated, and well-incentivized civil service is the bedrock of 
a strong state and efficient government. It is observed, however, that the achievement of these 
goals are hindered by the exclusion of government employees and job order employees as 
minimum wage earners under the coverage of Title II of Presidential Decree (PD) 442, as 
amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines. While public servants are 
differently situated from private employees, in that public service is imbued with public 
interest, it does not follow that there is no need to rationalize the fixing of minimum wage of 
government employees with Salary Grade 1 and job order employees so that minimum 
standards of living are within a framework of national economic and social development 
program that addresses productivity, the demand for living wages, the needs of workers and 
their families, the fair return of the capital invested and capacity to pay of the government as 
employer, among others. 
Thus, it is proposed that government employees with Salary Grade 1 and job order 
employees should be considered minimum wage earners and that the pertinent existing 
agencies, i.e. the National Wages and Productivity Commission and the Regional Tripartite 
Wages and Productivity Boards, should include them as subjects of their respective mandates 
under the Labor Code. 
MANUEL “CHIQUITING” T. SAGARBARRIA 
Representative, 2nd District, Negros Oriental 
July 20, 2022
6:24 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
Nineteenth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _________ 
Introduced by : Rep. Manuel T. Sagarbarria 
AN ACT AMENDING ARTICLES 99, 121, and 122 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE 
No. 442, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
Section 1. Declaration of Policy. —For the purposes of this Act, it is hereby declared the 
policy of the state to rationalize the fixing of minimum wages and to promote 
productivity-improvement among employees of the government with Salary Grade 1 
and job order employees, as defined under Republic Act 6758, as amended.  
Section 2. Amendment of Article 99 of the Labor Code. – Article 99 of P.D. No. 442, as 
amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines is hereby amended to 
read as follows: 
“ART. 99. Regional Minimum Wages. – The minimum wage rates for 
agricultural, non-agricultural, and government employees, job order 
employees, and workers in each and every region of the country shall be those 
prescribed by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards.  
The minimum wage rates as determined by the Regional Tripartite Wages and 
Productivity Boards shall be the salaries of government employees with Salary 
Grade 1 and job order employees, who shall be considered as minimum-wage 
earners. The amounts provided for by R.A. 6758, as amended, to those with 
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Salary Grade 1 and job order status in the Compensation and Position 
Classification System are hereby repealed.” 
  
Section 3. Amendment of Article 121 of the Labor Code. – The second paragraph of 
Article 121 of P.D. No. 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the 
Philippines is hereby amended to read as follows: 
 
“ART. 121. Powers and Functions of the Commission. – x x x 
 
The Commission shall be composed of the Secretary of Labor and 
Employment as ex-officio chairman, the Director-General of the National 
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as ex-officio vice-chairman, a 
commissioner of the Civil Service Commission, and two (2) members each 
from private employees, government employee, private employers, 
government employers sectors who shall be appointed by President of the 
Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of Labor and Employment 
to be made on the basis of the list of nominees submitted by said sectors, and 
who shall serve for a term of five (5) years. The Executive Director of the 
Commission shall also be a member of the Commission.  
 
x x x” 
 
Section 4. Amendment of Article 122 of the Labor Code. – The third and fourth 
paragraphs of Article 122 of P.D. No. 442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor 
Code of the Philippines is hereby amended to read as follows: 
 
“ART. 122. Creation of Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity 
Boards. –  x x x  
 
Implementation of the plans, programs, and projects of the Regional 
Boards referred to in the second paragraph, letter (a) of this Article, shall be 
through the respective regional offices of the Department of Labor and 
Employment, in the case of private employees, and the respective regional 
offices of the Civil Service Commission, in the case of government employees 
and job order employees, within their territorial jurisdiction; Provided, 
however, that the Regional Boards shall have technical supervision over the 
regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment and the Civil 
Service Commission with respect to the implementation of said plans, 
programs and projects. 
 
 
Each Regional Board shall be composed of the Regional Director of 
the Department of Labor and Employment as chairman, the Regional 
Directors of the National Economic and Development Authority and the 
Department of Trade and Industy as vice-chairmen and two (2) members each 
from private workers’ private employers,  and government workers sectors 
who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon the 


recommendation of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, to be made on 
the basis of the list of nominees submitted by the workers’ and employers’ 
sectors, respectively, and who shall serve for a term of five (5) years; 
Provided, however, that on matters relating to the minimum wage of 
government employees, the Regional Director of the Department of Trade and 
Industry shall not sit on the board, while the Regional Director of the Civil 
Service Commission shall serve as chairman, the Regional Directors of the 
National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Labor 
and Employment shall serve as vice-chairmen. x x x” 
 
Section 5. Implementation. – Upon the effectivity of this Act, the National Wages and 
Productivity Commission and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards, 
as constituted by this act, shall immediately promulgate implementing guidelines of 
this act and conduct the necessary studies towards the issuance, within one (1) year of 
the effectivity of this act, of wage orders that shall set the various minimum wages of 
government employees with Salary Grade 1and job order employees across the 
regions. 
 
Section 6. Repealing Clause. – All existing provisions of law, rules, regulations, 
guidelines, and other issuances inconsistent with this Act are deemed repealed. 
  
Section 7. Separability Clause. – If any provisions of this Act or the application thereof 
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remaining provisions of this Act and 
the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be 
affected thereby. 
 
Section 8. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its 
publication in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of general circulation.