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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE and ERIC G. YAP 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article XIII Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution provides that 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. Further, it 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 National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) is a quasi-judicial agency attached 
to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) which is mandated to 
adjudicate labor and management disputes involving both local and overseas workers 
through compulsory arbitration and alternative modes of dispute resolution. The 
Commission Proper of the NLRC has eight (8) Divisions, each is composed of three 
(3) members with the Presiding Commissioner representing the government sector
and the other two members representing the workers and employers' sector.
According to its 2021 Performance Report, the NLRC maintained a high level of 
disposition of cases and posted gains in reducing the number of pending cases. The 
agency posted an overall output of 32,433 cases for compulsory arbitration - composed 
of 24,262 as original cases from the Regional Arbitration Branches (RABs) and 8,171 as 
appealed cases from the Commission Proper. Of the 98% overall target, both were able 
to dispose 27,754 cases or 86% accomplishment rate. 
September 19, 2022
1:55 pm
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In support of NLRC's mission to resolve labor disputes in the fairest, quickest, least 
expensive, and most effective way possible, this bill seeks to create one additional 
division of the NLRC, increasing the number of Commissioners from twenty-three 
(23) to twenty-six (26).
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
ERIC G. YAP 


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE and ERIC G. YAP 
AN ACT 
CREATING ONE ADDITIONAL DIVISION IN THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS 
COMMISSION, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS FROM TWENTY-
THREE (23) TO TWENTY-SIX (26), AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL 
DECREE NO. 442, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF 
THE PHILIPPINES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title II, Chapter I, Article 220 of Presidential Decree No. 442, as 
amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows: 
Article 220. National Labor Relations Commission. There shall be 
a National Labor Relations Commission which shall be attached to 
the Department of Labor and Employment for program and policy 
coordination only, composed of a Chairman and [twenty three (23)] 
TWENTY-SIX (26) Members. 
[Eight (8)] NINE (9) members [each] shall be chosen from 
among the nominees of the workers and employers organizations, 
respectively. The Chairman and [the seven (7)] EIGHT (8) 
[remaining] members shall come from the public sector, with the 
latter to be chosen from among the recommendees of the Secretary 
of Labor and Employment. 
Upon assumption into office, the members nominated by the 
workers and employers organizations shall divest themselves of any 
affiliation with or interest in the federation or association to which 
they belong. 
The Commission may sit en banc or in [eight (8)] NINE (9) 
divisions, each composed of three (3) members. Subject to the 
penultimate sentence of this paragraph, the Commission shall sit en 
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banc only for purposes of promulgating rules and regulations 
governing the hearing and disposition of cases before any of its 
divisions and regional branches, and formulating policies affecting 
its administration and operations. The Commission shall exercise its 
adjudicatory and all other powers, functions, and duties through its 
divisions. Of the [eight (8)] NINE (9) divisions, the first, second, 
third, fourth, fifth and sixth divisions shall handle cases coming from 
the National Capital Region and other parts of Luzon, and the 
seventh, [and] eighth, AND NINTH divisions, cases from the 
Visayas 
and 
Mindanao, 
respectively: 
Provided, 
That 
the 
Commission sitting en banc may, on temporary or emergency basis, 
allow cases within the jurisdiction of any division to be heard and 
decided by any other division whose docket allows the additional 
workload and such transfer will not expose litigants to unnecessary 
additional expense. The divisions of the Commission shall have 
exclusive appellate jurisdiction over cases within then respective 
territorial jurisdiction. 
 
The concurrence of two (2) Commissioners of a division shall 
be necessary for the pronouncement of judgment or resolution. 
Whenever the required membership in a division is not complete 
and the concurrence of two (2) Commissioners to arrive at a 
judgment or resolution cannot be obtained, the Chairman shall 
designate such number of additional Commissioners from the other 
divisions as may be necessary. 
 
The conclusions of a division on any case submitted to it for 
decision shall be reached in consultation before the case is assigned 
to a member for the writing of the opinion. It shall be mandatory for 
the division to meet for purposes of the consultation ordained 
therein. A certification to this effect signed by the Presiding 
Commissioner of the division shall be issued, and a copy thereof 
attached to the record of the case and served upon the parties. 
 
The Chairman shall be the Presiding Commissioner of the 
first division, and the [seven (7)] EIGHT (8) other members from the 
public sector shall be the Presiding Commissioners of the second, 
third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, [and] eighth, AND NINTH 
divisions, respectively. In case of the effective absence or incapacity 
of the Chairman, the Presiding Commissioner of the second division 
shall be the Acting Chairman. 
 
The Chairman, aided by the Executive Clerk of the 
Commission, shall have exclusive administrative supervision over 
the Commission and its regional branches and all its personnel, 
including the Labor Arbiters. 
 


 
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The Commission, when sitting en banc, shall be assisted by 
the same Executive Clerk, and, when acting thru its Divisions, by 
said Executive Clerk for its first division and [seven (7)] EIGHT (8) 
other Deputy Executive Clerks for the second, third, fourth, fifth, 
sixth, seventh, [and] eighth, AND NINTH Divisions, respectively, 
in the performance of such similar or equivalent functions and duties 
as are discharged by the Clerk of Court and Deputy Clerks of Court 
of the Court of Appeals. 
 
The Commission and its [eight (8)] NINE (9) divisions shall 
be assisted by the Commission Attorneys in its appellate and 
adjudicatory functions whose term shall be coterminous with the 
Commissioners with whom they are assigned. The Commission 
Attorneys shall be members of the Philippine Bar with at least one 
(1) year experience or exposure in the field of labor-management 
relations. They shall receive annual salaries and shall be entitled to 
the same allowances and benefits as those falling under Salary Grade 
twenty-six (SG 26). There shall be as many Commission Attorneys as 
may be necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the 
Commission but in no case more than five (5) assigned to the Office 
of the Chairman and each Commissioner. 
 
SEC. 2. Title II, Chapter I, Article 221 of Presidential Decree No. 442, as 
amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows: 
 
Article 221. Headquarters, Branches and Provincial Extension 
Units. The Commission and its first, second, third, fourth, fifth and 
sixth divisions shall have their main offices in Metropolitan Manila, 
and the seventh, [and] eighth, AND NINTH divisions in the cities of 
Cebu, [and] Cagayan de Oro, AND DAVAO, respectively. The 
Commission shall establish as many regional branches as there are 
regional offices of the Department of Labor and Employment, sub-
regional branches or provincial extension units. There shall be as 
many Labor Arbiters as may be necessary for the effective and 
efficient operation of the Commission. 
 
SEC. 3. Funding. - The amounts 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. 4. Upon the effectivity of this Act, all pending cases, except those which 
have been submitted for resolution, shall be referred to the proper division of the 
National Labor Relations Commission. 
 
SEC. 5. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow the transfer, except in 
cases of temporary assignment, of any member of the National Labor Relations 
Commission to any place or station without such member's written consent, or to 


 
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undermine the security of tenure of its members, or alter the seniority in the National 
Labor Relations Commission in accordance with existing laws. 
 
SEC. 6. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision thereof not affected 
thereby shall remain in full force and effect. 
 
SEC. 7. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, letters of instruction, 
executive orders, rules, or regulations, or any part thereof inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following 
its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,