I 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC } 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
S.B. 
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S E N A T E  
NO. 
265 
Introduced by Senator Francis N. Pangilinan 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article 130 of the Labor Code, as amended, provides for a prohibition on women to be employed or 
permitted or suffered to work during the night, especially from ten o'clock at night and six o'clock in the 
morning. This is in recognition of the danger to women imposed by street conditions at night. This general 
rule, however, is not without exceptions. Article 131 of the same Code enumerates these exceptions. 
The increase in the country's IT industry can be largely attributed to the boom in the call center 
business. The call center service has been dubbed as the Philippine's latest sunshine industry, expected to 
generate around 24,000 jobs in the next two years'. With the unemployment rate now at 11.3% as of 
January 2005, the possible jobs that will be generated by these call centers will be a welcome solution to 
the increasing unemployment rate. 
Call centers are operating on a 24-hour service. Most of these centers work on several shifts to 
provide for the 24-hour call center service. This necessitates the employment of men and women even 
after late hours of the night to wee hours of the morning. 
In view of the foregoing, and given the importance the Constitutional mandate for providing equal 
opportunities to all, which will increase women participation in work and enhance employment generation, 
exemptions from the night work prohibition for women under Article 131 of the Labor Code should be 
expanded. 
Hence, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
FRANC N. 
NGlLlNAN 
T 
' Call Centers . RP's Emerging Sunshine Industry, Romelda C. Ascutia, www.sullivan-countv.com/id3/cable Dassed.htm, 
May 24,2005. 


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S.B. NO. 
Introduced by Senator Francis N. Pangilinan 
AN ACT 
EXPANDING THE EXCEPTIONS FROM THE NIGHT WORK PROHIBITION OF WOMEN EMPLOYEES, 
(P.D. 442), AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES 
THEREBY AMENDING ARTICLE 131 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE FOUR HUNDRED FORRTY-TWO 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Article 131 of the Labor Code is hereby further amended to read as follows: 
"ART. 131. Exceptions. - The prohibitions prescribed by the preceding Article 
shall not apply in any of the following cases: 
(a) 
In cases of actual or impending emergencies caused by serious accident, 
fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic or other disasters or calamity, to prevent loss of 
life or property, in cases of force majeure or imminent danger to public safety; 
(b) 
In case of urgent work to be performed on machineries, equipment or 
installation, to avoid serious loss which the employer would otherwise suffer; 
(c) 
(d) 
Where the work is necessary to prevent serious loss of perishable goods; 
Where the woman employee holds a responsible position of managerial or 
technical nature, or where the woman employee has been engaged to provide health and 
welfare service; 
(e) 
Where the nature of the work requires manual skill and dexterity of women 
workers and the same cannot be performed with equal efficiency by male workers; 
(fJ 
Where the women employees are immediate members of the family 
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operating the establishment or undertaking; [and] 


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(9) 
WHERE INCREASING DEMAND FOR WORK PROVIDE EQUAL 
OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK AT NIGHT; AND 
(h) 
Under analogous cases exempted by the Secretary of Labor and 
Employment in appropriate regulations." 
SEC. 2. Separability Clause. - If any portion of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the same 
shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions not affected thereby. 
SEC. 3. Repealing Clause. - All laws, acts, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or 
other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby modified and repealed. 
SEC. 4. €ffectivify, - This Act shall take effect after fifteen 115) days following its publication in 
two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved.