Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE:
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
_— Regular Session

382

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by: HON. MANUEL T. SAGARBARRIA (Negros Oriental, 2" District)

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 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 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 should be
considered minimum wage eamers and that the pertinent existing agencies, ic. 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.

aM kGEA. T. SAGARBARRIA


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
__ Regular Session

7382

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by: HON. MANUEL T. SAGARBARRIA (Negros Oriental, 2" District)

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, as defined under Republic Act 6758, as amended.

Section 2. Amendment of Article 99 of the Labor Code. —Axticle 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 and workers in
cach 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, who shall be considered as minimum-wage earners. The
amounts provided for by R.A. 6758, as amended, to those with Salary Grade
1 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 Commi

“XXX

‘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.

xxx”

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, within thei 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 1 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 of 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. Ffeativity. - ‘This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its
publication in the Official Gazette and in a newspaper of general circulation.