I.

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

53498
HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
BAYAN MUNA Party-List Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
Rep. FERDINAND GAITE and Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
‘GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO

AN ACT
PROVIDING SICK LEAVE BENEFITS OF THIRTY DAYS WITH PAY PER YEAR
TO ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Sick leave is defined under pertinent rules and regulations of the Civil Service
Commission as granted “on account of sickness or disability on the part of the employee
concerned or any member of his immediate family.”

It is a common complaint among public school teachers that, since current laws,
rules, and regulations do not afford them this leave privilege, it is as if government views
them as superhumans who do not get sick during the school year. When they do, teachers
just “bear it” and hold classes while they have fever or any other illness, or absent
themselves but suffer deductions in their salaries. Often, it takes longer for them to heal,
with almost zero time for recuperation. Worse, what started as minor conditions get
aggravated, requiring more expensive treatment.

The justification for not affording public school teachers sick leave privileges is that
they are allegedly already covered by the leave benefits granted to those on “teachers!
leave basis,” namely, service credits and Proportional Vacation Pay (PVP). However,
service credits are in fact remuneration for work done by the teacher, particularly, those
done beyond regular functions or regular work or days, such as Brigada Eskwela and
election and census service. Furthermore, availment of service credits is saddled with


many requirements and limited to only 15 days per year, despite the many non-teaching
related tasks and activities required of teachers. On the other hand, the PVP has for a
Jong time become remuneration also, this time for work required of teachers during April
and May, which are supposedly months of vacation.

Otherwise put, service credits and PVP have different nature and purpose as
compared to sick leave—which is a privilege that would allow teachers to take off from
work due to health reasons. But, since current rules provide that service credits and PVP
shall be used to “offset” absences during the school year, teachers’ remuneration for work
(that is, service credits and PVP) are in effect diminished or reduced whenever they get
sick on school days.

It is high time for our laws to be rectified in order to extend to public school
teachers greater protection against health complications, especially considering that most
of such conditions are the effects of the daily strain of teachers’ tasks in schools and
overwork. Public school teachers deserve sick leave benefits in light of the heavy
workload which they are made to bear including various tasks not related to teaching,
inhumane working conditions such as large class sizes, and policies such as the Results-
based Performance Management System which purport to “measure” their performance
but instead cause them further hardship.

For the foregoing reasons, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

Rep. CARLOS ). FERDINAND GAITE
BAYAN MUNA Party-List BAYAN MUNA Party-List

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Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT
BAYAN MUNA Party-List



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 5348

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
BAYAN MUNA Party-List Rep. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
Rep. FERDINAND GAITE and Rep. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
‘GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS,
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO

AN ACT
PROVIDING SICK LEAVE BENEFITS OF THIRTY DAYS WITH PAY PER YEAR
TO ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

Be it enacted in the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Sick Leave with Pay for Public School Teachers. All public school teachers
shall be entitled to sick leave benefits of thirty days with pay per year. In the computation
of the same, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays shall be excluded.

The leave privilege provided under this Act shall be in addition to the service credits
and the Proportional Vacation Pay already provided under present laws and rules,
Provided, That the same shall be non-cumulative and non-convertible to cash.

SECTION 2. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The Department of Education shall
promulgate the rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this Act within
a period of thirty (30) days after its effectivity.

SECTION 3. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, rules and regulations, and other
issuances inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 4. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or one (1) newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,