arity

Ghee

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

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. eal

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 |. ELAGO.

AN ACT
LOWERING THE OPTIONAL RETIREMENT AGE OF GOVERNMENT WORKERS FROM SIXTY
(60) YEARS TO FIFTY-SIX (56) YEARS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 13-A OF
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8291, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE
INSURANCE SYSTEM ACT OF 1997”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill proposes to lower the optional retirement age for government workers
which include the public school teachers from 60 to 56 years old.

Earlier retirement is one of the demands resoundingly voiced during formal and
informal consultations with public school teachers conducted by this Representation.
Teachers protest that, with the hazards and level of stress accompanying their duties,
compulsory retirement at the late stage of 65 years old will not allow them to fully enjoy
their retirement years. Teachers usually leave the profession not with satisfied smiles
but assaulted by various illnesses; whatever retirement benefits they receive will be
spent not for their rest or their own businesses but solely for medical bills.

Teaching in our country’s public schools is indeed a challenging occupation, with
duties claiming much from teachers not just physically, but emotionally and
psychologically as well. The Philippines ranks among the countries with the most dismal
statistics descriptive of teachers’ working conditions, with average pupil-teacher ratios
from 31 students (primary level) to 45 students to each teacher (secondary level), and



average class size of 42.4 (primary) and 43.7 (secondary). (UNESCO, 2015) Officially,
instruction time is six hours each day, but actually goes up to more than eight including
advisory loads. Teachers work in 40 out of 54 weeks per year, but they have duties
during vacation months, and even beyond the classroom and the school premises.

Indeed, when compared to figures worldwide, it is harder to be a public school
teacher in the Philippines than in most countries. However, our teachers retire five years
later than those in most countries. Retirement age is 60 in most North American,
European, and Asian countries.

Respect and humane consideration demand that a person of 55 years—a few
years shy of being a senior citizen—should not be required to perform the arduous
functions expected of a public school teacher in the Philippines. At such stage of their
lives, public school teachers should at least be given the choice if they wish to rest from
the profession and enjoy more good and healthy years ahead.

As rigorous work and the physical and psychological burdens it causes likewise
applies to all those working in government, this measure also extends the benefit of
earlier retirement to the rest of the employees in the civil service.

This bill was approved on third reading in the 17 Congress.

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

Rep. CARLOS \GANI T. ZARATE. fep. FERDINAND GAITE
BAYAN MUNA Party-List BAYAN MUNA Party-List
ave ree

Rep/EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT
BAYAN MUNA Party-List

fep. ARLENE D. BROSAS
GABRIELA Women’s Party



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

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

221
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
LOWERING THE OPTIONAL RETIREMENT AGE OF GOVERNMENT WORKERS FROM.
SIXTY (60) YEARS TO FIFTY-SIX (56) YEARS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION
13-A OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8291, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE GOVERNMENT
SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM ACT OF 1997”

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

SECTION 1. Section 13-A of Republic Act No. 8291, otherwise known as “The
Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997” is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“SEC. 13-A. Conditions for Entitlement. - A member who retires from
the service shall be entitled to the retirement benefits enumerated in
paragraph (a) of Section 13 hereof: Provided, That SUCH MEMBER:

(1) [he] has rendered at least fifteen (15) years of service;

“(2) [he] is at least [sixty (60)] FIFTY-SIX (56) years of age at the time of
retirement; and


“(3) [he] is not receiving a monthly pension benefit from permanent
total disability.”

SECTION 2. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, or
other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 16. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,