SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
,S f' t1i'l t l' 
(~Hl;t df t!lR.-~,rrri'f..J.r\! 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
'13 
SfP lOP 3 :11 
SENATE 
S.No. 
1617 
.oj,""" 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 11, Section 14, provides: 
The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall 
ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men. 
Wage rate differentials exist between equivalent jobs segregated by sex in government 
employment and in industries engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce. 
The existence of such wage rate differentials depresses wages and living standards for 
employees necessary for their health and efficiency, prevents the maximum utilization of 
available labor resources, tends to cause labor disI?utes,l 'l'fJ'rd constitutes an unfair method of 
competition. 
Hence, this bill seeks to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of 
, 
sex. 
bw\w 4~,,,,,- ,O,~ 
MIRIAM DEF 
SOR SiffTI¥O 
(fIf' 
• This bill was re-filed during the Thirteenth Congress, First Regular Session. 
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'sl?md., 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
(@H,;t llf H!t!.~rn't::lr~ 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
'13 
SEP lOP 3 :11 
1 
2 
3 
SENATE 
S. No. 
161'7 
j. 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN THE PAYMENT OF WAGES 
ON ACCOUNT OF SEX 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Fair Pay Act." 
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SECTION 2. Equal Pay for Equivalent Jobs." - (A) No employer having employees 
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subject to any provision of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which 
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such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to 
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employees in such establishment in ajob that is ddminatei:llJy"employees of a particular sex at a 
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rate less than the rate at which the employer pays wages to employees in such establishment in 
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another job that is dominated by employees of the opposite sex for work on equivalent jobs. 
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(B) Nothing in paragraph (A) shall prohibit the payment of different wage rates to 
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employees where such payment is made pursuant to -
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(l) A seniority system; 
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(2) A merit system; or 
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(3) A system that measures earnings'by quantity or quality of production. 
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(C) The Secretary of Labor shall issue guidelines specifying criteria for determining 
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whether a job is dominated by employees of a particular sex. Such guidelines shall not include a 
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list of such jobs. 
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(D) An employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of subparagraph (A) 
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shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of such subparagraph, reduce the wage rate of 
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any employee. 
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(E) No labor organization or its agents representing employees of an employer having 
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employees subject to any provision of this section shall cause or attempt to cause such an 
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employer to discriminate against an employee in violation ofthis Act. 
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(F) For purposes of administration and enforcement.o~~?is section, any amounts owing to 
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any employee that have been withheld in violation of this Act shall be deemed to be unpaid 
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minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation under this section. 
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(G) As used in this section, the term "equival,ent jobs".means jobs that may be dissimilar, 
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but whose requirements are equivalent, when viewed as a composite of skills, effort, 
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responsibility, and working conditions. 
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SECTION 3. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part thereof is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 4. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, iul~; or 'regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
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with the provisions ofthis Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 5; Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (IS) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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