Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL No. 3731 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by: HON. CARL NICOLAS C. CARI 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Survivorship benefits are payments of retirement or pension benefits to the beneficiaries of 
a deceased individual, ensuring that a surviving spouse or dependents receive financial support 
after the individual's death. It is not an extraordinary retirement benefit; in fact, it is one of the 
most common benefits enjoyed by all government employees under the GSIS law. It is also being 
enjoyed as part of the retirement benefit under the SSS law.  
Unfortunately, since the year 2008, the Commissioners and Labor Arbiters of the National 
Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) have been denied a survivorship benefit. In the years 
preceding 2008, NLRC Officials were enjoying survivorship benefits under the GSIS law. The 
passage of Republic Act No. 9347 on 27 July 2006 granted equality in rank, salaries, retirement 
benefits, and other privileges to NLRC Officials with those of their judicial counterparts. 
Consequently, sometime in 2008, to implement their special retirement privileges under R.A. 
9347, NLRC Officials were taken out of GSIS and their retirement benefits were placed under the 
Department of Budget and Management (DBM). In the process, the survivorship benefits 
previously entitled to NLRC Officials were not carried over.  
Under the circumstances, there exists an ongoing and continuing distortion of retirement 
benefits, as NLRC Officials are denied survivorship benefits, while NLRC staff and employees, 
as well as other government employees of the same or lower rank, enjoy survivorship benefits. 
There is also an undisputed diminution of benefits, for while Section 4 of R.A. 9347 expressly 
provided that no diminution of benefits should happen in the implementation of the said law, the 
survivorship benefit was inadvertently discontinued and not carried over when R.A. 9347 was 
implemented.   
A Declaratory Relief case was filed before the Regional Trial Court of Manila. 
Unfortunately, the RTC recently ruled against the NLRC’s claim for survivorship benefits in parity 
with their judicial counterparts. It is therefore ironic that these NLRC Officials, who are tasked by 
law to enforce and correct, among other things, the diminution or distortion of benefits for 
employees, find themselves helpless against the very distortion and diminution of the benefits they 
should enjoy. 
It is noted that the judiciary counterparts of the NLRC also lost their survivorship benefits 
upon the enactment of their special retirement law, R.A. 910. However, their survivorship benefits 
were eventually restored through R.A. 9946. In recognition of correcting the survivorship benefits, 
R.A. 9946 was made applicable to justices and judges who retired before its enactment, but with a 
prospective application. It is under the same grant as part of the parity in rank, retirement, and 
benefits that the NLRC Officials seek the enforcement of their survivorship benefits to correct the 
denial of their survivorship benefits. 
August 14, 2025
9:13 am


Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
This bill, therefore, is a curative measure not only to correct the continuing distortion and 
diminution of benefits, but to once and for all restore the mandated parity in ranks, annual salaries, 
and entitlement to the same allowances, emoluments, retirement and other benefits and privileges 
between the NLRC Officials and their Judiciary counterparts. In turn, this should enjoin more 
lawyers of exceptional competence and indisputable integrity to join the NLRC and uphold labor 
justice. 
The passage of this bill should only entail minimal appropriations since there are only 
twenty-nine (29) existing widows and widowers of NLRC Officials, with a prospective application 
in the computation of the survivorship benefits; and there are only twenty-four (24) incumbent 
NLRC Commissioners, and 142 incumbent Labor Arbiters at a given time.  
Time is of the essence for the still living survivors of NLRC Officials, and it is in this view 
that the immediate passage of the bill is earnestly sought. 
CARL NICOLAS C. CARI 
Representative          
5th District, Leyte    


Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL No. 3731 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by: HON. CARL NICOLAS C. CARI 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
AN ACT GRANTING SURVIVORSHIP AND ALL OTHER ADDITIONAL 
BENEFITS IN FAVOR OF THE CHAIRPERSON, COMMISSIONER OR LABOR 
ARBITER OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION PROVIDED 
UNDER R.A. 9946, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AMENDING FOR THE 
PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE 442, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR 
CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the  Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “An Act Confirming the 
Additional Retirement, Survivorship, and Other Benefits Provided Under R.A. 9946 to 
NLRC Officials”. 
SECTION 2. Parity in Salaries, Retirement, Benefits, and Other Privileges. – Article 
223 as renumbered (formerly Art. 216), Chapter I, Title II, Book Five, of Presidential 
Decree No. 442, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, is 
hereby amended to read as follows: 
ART. 
223. Salaries, 
Retirement, 
Benefits, 
Emoluments, 
and 
Other 
Privileges. – The Chairman and members of the Commission shall have the 
same rank, receive an annual salary equivalent to, and be entitled to the same 
allowances, retirement and benefits as those of the Presiding Justice and 
Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals, respectively. Labor Arbiters shall 
have the same rank, receive an annual salary equivalent to, and be entitled to 
the same allowances, retirement and other benefits and privileges as those of 
the judges of the Regional Trial Courts. The Chairperson, members of the 
Commission, and the Labor Arbiters shall receive the Survivorship and 
Other Benefits under Republic Act No. 9946, entitled “An Act Granting 
Additional Retirement, Survivorship, And Other Benefits To Members Of 
The Judiciary, Amending For The Purpose Republic Act No. 910, As Amended, 
Providing Funds Therefor And For Other Purposes”. 
The following rule on survivorship shall specifically govern under this Act: 
In case of the death of the Chairman, a member of the Commission or a 
Labor Arbiter during his/her retirement or any such official who is eligible 
to retire optionally at the time of death, the surviving legitimate spouse 
and/or dependent children of said deceased member shall be entitled to 
receive all the retirement benefits that the deceased was receiving or 
entitled to receive. 


 
 
 
 
 
 
Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
 
 
As used in this Act, “dependent” refers to a legitimate, illegitimate or 
legally adopted child who is chiefly dependent on the said deceased 
official if such dependent is not more than twenty-one (21) years of age, 
unmarried and not gainfully employed, or if such dependent, regardless of 
age, is incapable of self-support because of any mental or physical defect 
or condition. 
 
The surviving legitimate spouse shall continue to receive during his or her 
lifetime 
said 
retirement 
benefits 
until 
such 
spouse 
remarries: Provided, That the surviving spouse and/or dependent children 
shall each equally share the retirement benefits; provided, further, that in 
case the deceased chairperson, commissioner, or labor arbiter was 
unmarried, survivorship benefits shall be paid as follows: 
 
a. 
When the deceased retiree was a solo parent, as defined under RA No. 
8972, otherwise known as the Solo Parents' Welfare Act of 2000, and 
survived by dependent children or other children under the care of the 
deceased retiree as stipulated under RA No. 9262, otherwise known as 
the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004, 
including children who have reached the age of majority but are 
unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from 
abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination because of a 
physical or mental disability as defined under RA No. 7610, otherwise 
known as the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, 
Exploitation and Discrimination Act, the dependent children shall be 
entitled to receive on a monthly basis all the retirement benefits that 
the deceased retiree was receiving at the time of death under the 
provisions of applicable retirement laws then in force. The minor 
dependent children shall be disqualified from receiving the benefits 
upon reaching the age of majority. Any subsequent death or 
disqualification of any of the dependent children shall not result in 
the accrual of the forfeited benefits to the other beneficiaries. 
 
b. 
When the retiree died without issue, the surviving parents, if any, or 
unless otherwise disqualified by law, the dependent next-of-kin 
nominated by the chairman, commissioner, or labor arbiter prior to or 
on the date of retirement, shall receive on a monthly basis all the 
retirement benefits that the deceased retiree was receiving or is 
entitled to receive at the time of the death under the provisions of 
applicable retirement laws then in force; Provided, That the nominee 
shall be limited to two (2) persons only. Provided, further, That, the 
rules on disqualification applicable to the primary beneficiaries shall 
likewise be applicable to the nominees; Provided, finally, That, any 
subsequent death or disqualification of any of the foregoing 
beneficiaries shall not result in the accrual of the forfeited benefits to 
the other beneficiaries. 
 
In no case shall the provision of this Act result in the diminution of the existing 
salaries, allowances, retirement, benefits and other privileges of the aforementioned 
officials. 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
 
SECTION 3. The benefits under this Act shall be granted to all those who have 
retired prior to the effectivity of this Act:  Provided That the benefits to be granted shall be 
prospective. 
SECTION 4. Implementing Rules. — The National Labor Relations Commission    
En Banc shall promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulations, which shall 
become effective fifteen (15) days after publication at the Office of the National 
Administrative Register (ONAR) of the UP Law Center 
SECTION 5. Appropriations. – The amount necessary for the continuing 
implementation of this Act shall be programmed by the Commission to be included in 
the General Appropriations Act. 
SECTION 6. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees, 
proclamations, rules, regulations, issuances, and enactments of parts thereof inconsistent 
with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
  
SECTION 7. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from its 
complete publication in the Official Gazette of in a newspaper of general circulation in 
the Philippines, whichever comes earlier. 
 
 
APPROVED,