Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RECEIVED
Quezon City = DATE
TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No._1832

14 JUL 2005

Introduced by Representative
ROLANDO M. VALERIANO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Presidential Decree No. 442, or the Labor Code of the Philippines,
mandated the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) to have original
and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide cases involving all workers.

On July 27, 2006, Republic Act No. 9347 was enacted. It rationalized
the composition and functions of the NLRC. The appointment and
qualifications of the Chairperson, Commissioners and Labor Arbiters were
made more exacting to further professionalize the Commission. In turn, they
‘were granted rank, salaries, benefits and other emoluments in parity with their
counterparts in the judiciary. The Chairman and members of the Commission
were given the same rank, receive an annual salary equivalent to, and are
entitled to the same allowances, retirement and benefits as, those of the
Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals, respectively.
On the other hand, the Labor Arbiters were given the same rank, receive an
annual salary equivalent to, and are entitled to the same allowances, retirement
and other benefits and privileges, as those of the judges of the regional trial
courts.

On July 13, 2010, Republic Act No. 9946 granted additional retirement.
survivorship, and other benefits to members of the judiciary.

By operation of the parity rights granted under R. A. 9347, the benefits
under R. A. 9946 should automatically have been granted to the Chairperson,
Commissioners and Labor Arbiters of the NLRC. The contrary happened and
the benefits were not given. This issue of entitlement has dragged on for more
than a decade. In the meantime, there are at least twenty-five (25) widows and
widowers of NLRC officials, who are not receiving any centavo of pension.
This was after decades of service of their spouses to the NLRC and for the
country.

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It should be noted that in terms of workload, the NLRC has one of the
biggest case volume among judicial and quasi-judicial bodies. It caters to
millions of workers seeking labor justice. Performance wise, the NURC has
been outstanding in disposing of 100% of its cases within its process cycle
time of 6 to 9 months. It has an affirmation rate of more than 90% with the
Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court

This bill seeks to rectify this seeming unfavorable circumstance against
NLRC officials. It secks to grant well deserved salaries, benefits and
emoluments in their favor. It is to enjoin more lawyers of exceptional
competence and indisputable integrity to join the NLRC and uphold labor
justice.

IL is in this view that the immediate passage of the bill is camestly

ALC. WN

ROLANDO M. VALERIANO
Representative
Manila, 2"



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIV.
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 1832

Introduced by Representative
ROLANDO M. VALERIANO

AN ACT

GRANTING SURVIVORSHIP AND ALL OTHER
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS IN PARITY WITH THEIR
COUNTERPARTS IN THE JUDICIARY, IN FAVOR OF
THE CHAIRPERSON, COMMISSIONER OR LABOR
ARBITER OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS
COMMISSION, 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 House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled.

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the
“Survivorship Benefits for NLRC Act of 2025.”

SECTION 2. Parity in Salaries and Benefits. — Article 223, 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, Benefits, and Emoluments. - 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


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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 LIKEWISE
RECEIVE 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”.
THEY SHALL ALSO BE ENTITLED TO ALL OTHER
ALLOWANCES, RETIREMENT AND OTHER
BENEFITS AND PRIVILEGES GRANTED IN FAVOR OF
THE MEMBERS OF JUDICIARY, CONSTITUTIONAL
COMMISSIONS, OR QUASI JUDICIAL BODIES, AS
MAY HEREINAFTER BE GRANTED BY LAW, RULES
OR REGULATIONS. In no case, however, shall the provision
of this Article result in the diminution of the existing salaries,

allowances and benefits of the aforementioned officials.


SECTION 3. 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 4. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act, or any
parts thereof, is declared unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity
and effectivity of the other portions.

SECTION 5. 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 6. 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.