A DECREE INSTITUTING A LABOR CODE, THEREBY REVISING AND CONSOLIDATING LABOR AND SOCIAL LAWS TO AFFORD PROTECTION TO LABOR, PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND INSURE INDUSTRIAL PEACE BASED ON SOCIAL JUSTICE

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 442
• Sections: 338

Preamble

PRELIMINARY TITLE

General Provisions

Emancipation of Tenants

PRE EMPLOYMENT

RECRUITMENT AND PLACEMENT OF WORKERS

General Provisions

Regulation of Recruitment and Placement

Activities

Miscellaneous Provisions

EMPLOYMENT OF NONRESIDENT ALIENS

HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

NATIONAL MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

National Policies and Administrative

Machinery

for Their Implementation

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OF SPECIAL WORKERS

Apprenticeship

Learners

Handicapped Workers

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

WORKING CONDITIONS AND REST PERIODS

Hours of Work

Weekly Rest Periods

WAGES

Preliminary Matters

Minimum Wage Rates

Payment of Wages

Prohibitions Regarding Wages

Wage Studies, Wage Agreements and Wage Determination

Administration and Enforcement

WORKING CONDITIONS FOR SPECIAL GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES

Employment of Women

Employment of Minors

Employment of Househelpers

Employment of Homeworkers

HEALTH, SAFETY AND SOCIAL WELFARE BENEFITS

MEDICAL, DENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

Medical and Dental Services

Occupational Health and Safety

EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION AND STATE INSURANCE FUND

Policy, Definitions, and Coverage

Administration of the Fund

Premiums

Medical, Rehabilitation and Burial Services

Disability Benefits

Death Benefits

Provisions Common to Income Benefits

Records, Reports, and Notices

MEDICARE

Preliminary Matters

Program I

Program II

Funding

OTHER BENEFITS

Adult Education

LABOR RELATIONS

POLICY AND DEFINITIONS

Objectives

Definitions

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION

Creation and Composition

Powers and Duties

BUREAU OF LABOR RELATIONS

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

Registration and Cancellation

Rights and Conditions of Membership

Rights of Legitimate Labor Organizations

COVERAGE

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES

Unfair Labor Practices of Employers

Unfair Labor Practices of Labor Organizations

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

POST EMPLOYMENT

Termination of Employment

Retirement from the Service

PENAL PROVISIONS, PRESCRIPTIONS, TRANSITORY AND FINAL

PROVISIONS

Penal Provisions and Liabilities

Prescription of Offenses and Claims

Transitory and Final Provisions

Article 1 Name of Decree.

ARTICLE 1. Name of Decree. — This Decree shall be known as

the "Labor Code of the Philippines."

Article 2 Date of Effectivity.

ART. 2. Date of Effectivity. - This Code shall take

effect six months after its promulgation.

Article 3 Declaration of Basic Policy.

ART. 3. Declaration of Basic Policy. — The State

shall afford protection to labor, promote full employment, ensure equal

work opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed, and regulate the

relations between workers and employers. The State shall assure the

rights of workers to self-organization, collective bargaining, security

of tenure and just and humane conditions of work.

Article 4 Construction in Favor of Labor.

ART. 4. Construction in Favor of Labor. — All

doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of

this Code, including its implementing rules and regulations, shall be

resolved in favor of labor.

Article 5 Rules and Regulations.

ART. 5. Rules and Regulations. — The Department of

Labor and other government agencies charged with the administration and

enforcement of this Code or any of its parts shall promulgate the

necessary implementing rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations

shall become effective fifteen (15) days after announcement of their

adoption in newspapers of general circulation.

Article 6 Applicability to Agricultural Workers.

ART. 6. Applicability to Agricultural Workers. —

In addition to the rights conferred upon them by Republic Act Numbered

Thirty-eight Hundred and Forty-four, as amended, otherwise known as the

Code of Agrarian Reforms of the Philippines, agricultural workers shall

enjoy the rights and benefits granted by this Code to nonagricultural

workers.

Article 7 Statement of Objectives.

ART. 7. Statement of Objectives. — Inasmuch as the old

concept of land ownership

by a few has spawned valid and legitimate grievances that gave rise to

violent conflict and social tension and the redress of such legitimate

grievances being one of the fundamental objectives of the New Society,

it has become imperative to start reformation with the emancipation of

the tiller of the soil from his bondage.

Article 8 Transfer of Lands to Tenant Workers.

ART. 8. Transfer of Lands to Tenant Workers. - Being a

vital part of the labor force, tenant-farmers on private agricultural

lands primarily devoted to rice and corn under a system of share crop or

lease tenancy whether classified as landed estate or not shall be

deemed owner of a portion constituting a family-size farm of five (5)

hectares if not irrigated and three (3) hectares if irrigated.

In all cases, the landowner may retain an area of not more than seven

(7) hectares if such landowner is cultivating such area or will now

cultivate it.

Article 9

ART. 9. Determination of Land Value. For the

purpose of determining the cost of the land to be transferred to the

tenant-farmer, the value of the land shall be equivalent to two and a

half (2 1/2) times the average harvest of three (3) normal crop years.

The total cost of the land, including interest at the rate of six (6) per

centum per annum, shall be paid by the tenant in fifteen (15) equal

amortizations.

In case of default, the amortizations due shall be paid by the farmers'

cooperative having a right of recourse against him.

The Government shall guaranty such amortizations with shares of stock in

government-owned and government-controlled corporations.

Article 10 Conditions of Ownership.

ART. 10. Conditions of Ownership. - No title to the land

owned by the tenant-farmers shall be actually issued to a tenant-farmer

unless and until the tenant has become a full-fledged member of a duly

recognized farmers' cooperative.

Title to the land acquired pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 27 or the

land Reform Program of the Government shall not be transferable except

by hereditary-succession or to the Government in accordance with the

provisions of this Code, the Code of Agrarian Reforms and other existing

laws and regulations.

Article 11 Implementing Agency.

ART. 11. Implementing Agency. — The Department of Agrarian

Reform shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to

implement the provisions of this Chapter.

Article 12

ART. 12. Statement of Objectives. It is the policy of the

State —

To promote and maintain a state of full employment through improved

manpower training, allocation and utilization;

To protect every citizen desiring to work locally or overseas

by securing for him the best possible terms and conditions of

employment;

To facilitate a free choice of available employment by persons

seeking work in conformity with the national interest;

To facilitate and regulate the movement of workers in

conformity with the national interest;

To regulate the employment of nonresident aliens;

To strengthen the network of public employment offices and to

undertake the phasing out of private fee-charging employment agencies;

and

To insure careful selection of Filipino workers for overseas

employment in order to protect the good name of the Philippines abroad.

Article 13 Definition of Terms.

ART. 13. Definition of Terms. — (a) "Private fee-charging

employment agency" means any individual or entity engaged in the

business of recruitment and placement of workers for a fee, whether the

fee is charged from the workers or from the employers or both.

"Private non-fee-charging employment agency" refers to any

individual or entity engaged in the recruitment and placement of workers

free of charge, whether from the workers or from the employers or both.

"Recruitment" refers to any act of canvassing, enlisting,

contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring or procuring

workers, including referrals, contact services, promising

employment or advertising for employment locally or abroad whether for

profit or not: Provided, That whenever two or more persons are

in any manner promised or offered employment for a fee, the individual

or entity making such offer or promise shall be deemed engaged in

recruitment.

"Worker" or "Employee" includes any individual employed by an

employer or any person hired to perform service of any kind for a

valuable consideration, including household or domestic helpers and crew

members of vessels or seamen.

"Immigrant worker" means any person who works in a foreign

country by virtue of an immigrant visa or resident permit as

distinguished from a work permit or working visa.

"License" means a document issued to an individual or entity by

the Department of Labor authorizing such individual or entity to operate

private fee-charging employment agency.

"Authority" refers to the document issued to any person or entity

by the Department of Labor authorizing such person or entity to operate

a private non-fee-charging employment agency.

"Seamen" includes all persons employed on any vessel

engaged in maritime navigation.

Article 14 Employment Promotion.

ART. 14. Employment Promotion. — The

Secretary of Labor shall have the power and authority to:

Organize and establish new employment offices in addition to the

existing employment offices under the Department of Labor as the need

arises;

Organize and establish a nationwide job clearance and information

system to inform applicants registering with a particular employment

office of job opportunities in other parts of the country as well as job

opportunities abroad;

Develop and organize programs that will facilitate occupational,

industrial and geographical mobility of labor and provide assistance in

the relocation of workers from one area to another; and

Require any person, establishment, organization or institution to

submit such employment information as may be prescribed by the

Secretary of Labor.

Article 15 Power to Phase Out.

ART. 15. Power to Phase Out. — The Department

of Labor shall phase out within four (4) years from the effectivity of

this Code the operation of all private fee-charging employment agencies,

including those engaged in the overseas recruitment and placement of

individuals for personal services or for the crew of a vessel.

Upon the completion of such phaseout, no person or entity shall directly

or indirectly engage, for profit or any pecuniary or material

advantage, in any recruitment or placement activity. Non-fee-charging

employment agencies or placement services undertaken by schools or by

civic or charitable organizations or by employers for their own use may

continue under such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the

Secretary of Labor.

ART. 16, Over-seas Employment Development Board, Creation of.

— An Overseas Employment Development Board is hereby created to

undertake a systematic program for overseas employment of Filipino

workers, other than seamen, in excess of domestic needs and to protect

their rights to fair and equitable employment practices.

It shall seek to:

Meet the increasing demand for trained and competent Filipino

workers in foreign countries;

Generate foreign exchange from the earnings of Filipinos

employed under the program;

Promote the employment of Filipinos under

government-to-government arrangement;

Secure better terms and conditions of employment of Filipino

workers overseas; and

Promote the development of the skills and careful selection of

employment of Filipino workers for overseas employment.

The Board shall be attached to the Department of Labor for policy and

program coordination and for the efficient conduct of its duties.

Article 17 Composition of Overseas Employment Development Board.

ART. 17. Composition of Overseas Employment Development Board.

— The Board shall be composed of:

The Secretary of Labor as Chairman and a representative each of the

Department of National Defense, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the

Central Bank and the Department of Justice, as members.

The Board shall be assisted by a Secretariat headed by an Executive

Director. The Executive Director shall be appointed by the President of

the Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of Labor who shall

appoint the members of the Secretariat. The Executive Director and

members of the Secretariat shall be exempt from the provisions of laws,

rules and regulations of the Wage and Position Classification Office

except clerical and janitorial services.

The Executive Director shall be a Filipino citizen with sufficient

experience in manpower administration, including overseas employment

activities.

The Executive Director shall receive an annual salary of P40,000 and a

commutable representation and transportation allowance of P500 a month.

The Auditor General shall appoint his representative to the Board to

audit its accounts in accordance with auditing laws and pertinent rules

and regulations.

The Chairman and all members of the Board shall each receive a per diem

of P100 for their attendance of every meeting of the Board: Provided,

That where the representative of an ex officio member attends a meeting

in behalf of the latter, such representative shall be entitled to

receive the per diem.

Article 18 Board Authorized to Collect Fees.

ART. 18. Board Authorized to Collect Fees. —The Board

shall have the power to impose and collect fees from workers and

employers concerned or both, the proceeds of which shall accrue to a

special fund to be used exclusively for the promotion of the objectives

of the Board.

Article 19 Board to Issue Rules and Regulations.

ART. 19. Board to Issue Rules and Regulations. —The

Board shall issue appropriate rules and regulations to carry out its

functions.

Article 20 National Seamen Board, Creation of.

ART. 20. National Seamen Board, Creation of. —

There is hereby created a body to be known as a National Seamen Board.

It shall:

Establish and maintain a comprehensive seamen training program;

Provide free placement services for seamen;

Obtain the best possible terms and conditions of

employment for seamen;

Secure full implementation of the employment contracts of

seamen; and

Maintain a complete registry of all seamen.

Article 21 Composition of National Seamen Board.

ART. 21. Composition of National Seamen Board. — The Board

shall be attached to the Department of Labor for policy and program

coordination and shall be composed of: the Secretary of Labor as

Chairman, the Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, and a

representative of each of the Department of Foreign Affairs, a national

seafarers organization and a national shipping association, as members.

The Chairman and all members of the Board shall each receive a per diem

of F100 for their attendance of every meeting of the Board: Provided,

That where the representative of the ex officio member attends

a meeting in behalf of the latter, such representative shall be

entitled to receive the per diem.

The Board shall be assisted by a Secretariat headed by an Executive

Director. The Executive Director and members of the Secretariat shall be

exempt from the provisions of laws, rules and regulations of the Wage

and Position Classification Office except clerical and janitorial

services.

The Executive Director shall be a Filipino citizen with sufficient

experience in manpower administration, including overseas employment

activities.

The Executive Director shall receive an annual salary of P24,000 and a

commutable representation and transportation allowance of P500 a month.

The Auditor General shall appoint his representative to the Board to

audit its accounts in accordance with auditing laws and pertinent rules

and regulations.

Article 22 Board Authorized to Collect Fees.

ART. 22. Board Authorized to Collect Fees. — The Board

shall have the power to impose and collect fees from workers and

employers concerned or both, the proceeds of which shall accrue to a

special fund to be used exclusively for the promotion of the objectives

of the Board.

Article 23 Board to Issue Rules and Regulations.

ART. 23. Board to Issue Rules and Regulations. — The Board

shall issue appropriate rules and regulations to carry out its

functions.

Article 24 Authority or License to Recruit.

ART. 24. Authority or License to Recruit. — No

.individual or entity may engage in the business of a private

fee-charging employment agency without first obtaining a license from

the Department of Labor.

No individual or entity may operate a private non-fee-charging

employment agency without first obtaining an authority from the

Department of Labor.

Article 25 Travel Agencies Prohibited to Recruit.

ART. 25. Travel Agencies Prohibited to Recruit. — Travel

agencies are prohibited from engaging in the business of recruitment and

placement of workers for overseas employment whether for profit or not.

The Secretary of Labor shall issue rules and regulations establishing

the requirements and the procedures for the issuance of a license or

authority.

Every existing authority or license to hire or recruit workers on the

date of effectivity of this Code shall remain valid for the duration

indicated therein unless sooner cancelled, revoked, or suspended for

cause by the Secretary of Labor. However, said authority or license to

hire or recruit may be renewed: Provided, That the holders

thereof shall comply with all applicable provisions of this Code and its

implementing rules and regulations.

Article 26 Citizenship Requirement.

ART. 26. Citizenship Requirement. — No license or

authority to recruit or hire workers shall be issued or renewed except

in favor of Filipino citizens or corporations, partnerships or entities

at least 60 percent of the authorized capital stock of which is owned

and/or controlled by Filipino citizens.

Article 27 Capitalization.

ART. 27. Capitalization. — All applicants for

license to recruit and currently licensed recruiters for overseas

employment are required to have a minimum capitalization or assets in

the amount of P150,000 in the case of private individuals and a paid-up

capital of P150,000 in the case of corporations, partnerships or other

entities.

Article 28 Nontransferability of License or Authority.

ART. 28. Nontransferability of License or Authority.

— No license or authority shall be issued directly or indirectly by any

person other than the one in whose favor it was issued at any place

other than that stated in the license or authority, nor may such license

or authority be transferred, conveyed or assigned to any other person

or entity. Any transfer of business address, appointment or designation

of any agent or representative including the establishment of additional

offices anywhere shall be subject to the prior approval of the

Department of Labor.

Article 29 License Fee.

ART. 29. License Fee. — Any private fee-charging

employment agency applying for license or renewal thereof under this

Code shall file a written application with the Secretary of Labor and

shall pay to the account of the Department of Labor an annual license

fee of P2,000 in the case of recruitment for local employment and P6,000

in the case of recruitment for overseas employment.

Article 30 Bond.

ART. 30. Bond. - Any private fee-charging

employment agency shall post a cash bond in the amount of P10,000 and a

surety bond in the amount of P50,000 if engaged in recruitment for

overseas employment; a cash bond in the amount of P5,000 and a surety

bond in the amount of P25,000 if engaged in the recruitment for local

employment, to guarantee compliance with prescribed recruitment

procedures, rules and regulations and terms and conditions of employment

as appropriate.

The Secretary of Labor shall have the exclusive power to determine,

decide, order, or direct payment from or application of the cash and

surety bond for any claim or injury covered and guaranteed by the bond.

Article 31 Allowable Fee.

ART. 31. Allowable Fee. — Any person applying with a

private fee-charging employment agency for employment assistance shall

not be charged any fee until he has obtained employment through its

efforts or has actually commenced employment. Such fee shall be always

covered with approved receipt clearly showing the amount paid. The

Secretary of Labor shall promulgate a schedule of allowable fees.

Article 32 Mandatory Remittance of Foreign Exchange Earnings.

ART. 32. Mandatory Remittance of Foreign Exchange

Earnings. — It shall be mandatory for all contract workers abroad to

remit a portion of their foreign exchange earnings to their families,

dependents, and/or beneficiaries in the country in accordance with rules

and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor in consultation

with the committee on mandatory remittance of foreign exchange earnings

established by the President under Letter of Instruction No. 90, dated

June 16, 1973.

Article 33 Prohibited Practices.

ART. 33. Prohibited Practices. — It shall be

unlawful for any individual, entity, licensee or holder of authority:

To charge or accept directly or indirectly any amount greater

than that specified in the schedule of allowable fees prescribed by the

Secretary of Labor, or to make a worker pay any amount greater than that

actually received by him as a loan or advance;

To furnish or publish any false notice or information or document

in relation to recruitment or employment;

To give any false notice, testimony, information or document or

commit any act of misrepresentation for the purpose of securing a

license or authority under this Code;

To induce or attempt to induce a worker already employed to quit

his employment in order to offer him to another unless the transfer is

designed to liberate a worker from oppressive terms and conditions of

employment;

To influence or attempt to influence any person or entity not to

employ any worker who has not applied for employment through his agency;

To engage in the recruitment or placement of workers in jobs

harmful to public health or morality or to the dignity of the Republic

of the Philippines;

To obstruct or attempt to obstruct inspection by the Secretary of

Labor or by his duly authorized representatives;

To fail to file reports on the status of employment, placement

vacancies, remittance of foreign exchange earnings, separation from

jobs, departures and such other matters or information as may be

required by the Secretary of Labor;

To substitute or alter employment contracts approved and verified

by the Department of Labor from the time of actual signing thereof by

the parties up to and

including the period of expiration of the same without the approval of

the Department of Labor;

To become officer or member of the board of any corporation

engaged in travel agency or to be engaged directly or indirectly in the

management of a travel agency; and

To withhold or deny travel documents from applicant workers before

departure for monetary or financial considerations other than those

authorized under this Code and its implementing rules and regulations.

Article 34 Suspension and/or Cancellation of License or Authority.

ART. 34. Suspension and/or Cancellation of License or

Authority. —The Secretary of Labor shall have the power to suspend

or cancel any license or authority to recruit employees for overseas

employment for violation of rules and regulations issued by the

Secretary of Labor, the Overseas Employment Development Board, and the

National Seamen Board, or for violations of the provisions of this and

other Presidential decrees, the Revised Penal Code, the Anti-Dummy Law,

general orders and letters of instruction.

Article 35 Foreign Service Role/Participation.

ART. 35. Foreign Service Role/Participation. — To provide

ample protection to Filipino workers abroad, Philippine labor attaches

or labor reporting officers duly designated by the Secretary of Labor

through the Department of Foreign Affairs or any Philippine diplomatic

or consular officials concerned shall, even without prior instruction or

advice from the home office:

Provide counselling assistance to all Filipino workers within their

jurisdiction on all matters arising out of employment;

Ensure that Filipino workers are not exploited and

discriminated against;

Gather and analyze available information on the employment

situation, and its probable trends and to make such information

available to the Department of Labor and the Department of Foreign

Affairs for dissemination to the public;

Make continuous and special researches/studies and

recommendations on the various aspects of the employment market within

their jurisdictional area; and

Perform such other duties as may be required of them from time

to time.

Article 36 Regulatory Powers.

ART. 36. Regulatory Powers. — (a) The Secretary of Labor

shall have the power to restrict and regulate the recruitment activities

of all agencies within the coverage of this Title and is hereby

authorized to issue orders and promulgate rules and regulations to carry

out the objectives and implement the provisions hereof.

Whenever the public interest so requires, the Secretary of Labor

may direct all persons or entities within the coverage of this Title to

submit a report on the status of employment, placement, vacancies,

details of job requisitions, separation from jobs, wages and other terms

and conditions of employment.

The Secretary of Labor or his duly authorized representatives

may at any time inspect the premises, books of accounts and records of

any person or entity covered by this Title, require it to submit reports

regularly on prescribed forms and to act on violations of any

provisions under this Title.

Article 37 Jurisdiction.

ART. 37. Jurisdiction.— (a) Any violation of the

provisions of this Title or its implementing rules and regulations as

promulgated by the Secretary of Labor shall fall

within the concurrent jurisdiction of the Military Tribunals and the

regular courts. The court that first assumes jurisdiction shall exclude

the other.

All matters or questions involving employer-employee relations,

including money claims arising from this Title, shall be under the

original and exclusive jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations

Commission.

Article 38 Penalty.

ART. 38. Penalty. — Persons who arc licensees or holders

of authority under the provisions of this Title found violating or

causing another to violate any provisions of this Title or of the rules

and regulations issued thereunder shall, upon conviction thereof, suffer

the penalty of imprisonment of not less than two (2) years nor more

than five (5) years or a fine of not less than P2,000 nor more than

P30,000 or both imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court;

while persons who are not licensees or holders of authority under this

Title found violating any provision of this Title shall upon conviction

therefor suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less than Four (4)

years but not more than eight (8) years or a fine of not less than

P5,000 nor more than P35,000 or both imprisonment and fine at the

discretion of the court.

In addition thereto such conviction shall cause the automatic

forfeiture of the bond — cash as well as surety — in favor of the

special fund for the promotion of the objectives of the Overseas

Employment Development Board or the National Seamen Board, as the case

may be, and also the automatic revocation of the license or authority

and all permits and privileges granted to such person or entity under

this Title: Provided, however, That if the offender is a

corporation, partnership, association, or entity, the penalty shall be

imposed upon the guilty officer or officers, as the case may be, of the

corporation, partnership, association or entity; and if such guilty

officer is an alien, in addition to the penalties herein prescribed, he

shall be deported without further proceedings.

Article 39 Employment Permit for Nonresident Aliens.

ART. 39. Employment Permit for Nonresident Aliens. — Any

alien seeking admission to the Philippines for employment purposes and

any domestic or foreign employer who desires to engage an alien for

employment in the Philippines shall obtain an employment permit from the

Department of Labor.

The employment permit may be issued to a nonresident alien or to the

applicant employer after a determination of the non-availability of a

person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing at the time

of application to perform the services for which the alien is desired.

For an enterprise registered in preferred areas of investments, said

employment permit may be issued upon recommendation of the government

agency charged with the supervision of said registered enterprise.

Article 40 Prohibition Against Transfer of Employment.

ART. 40. Prohibition Against Transfer of Employment. —

After the issuance of an employment permit, the alien shall not transfer

to another job or change his employer without prior approval of the

Secretary of Labor.

Article 41 Submission of List.

ART. 41. Submission of List. — Any employer

employing nonresident foreign nationals on the effective date of this

Code shall submit a list of such nationals to the Secretary of Labor

within thirty (30) days after such date indicating their names,

citizenship, foreign and local addresses, nature of employment and

status of stay in the country. The Secretary of Labor shall then

determine if they are entitled to an employment permit.

Article 42 Statement of Objective.

ART. 42. Statement of Objective. - It is the objective of

this Title to develop human resources, establish training institutions,

and formulate such plans and programs as will ensure efficient

allocation, development and utilization of the nation's manpower and

thereby promote employment and accelerate economic and social growth.

Article 43 Definition.

ART. 43. Definition. — As used in this Title (a)

"Manpower" shall mean that portion of the nation's population which has

actual or potential capability to contribute directly to the production

of goods and services; and

"Entrepreneurship" shall mean training

for self-employment or assisting individual or small industries within

the purview of this Title.

Article 44 National Manpower and Youth Council, Composition.

ART. 44. National Manpower and Youth Council, Composition.

- To carry out the objectives of this Title, the National Manpower and

Youth Council, which is attached to the Department of Labor for policy

and program coordination and hereinafter referred to as the Council,

shall be composed of the Secretary of Labor as ex officio chairman, the

Secretary of Education and Culture as ex officio vice-chairman, and us

ex officio members: the Director-General of the National Economic and

Development Authority; the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural

Resources; the Secretary of Social Welfare; the Secretary of Local

Government and Community Development; the Chairman of the National

Science Development Board; the Secretary of Industry and the Executive

Director of the Council. The Executive Director of the Council shall

have no vote.

In addition, the President shall appoint the following members from the

private sector: two representatives of national organizations of

employers; two representatives of national workers organizations; and

two from national family and youth organizations, each for a term of

three years.

All Council members shall be entitled to per diems of one hundred pesos

(P100) for each meeting and for not more than thirty {30) meetings

within one (1) year and payment of the travelling expenses incurred in

connection with their duties therein.

Article 45 National Manpower Plan.

ART. 45. National Manpower Plan. - The Council shall

formulate a long-term national manpower plan for the optimum allocation,

development and utilization of manpower for employment,

entrepreneurship and economic and social growth. This manpower plan

shall, after adoption by the Council, be updated annually and submitted

to the President for his approval. Thereafter, it shall be the

controlling plan £or the development of manpower resources for the

entire country in accordance with the national development plan. The

Council shall call upon any agency of the Government or the private

sector to assist in this effort.

Article 46 National Manpower Skills Center.

ART. 46. National Manpower Skills Center. — The

Council shall establish a National Manpower Skills Center and regional

and local training centers for the purpose of promoting the development

of skills. The centers shall be administered and operated under such

rules and regulations as may be established by the Council.

Article 47 Establishment and Formulation of Skills Standards.

ART. 47. Establishment and Formulation of Skills

Standards. — There shall be national skills standards for industry

trades to be established by the Council in consultation with employers

and workers organizations and appropriate government authorities. The

Council shall thereafter administer the national skills standards.

Article 48 Administration of Training Programs.

ART. 48. Administration of Training Programs. — The

Council shall provide through the Secretariat instructor training,

entrepreneurship development, training in vocations, trades and other

fields of employment, and assist any employer or organization in

training schemes designed to attain its objectives under rules and

regulations which the Council shall establish for this purpose.

The Council shall exercise, through the Secretariat, authority and

jurisdiction over, and administer, ongoing technical assistance programs

and/or grants-in-aid for manpower and youth development including those

which may be entered into between the Government of the Philippines and

international and foreign organizations and nations, as well as persons

and organizations in the Philippines.

In order to integrate the national manpower development effort, all

manpower training schemes as provided for in this Code shall be

coordinated with the Council particularly those having to do with the

setting of skills standards. For this purpose, existing manpower

training programs in the Government and in the private sector shall be

reported to the Council which may regulate such programs to make them

conform with national development programs.

This Article shall not include apprentices, learners and handicapped

workers as governed by appropriate provisions of this Code.

Article 49 Industry Boards.

ART. 49. Industry Boards. — The Council shall establish

industry boards to assist in the establishment of manpower development

schemes, trades and skills standards and such other functions as will

provide direct participation of employers and workers in the fulfillment

of the Council's objectives, in accordance with guidelines to be

established by the Council and in consultation with the National

Economic and Development Authority.

Article 50 Employment Service Training Functions.

ART. 50. Employment Service Training Functions. — The

Council shall utilize the employment service of the Department of Labor

for the placement of its graduates. The Bureau of Employment Services

shall render assistance to the Council in the measurement of

unemployment and underemployment, conduct of local manpower resource

surveys and occupational studies including an inventory of the labor

force, establishment and maintenance without charge of a national

register of technicians who have successfully completed a training

program under this Act, and skilled manpower including its periodic

publication, maintenance of an adequate and up-to-date system of

employment information.