Presidential Decree No. 891 (PD 891) — Further Amending Title II, Book Four on "Employees Compensation and State Insurance Fund" of Presidential Decree No. 442 Entitled "Labor Code of the Philippines"
WHEREAS, PD 442, as amended, otherwise known as "Labor Code
of the Philippines," has integrated social security, medicare, workmen's
compensation and other social security benefits to eliminate
redundancy, duplication and overlap of similar benefits administered by
several agencies of the Government;
WHEREAS, the national policy is to grant promptly adequate
and meaningful benefits for employment-related disabilities and death;
WHEREAS, Section 21 of Presidential Decree No. 850 has
amended Article 193 of the Labor Code of the Philippines by allowing, as
an alternative to a straight monthly pension, 50% lump sum of the
5-year guaranteed pension;
WHEREAS, a lump sum payment under the present rate of
contributions is not actuarially feasible and will seriously endanger
the financial viability of the State Insurance Fund administered by the
SSS and the GSIS;
WHEREAS, a reasonable increase in income benefits is
financially viable; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to harmonize, simplify and
correlate the provisions of the Labor Code of the Philippines with the
other provisions thereof to reflect the spirit and intent of this
amendment;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution,
do hereby order and decree:
SECTION 1. Paragraph (y) and (z) of Article. 166
are hereby amended, and paragraph (ab) is added thereto, to read as
follows:
"(y) 'Average monthly salary credit' in the case of the SSS
means the result obtained by dividing the sum of the monthly salary
credits in the sixty-month period immediately preceding the semester of
death or permanent disability by sixty, except where the month of death
or permanent disability falls within eighteen calendar months from month
of coverage, in which case it is the result obtained by dividing the
sum of all monthly salary credits paid prior to the month of the
contingency by the total number of calendar months of coverage in the
same period. In the case of the GS1S, the average monthly salary credit
shall be the monthly salary or wage of the employee on the month of
contingency.
"(z) 'Average daily salary credit' in the case of the SSS mean
the result obtained by dividing the sum of the six highest monthly
salary credits in the twelve-month period immediately preceding the
semester of sickness or injury by one hundred eighty, except where the
month of injury falls within twelve calendar months from the first month
of coverage, in which case it is the result obtained by dividing the
sum of all monthly salary credits by thirty times the number of calendar
months of coverage in the same period.
"In the case of the GSIS, the average daily salary credit shall
be the actual daily salary or wage, or the monthly salary or wage
divided by the actual number of working days in the month of
contingency.
"(ab) 'Semester' means a period of two consecutive quarters
ending in the quarter of death, permanent disability, injury or
sickness."
SEC. 2. Paragraph (a) of Article 190 of the Labor Code is
hereby amended to read as follows:
"(a) Under such regulations as the Commission may approve, any
employee under this Title who sustains an injury or contracts sickness
resulting in temporary total disability shall for each day of such
disability or fraction thereof be paid by the System an income benefit
equivalent to ninety percent of his average daily salary credit, subject
to the following conditions: the daily income benefit shall not be less
than two pesos and fifty centavos nor more than sixteen pesos nor paid
for a continuous period longer than one hundred twenty days, and the
System shall be notified of the injury or sickness."
SEC. 3. Paragraph (a) of Article 191 of the Labor Code is
hereby amended to read as follows:
"(a) Under such regulations as the Commission may approve, any
employee under this Title who contracts sickness or sustains, an injury
resulting in permanent total disability shall, for each month until his
death but not exceeding five years, be paid by the System during such
disability an income benefit equivalent to one hundred fifteen percent
of the basic benefit, which shall be computed as follows:
"Forty-five percent of the first three hundred pesos of
average monthly salary credit or fraction thereof; plus
"Twenty-five percent of the next three hundred pesos of
average monthly salary credit or fraction thereof; plus
"Nine percent of each succeeding one hundred pesos of average
monthly salary credit or fraction thereof; plus
"One-tenth of one percent of the average monthly salary credit
for each month of paid coverage in the System in excess of one hundred
twenty months of paid coverage prior to the semester of disability: Provided,
That the monthly income benefit shall not be less than forty-five
pesos."
SEC. 4. Article 193 of the Labor Code is hereby amended to
read as follows:
"ART. 193. Death.—(a) Under such regulations as the Commission
may approve, the System shall pay to the primary beneficiaries upon the
death of the covered employee under this Title a monthly income benefit
equivalent to the monthly income benefit for permanent total disability
plus ten percent of the basic benefit for each dependent child but not
exceeding five, beginning with the youngest and without substitution: Provided,
That the monthly income benefit shall not bo paid for more than five
years, but the portion corresponding to the monthly income benefit for
permanent total disability shall be guaranteed for five years: Provided,
however, That total payments shall in no case exceed twelve
thousand pesos: Provided, further, That if he has no primary
beneficiary, the System shall pay to his secondary beneficiaries a lump
sum benefit equivalent to the lesser of thirty-five times the monthly
income benefit for permanent total disability and six thousand pesos.
"(b) Under such regulations as the Commission may approve, the
System shall pay to the primary beneficiaries upon the death of a
covered employee who is under permanent total disability under this
Title his monthly income benefit plus ten percent of the basic benefit
for each dependent child but not exceeding five, beginning with the
youngest and without substitution: Provided, That the monthly
income benefit shall not be paid longer than the remaining guaranteed
period, nor total payments since disability exceed twelve thousand
pesos: Provided, further, That if he has no primary beneficiary,
the System shall pay to his secondary beneficiaries a lump sum benefit
equivalent to the balance of his income benefit but not to exceed the
lesser of thirty-five times his monthly income benefit and six
thousand pesos."
SEC. 5. This Decree shall form part of the Labor Code of
the Philippines.
SEC. 6. All provisions of existing laws, orders,
decrees, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby
repealed.
This Decree shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 9th day of February, in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred seventy-six.
(Sgd.)
FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President
Republic of the Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.)
JUAN C. TUVERA
Presidential Assistant
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
