ART 2

Section 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and
independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate
social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life
for all.
Section !. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.
Section . The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human
rights.
Section ". The State recogni#es the vital role of the youth in nation$%uilding and shall promote and
protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well$%eing. &t shall inculcate in the youth
patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in pu%lic and civic affairs.
Section '. The State recogni#es the role of women in nation$%uilding, and shall ensure the
fundamental equality %efore the law of women and men.
Section (. The State affirms la%or as a primary social economic force. &t shall protect the rights of
wor)ers and promote their welfare.
Section 2!. The State recogni#es the indispensa%le role of the private sector, encourages private
enterprise, and provides incentives to needed investments.
ART "
Section . *o person shall %e deprived of life, li%erty, or property without due process of law, nor shall
any person %e denied the equal protection of the laws.
Section '. *o law shall %e passed a%ridging the freedom of speech, of e+pression, or of the press, or the
right of the people peacea%ly to assem%le and petition the government for redress of grievances.
ection (. The right of the people, including those employed in the pu%lic and private sectors, to form
unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not %e a%ridged.
ART "
Section . The ,ongress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and
enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities,
and remove cultural inequities %y equita%ly diffusing wealth and political power for the common good.
To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of property and its
increments.
Section 2. The promotion of social justice shall include the commitment to create economic
opportunities %ased on freedom of initiative and self$reliance.
Section ". The State shall afford full protection to la%or, local and overseas, organi#ed and unorgani#ed,
and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.
&t shall guarantee the rights of all wor)ers to self$organi#ation, collective %argaining and negotiations,
and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to stri)e in accordance with law. They shall %e
entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of wor), and a living wage. They shall also participate
in policy and decision$ma)ing processes affecting their rights and %enefits as may %e provided %y law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared responsi%ility %etween wor)ers and employers and the
preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their
mutual compliance therewith to foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations %etween wor)ers and employers, recogni#ing the right of la%or to
its just share in the fruits of production and the right of enterprises to reasona%le returns to investments,
and to e+pansion and growth.
Section '. The State shall protect wor)ing women %y providing safe and healthful wor)ing conditions,
ta)ing into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and opportunities that will enhance
their welfare and ena%le them to reali#e their full potential in the service of the nation.
-A./R ,/01
ART&,-1 . *ame of 0ecree. $ This 0ecree shall %e )nown as the 2-a%or ,ode of the 3hilippines.4
ART&,-1 2. 0ate of effectivity. $ This ,ode shall ta)e effect si+ 567 months after its promulgation.
ART&,-1 ". 0eclaration of %asic policy. $ The State shall afford protection to la%or, promote full
employment, ensure equal wor) opportunities regardless of se+, race or creed and regulate the
relations %etween wor)ers and employers. The State shall assure the rights of wor)ers to self$
organi#ation, collective %argaining, security of tenure, and just and humane conditions of wor).
ART&,-1 '. ,onstruction in favor of la%or. $ All dou%ts in the implementation and interpretation of the
provisions of this ,ode, including its implementing rules and regulations, shall %e resolved in favor of
la%or.
ART&,-1 8. Rules and regulations. $ The 0epartment of -a%or and other government agencies charged
with the administration and enforcement of this ,ode or any of its parts shall promulgate the necessary
implementing rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations shall %ecome effective fifteen 587 days
after announcement of their adoption in newspapers of general circulation.
ART&,-1 6. Applica%ility. $ All rights and %enefits granted to wor)ers under this ,ode shall, e+cept as
may otherwise %e provided herein, apply ali)e to all wor)ers, whether agricultural or non$agricultural.
5As amended %y 3residential 0ecree *o. 89!$A, *ovem%er , 99'7.
01:&*&T&/*S
99 a7 23erson4 means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, %usiness trust,legal
representative, or any organi#ed group of persons.
5%7 21mployer4 includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in
relation to an employee and shall include the government and all its %ranches, su%divisions and
instrumentalities, all government$owned or controlled corporations and institutions, as well as non$
profit private institutions, or organi#ations.
5c7 21mployee4 includes any individual employed %y an employer.
69 5f7 21mployer4 means any person, natural or juridical, employing the services of the employee.
22 5e7 21mployer4 includes any person acting in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly. The
term shall not include any la%or organi#ation or any of its officers or agents e+cept when acting as
employer.
5f721mployee4 includes any person in the employ of an employer. The term shall not %e limited to the
employees of a particular employer, unless the ,ode so e+plicitly states. &t shall include any individual
whose wor) has ceased as a result of or in connection with any current la%or dispute or %ecause of any
unfair la%or practice if he has not o%tained any other su%stantially equivalent and regular employment.
,han
ART&,-1 !6. ,ontractor or su%contractor. $ ;henever an employer enters into a contract with
another person for the performance of the former<s wor), the employees of the contractor and of the
latter<s su%contractor, if any, shall %e paid in accordance with the provisions of this ,ode.
&n the event that the contractor or su%contractor fails to pay the wages of his employees in accordance
with this ,ode, the employer shall %e jointly and severally lia%le with his contractor or su%contractor to
such employees to the e+tent of the wor) performed under the contract, in the same manner and e+tent
that he is lia%le to employees directly employed %y him.
The Secretary of -a%or and 1mployment may, %y appropriate regulations, restrict or prohi%it the
contracting$out of la%or to protect the rights of wor)ers esta%lished under this ,ode. &n so prohi%iting
or restricting, he may ma)e appropriate distinctions %etween la%or$only contracting and jo% contracting
as well as differentiations within these types of contracting and determine who among the parties
involved shall %e considered the employer for purposes of this ,ode, to prevent any violation or
circumvention of any provision of this ,ode.
There is 2la%or$only4 contracting where the person supplying wor)ers to an employer does not have
su%stantial capital or investment in the form of tools, equipment, machineries, wor) premises, among
others, and the wor)ers recruited and placed %y such person are performing activities which are directly
related to the principal %usiness of such employer. &n such cases, the person or intermediary shall %e
considered merely as an agent of the employer who shall %e responsi%le to the wor)ers in the same
manner and e+tent as if the latter were directly employed %y him.
ART&,-1 !9. &ndirect employer. $ The provisions of the immediately preceding article shall li)ewise
apply to any person, partnership, association or corporation which, not %eing an employer, contracts
with an independent contractor for the performance of any wor), tas), jo% or project.
ART&,-1 299. Security of tenure. $ &n cases of regular employment, the employer shall not terminate
the services of an employee e+cept for a just cause or when authori#ed %y this Title. An employee who
is unjustly dismissed from wor) shall %e entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and
other privileges and to his full %ac)wages, inclusive of allowances, and to his other %enefits or their
monetary equivalent computed from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time
of his actual reinstatement. 5As amended %y Section "', Repu%lic Act *o. 698, =arch 2, 9(97.
ART&,-1 2(!. Regular and casual employment. $ The provisions of written agreement to the contrary
notwithstanding and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an employment shall %e deemed to
%e regular where the employee has %een engaged to perform activities which are usually necessary or
desira%le in the usual %usiness or trade of the employer, e+cept where the employment has %een fi+ed
for a specific project or underta)ing the completion or termination of which has %een determined at the
time of the engagement of the employee or where the wor) or service to %e performed is seasonal in
nature and the employment is for the duration of the season.
An employment shall %e deemed to %e casual if it is not covered %y the preceding paragraph> 3rovided,
That any employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such service is continuous or
%ro)en, shall %e considered a regular employee with respect to the activity in which he is employed and
his employment shall continue while such activity e+ists.
ART&,-1 2(. 3ro%ationary employment. $ 3ro%ationary employment shall not e+ceed si+ 567
months from the date the employee started wor)ing, unless it is covered %y an apprenticeship
agreement stipulating a longer period. The services of an employee who has %een engaged on a
pro%ationary %asis may %e terminated for a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a regular employee
in accordance with reasona%le standards made )nown %y the employer to the employee at the time of
his engagement. An employee who is allowed to wor) after a pro%ationary period shall %e considered a
regular employee.