RULE XII Employment of Women and Minors SECTION 1. General statement on coverage.

This Rule shall apply to all employers, whether operating for profit or not, including educational, religious and charitable institutions, except to the Government and to government-owned or controlled corporations and to employers of household helpers and persons in their personal service insofar as such workers are concerned. SECTION 2. Employable age. Children below fifteen (15) years of age may be allowed to work under the direct responsibility of their parents or guardians in any non-hazardous undertaking where the work will not in any way interfere with their schooling. In such cases, the children shall not be considered as employees of the employers or their parents or guardians. SECTION 3. Eligibility for employment. Any person of either sex, between 15 and 18 years of age, may be employed in any non-hazardous work. No employer shall discriminate against such person in regard to terms and conditions of employment on account of his age. For purposes of this Rule, a non-hazardous work or undertaking shall mean any work or activity in which the employee is not exposed to any risk which constitutes an imminent danger to his safety and health. The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall from time to time publish a list of hazardous work and activities in which persons 18 years of age and below cannot be employed. SECTION 4. Status of women workers in certain work places. Any woman who is permitted or suffered to work with or without compensation, in any night club, cocktail lounge, beer house, massage clinic, bar or similar establishments, under the effective control or supervision of the employer for a substantial period of time as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, shall be considered as an employee of such establishments for purposes of labor and social legislation. No employer shall discriminate against such employees or in any manner reduce whatever benefits they are now enjoying by reason of the provisions of this Section. SECTION 5. Night work of women employees. Any woman employed in any industrial undertaking may be allowed to work beyond 10:00 o'clock at night, or beyond 12:00 o'clock midnight in the case of women employees of commercial or non-industrial enterprises, in any of the following cases: (a) In cases of actual or impending emergencies caused by serious accident, fire, flood, typhoon,

earthquakes, epidemic or other disaster or calamity, to prevent loss of life or property or in cases of force majeure or imminent danger to public safety; (b) In case of urgent work to be performed on machineries, equipment or installation, to avoid serious loss which the employer would otherwise suffer; (c) Where the work is necessary to prevent serious loss of perishable goods; (d) Where the woman employee holds a responsible position of a managerial or technical nature, or where the woman employee has been engaged to provide health and welfare services; (e) Where the nature of the work requires the manual skill and dexterity of women and the same cannot be performed with equal efficiency by male workers or where the employment of women is the established practice in the enterprises concerned on the date these Rules become effective; and (f) Where the women employees are immediate members of the family operating the establishment or undertaking. The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall from time to time determine cases analogous to the foregoing for purposes of this Section. SECTION 6. Agricultural work. No woman, regardless of age, shall be permitted or suffered to work, with or without compensation, in any agricultural undertaking at night time unless she is given a rest period of not less than nine (9) consecutive hours, subject to the provisions of Section 5 of this Rule. SECTION 7. Maternity leave benefits. Every employer shall grant to a pregnant woman employee who has rendered an aggregate service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12) months immediately preceding the expected date of delivery, or the complete abortion or miscarriage, maternity leave of at least two (2) weeks before and four (4) weeks after the delivery, miscarriage or abortion, with full pay based on her regular or average weekly wages. SECTION 8. Accreditation of leave credits. Where the pregnant woman employee fails to avail of the two-week pre-delivery leave, or any portion thereof, the same shall be added to her post-delivery leave with pay. SECTION 9. Payment of extended maternity leave. When so requested by the woman employee, the extension of her maternity leave beyond the fourweek post-delivery leave shall be paid by the employer from her unused vacation and/or sick leave

credits, if any, or allowed without pay in the absence of such leave credits, where the extended leave is due to illness medically certified to arise out of her pregnancy, delivery, complete abortion or miscarriage which renders her unfit for work. SECTION 10. Limitation on leave benefits. The maternity benefits provided herein shall be paid by an employer only for the first four (4) deliveries, miscarriages, and/or complete abortions of the employee from March 13, 1973, regardless of the number of employees and deliveries, complete abortions or miscarriages the woman employee had before said date. For purposes of determining the entitlement of a woman employee to the maternity leave benefits as delimited herein, the total number of her deliveries, complete abortions, or miscarriages after said date shall be considered regardless of the identity or number of employers she has had at the time of such determination, provided that she enjoyed the minimum benefits therefor as provided in these regulations. SECTION 11. Family planning services. Employers who habitually employ more than two hundred (200) workers in any locality shall provide free family-planning services to their employees and their spouses which shall include but not limited to, the application or use of contraceptives. Subject to the approval of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, the Bureau of Women and Young Workers shall, within thirty (30) days from the effective date of these Rules, prescribe the minimum requirements of family planning services to be given by employers to their employees. SECTION 12. Relation to agreements. Nothing herein shall prevent the employer and his employees or their representatives from entering into any agreement with terms more favorable to the employees than those provided herein, or be used to diminish any benefit granted to the employees under existing laws, agreements, and voluntary employer practices. SECTION 13. Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful for any employer: (a) To discharge any woman employed by him for the purpose of preventing such woman from enjoying the maternity leave, facilities and other benefits provided under the Code; (b) To discharge such woman employee on account of her pregnancy, or while on leave or in confinement due to her pregnancy; (c) To discharge or refuse the admission of such woman upon returning to her work for fear that she may be pregnant;

(d) To discharge any woman or child or any other employee for having filed a complaint or having testified or being about to testify under the Code; and (e) To require as a condition for a continuation of employment that a woman employee shall not get married or to stipulate expressly or tacitly that upon getting married, a woman employee shall be deemed resigned or separated, or to actually dismiss, discharge, discriminate or otherwise prejudice a woman employee merely by reason of her marriage. SECTION 14. Facilities for woman employees. Subject to the approval of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, the Bureau of Women and Young Workers shall, within thirty (30) days from the effective date of these Rules, determine in an appropriate issuance the work situations for which the facilities enumerated in Article 131 of the Code shall be provided, as well as the appropriate minimum age and other standards for retirement or termination of employment in special occupations in which women are employed. RA 9710 Section 4. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean: (k) "Violence Against Women" refers to any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. It shall be understood to encompass, but not limited to, the following: (1) Physical, sexual, psychological, and economic violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence, and violence related to exploitation; (2) Physical, sexual, and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women, and prostitution; and (3) Physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

It also includes acts of violence against women as defused in Republic Acts No. 9208 and 9262. Section 13. Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in Education, Scholarships, and Training. - (a) The State shall ensure that gender stereotypes and images in educational materials and curricula are adequately and appropriately revised. Gender-sensitive language shall be used at all times. Capacity-building on gender and development (GAD), peace and human rights, education for teachers, and all those involved in the education sector shall be pursued toward this end. Partnerships between and among players of the education sector, including the private sector, churches, and faith groups shall be encouraged. (b) Enrollment of women in nontraditional skills training in vocational and tertiary levels shall be encouraged. (c) Expulsion and non-readmission of women faculty due to pregnant;- outside of marriage shall be outlawed. No school shall turn out or refuse admission to a female student solely on the account of her having contracted pregnancy outside of marriage during her term in school. Section 17. Women's Right to Health. - (a) Comprehensive Health Services. - The State shall, at all times, provide for a comprehensive, culturesensitive, and gender-responsive health services and programs covering all stages of a woman's life cycle and which addresses the major causes of women's mortality and morbidity: Provided, That in the provision for comprehensive health services, due respect shall be accorded to women's religious convictions, the rights of the spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions, and the demands of responsible parenthood, and the right of women to protection from hazardous drugs, devices, interventions, and substances. Access to the following services shall be ensured: (8) In cases of violence against women and children, women and children victims and survivors shall be provided with comprehensive health services that include psychosocial Section 18. Special Leave Benefits for Women. - A woman employee having rendered continuous aggregate employment service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12) months shall be entitled to a special leave benefit of two (2) months with full pay based on her gross monthly compensation following surgery caused by gynecological disorders.

Section 22. Right to Decent Work. - The State shall progressively realize and ensure decent work standards for women that involve the creation of jobs of acceptable quality in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity. (a) Decent work involves opportunities for work that are productive and fairly remunerative as family living wage, security in the workplace, and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns organize, participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. (b) The State shall further ensure: (1) Support services and gears to protect them from occupational and health hazards taking into account women's maternal functions; (2) Support services that will enable women to balance their family obligations and work responsibilities including, but not limited to, the establishment of day care centers and breast-feeding stations at the workplace, and providing maternity leave pursuant to the Labor Code and other pertinent laws; (3) Membership in unions regardless of status of employment and place of employment; and (4) Respect for the observance of indigenous peoples' cultural practices even in the workplace. (c) In recognition of the temporary nature of overseas work, the State shall exert all efforts to address the causes of out-migration by developing local employment and other economic opportunities for women and by introducing measures to curb violence and forced and involuntary displacement of local women. The State shall ensure the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of migrant women regardless of their work status, and protect them against discrimination in wages, conditions of work, and employment opportunities in host countries. RA 9710 IMPLEMENTING RULES

RULE II SEC. 7 T. Special leave benefits for women refers to a female employees leave entitlement of two (2) months with full pay from her employer based on her gross monthly compensation following surgery caused by gynecological disorders, provided that she has rendered continuous aggregate employment service of at least six months for the last 12 months; RULE IV SEC 21. Special Leave Benefits for Women A. Any female employee in the public and private sector regardless of age and civil status shall be entitled to a special leave of two months with full pay based on her gross monthly compensation subject to existing laws, rules and regulations due to surgery caused by gynecological disorders under such terms and conditions: 1. She has rendered at least six months continuous aggregate employment service for the last 12 months prior to surgery; 2. In the event that an extended leave is necessary, the female employee may use her earned leave credits; and 3. This special leave shall be non-cumulative and nonconvertible to cash. B. The CSC, in the case of the public sector including LGUs and other State agencies, and the DOLE, in the case of the private sector, shall issue further guidelines and appropriate memorandum circulars within sixty (60) days from the adoption of these Rules and Regulations to operationalize said policy, and monitor its implementation and act on any violations thereof. SECTION 18. Women in the Military, Police and Other Similar Services The State shall pursue appropriate measures to liminate discrimination of women in the military, police, and other similar services, including revising or abolishing olicies and practices that restrict women from availing of both combat and non-combat training that are open to men, or from taking on functions other than administrative tasks, such as engaging in combat, security-related, or field operations. Women in the military shall be accorded the same promotional privileges and opportunities as men, including pay increases, additional remunerations and benefits, and awards based on their competency and quality of

performance. They shall not be subjected to harassment and violence, including verbal and sexual abuses in all stages of their recruitment, training and service. Towards this end, the State shall ensure that the personal dignity of women shall always be respected. Women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be provided with the same right to employment as men on equal conditions. Equally, they shall be accorded the same capacity as men to act in and enter into contracts, including marriage. Further, women in the military, police, and other similar services shall be entitled to leave benefits such as maternity leave, as provided for by existing laws. For this purpose: A. The DND, DILG, DOJ and LGUs shall: 9. Ensure the rights of women in the military, police and similar services to decent facilities and personal protective equipment: a. Provide decent billet facilities and quartering, separate from the men, in the military police and similar services, regardless of the location or type of assignment; b. Establish a child-care facility, child-minding room or breastfeeding room for women in the military, police and similar services as well as for women civilian employees; and c. Provide women in the military, police and similar services with well-fitting personal protective equipment and other operational equipment that shall ensure their safety while in the performance of their duties; SECTION 20. Women's Right to Health The State shall, at all times, provide for comprehensive, culture-sensitive, and gender-responsive health services and programs covering all stages of a woman's life cycle and which address the major causes of women's mortality and morbidity: Provided, that in the provision for comprehensive health services, due respect shall be accorded to women's religious convictions, the rights of the spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions, the demands of responsible parenthood, and the right of women to protection from hazardous drugs, devices, interventions, and substances. In order to eliminate discrimination against women, the State shall develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy consisting of health programs, services and information for promoting

womens right to health throughout their lifespan. The strategy shall have as a major goal the reduction of womens health risks, particularly those resulting from complications of pregnancy and childbirth as well as gender-based violence. It shall remove all barriers interfering with womens access to health services and information and protect women from the impact of cultural practices and norms that deny them of their full rights to health. It shall include interventions aimed at the prevention and treatment of diseases affecting women, as well as policies to provide and enable access to a full range of high quality and affordable health care services. A. Comprehensive Health Services - Access to the following programs and services shall be ensured: 3. Responsible, ethical, legal, safe, and effective methods of family planning; SECTION 25. Right to Decent Work The State shall progressively realize and ensure decent work standards for women that involve the creation of jobs of acceptable quality in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity. A. The DOLE in the case of private sector and the CSC in the case of public sector shall: 2. Together with other concerned agencies ensure the provision of support services and gears to protect women from occupational and health hazards taking into account womens maternal functions. Further: a. Women workers shall be protected against safety and health hazards, including, but not limited to, exposure to hazardous chemicals, infections, conditions leading to musculoskeletal disorders, work environment leading to noise-induces hearing loss, and exposure to radiation and psychological stressors. b. By reason of the hazardous nature of work that may cause injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body, every employer shall provide their women employees with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent injury or impairment in any part of their bodies as well as ensure proper maintenance of the PPE used in the workplace. c. The DOLE, through its concerned agencies, shall make available occupational safety and health (OSH)- related programs and services to women workers in the formal and informal sectors. These

include, but are not limited to, the conduct of OSH orientations and trainings, medical surveillance and research, screening tests for reproductive tract diseases, provisions for technical support/advice, and development of information, education and communication materials. 3. Work closely with both the employers and unions or worker representatives, in the private sector in promoting a safe and healthy workplace. Further: a. Employers both in the public and private sectors shall provide services in support to balancing family obligations and work responsibilities. These include family health services but not limited to: day care and child minding centers, breastfeeding or lactation stations with appropriate facilities and corresponding nursing/lactation breaks, health education, counseling on breastfeeding, seminars on responsible parenthood and family planning, non-sexist childrearing, shared parenting and family responsibility, annual family day, flexible work arrangements, and anti-sexual harassment initiatives. Compliance by government agencies and private employers shall be monitored by the CSC and DOLE, respectively. In establishing facilities as required by law, the LGUs shall make compliance thereof a pre-requisite in the grant of any form of building and business permit. b. In the exercise of their labor rights, women workers are free to exercise their right to selforganization and are encouraged to form unions and join associations. The DOLE and CSC shall ensure that such rights are respected regardless of the workers status and place of employment. DOLE and CSC shall also support programs that will encourage women to develop their leadership skills to accelerate their qualifications in positions of leadership. c. Employees who are members of indigenous communities shall be allowed to observe their cultural practices in the workplace provided that the employer is notified by the applicant or employee about the cultural practice/s that she needs to observe and the cultural practice/s will neither hamper work efficiency of the employee nor be prejudicial to the operation of the workplace. LABOR CODE PROVISIONS Art. 132. Facilities for women. The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall establish standards that will ensure the safety and health of women employees. In appropriate cases, he shall, by regulations, require any employer to:

Provide seats proper for women and permit them to use such seats when they are free from work and during working hours, provided they can perform their duties in this position without detriment to efficiency; To establish separate toilet rooms and lavatories for men and women and provide at least a dressing room for women; To establish a nursery in a workplace for the benefit of the women employees therein; and To determine appropriate minimum age and other standards for retirement or termination in special occupations such as those of flight attendants and the like. Art. 133. Maternity leave benefits. Every employer shall grant to any pregnant woman employee who has rendered an aggregate service of at least six (6) months for the last twelve (12) months, maternity leave of at least two (2) weeks prior to the expected date of delivery and another four (4) weeks after normal delivery or abortion with full pay based on her regular or average weekly wages. The employer may require from any woman employee applying for maternity leave the production of a medical certificate stating that delivery will probably take place within two weeks. The maternity leave shall be extended without pay on account of illness medically certified to arise out of the pregnancy, delivery, abortion or miscarriage, which renders the woman unfit for work, unless she has earned unused leave credits from which such extended leave may be charged. The maternity leave provided in this Article shall be paid by the employer only for the first four (4) deliveries by a woman employee after the effectivity of this Code. Art. 134. Family planning services; incentives for family planning. Establishments which are required by law to maintain a clinic or infirmary shall provide free family planning services to their employees which

shall include, but not be limited to, the application or use of contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices. In coordination with other agencies of the government engaged in the promotion of family planning, the Department of Labor and Employment shall develop and prescribe incentive bonus schemes to encourage family planning among female workers in any establishment or enterprise. Art. 135. Discrimination prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any employer to discriminate against any woman employee with respect to terms and conditions of employment solely on account of her sex. The following are acts of discrimination: Payment of a lesser compensation, including wage, salary or other form of remuneration and fringe benefits, to a female employees as against a male employee, for work of equal value; and Favoring a male employee over a female employee with respect to promotion, training opportunities, study and scholarship grants solely on account of their sexes. Criminal liability for the willful commission of any unlawful act as provided in this Article or any violation of the rules and regulations issued pursuant to Section 2 hereof shall be penalized as provided in Articles 288 and 289 of this Code: Provided, That the institution of any criminal action under this provision shall not bar the aggrieved employee from filing an entirely separate and distinct action for money claims, which may include claims for damages and other affirmative reliefs. The actions hereby authorized shall proceed independently of each other. (As amended by Republic Act No. 6725, May 12, 1989) Art. 136. Stipulation against marriage. It shall be unlawful for an employer to require as a condition of employment or continuation of employment that a woman employee shall not get married, or to stipulate expressly or tacitly that upon getting married, a woman employee shall be deemed resigned or separated, or to actually dismiss, discharge, discriminate or otherwise prejudice a woman employee merely by reason of her marriage.

Art. 137. Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful for any employer: (a) To deny any woman employee the benefits provided for in this Chapter or to discharge any woman employed by him for the purpose of preventing her from enjoying any of the benefits provided under this Code. (b) To discharge such woman on account of her pregnancy, or while on leave or in confinement due to her pregnancy; (c) To discharge or refuse the admission of such woman upon returning to her work for fear that she may again be pregnant. Art. 138. Classification of certain women workers. Any woman who is permitted or suffered to work, with or without compensation, in any night club, cocktail lounge, massage clinic, bar or similar establishments under the effective control or supervision of the employer for a substantial period of time as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, shall be considered as an employee of such establishment for purposes of labor and social legislation. RA 8282 "SEC. 14-A. Maternity Leave Benefit. - A female member who has paid at least three (3) monthly contributions in the twelve-month period immediately preceding the semester of her childbirth or miscarriage shall be paid a daily maternity benefit equivalent to one hundred percent (100%) of her average daily salary credit for sixty (60) days or seventy-eight (78) days in case of caesarian delivery, subject to the following conditions: "(a) That the employee shall have notified her employer of her pregnancy and the probable date of her childbirth, which notice shall be transmitted to the SSS in accordance with the rules and regulations it may provide; "(b) The full payment shall be advanced by the employer within thirty (30) days from the filing of the maternity leave application; "(c) That payment of daily maternity benefits shall be a bar to the recovery of sickness benefits Provided by this Act for the same period for which daily maternity benefits have been received;

"(d) That the maternity benefits Provided under this section shall be paid only for the first four (4) deliveries or miscarriages; "(e) That the SSS shall immediately reimburse the employer of one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of maternity benefits advanced to the employee by the employer upon receipt of satisfactory proof of such payment and legality thereof; and "(f) That if an employee member should give birth or suffer miscarriage without the required contributions having been remitted for her by her employer to the SSS, or without the latter having been previously notified by the employer of the time of the pregnancy, the employer shall pay to the SSS damages equivalent to the benefits which said employee member would otherwise have been entitled to. RA 9262 SECTION 3. Definition of Terms.- As used in this Act, (a) "Violence against women and their children" refers to any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. It includes, but is not limited to, the following acts: A. "Physical Violence" refers to acts that include bodily or physical harm; B. "Sexual violence" refers to an act which is sexual in nature, committed against a woman or her child. It includes, but is not limited to: a) rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating a woman or her child as a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks,

physically attacking the sexual parts of the victim's body, forcing her/him to watch obscene publications and indecent shows or forcing the woman or her child to do indecent acts and/or make films thereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in the conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser; b) acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm or coercion; c) Prostituting the woman or child. C. "Psychological violence" refers to acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim such as but not limited to intimidation, harassment, stalking, damage to property, public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal abuse and mental infidelity. It includes causing or allowing the victim to witness the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a member of the family to which the victim belongs, or to witness pornography in any form or to witness abusive injury to pets or to unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the right to custody and/or visitation of common children. D. "Economic abuse" refers to acts that make or attempt to make a woman financially dependent which includes, but is not limited to the following: 1. withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity, except in cases wherein the other spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds as defined in Article 73 of the Family Code; 2. deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources and the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal, community or property owned in common; 3. destroying household property; 4. controlling the victims' own money or properties or solely controlling the conjugal money or properties.

(b) "Battery" refers to an act of inflicting physical harm upon the woman or her child resulting to the physical and psychological or emotional distress. (c) "Battered Woman Syndrome" refers to a scientifically defined pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in battering relationships as a result of cumulative abuse. (d) "Stalking" refers to an intentional act committed by a person who, knowingly and without lawful justification follows the woman or her child or places the woman or her child under surveillance directly or indirectly or a combination thereof. (e) "Dating relationship" refers to a situation wherein the parties live as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or are romantically involved over time and on a continuing basis during the course of the relationship. A casual acquaintance or ordinary socialization between two individuals in a business or social context is not a dating relationship. (f) "Sexual relations" refers to a single sexual act which may or may not result in the bearing of a common child. (g) "Safe place or shelter" refers to any home or institution maintained or managed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or by any other agency or voluntary organization accredited by the DSWD for the purposes of this Act or any other suitable place the resident of which is willing temporarily to receive the victim. (h) "Children" refers to those below eighteen (18) years of age or older but are incapable of taking care of themselves as defined under Republic Act No. 7610. As used in this Act, it includes the biological children of the victim and other children under her care. SECTION 43. Entitled to Leave. Victims under this Act shall be entitled to take a paid leave of absence up to ten (10) days in addition to other paid leaves under the Labor Code and Civil Service Rules and Regulations, extendible when the necessity arises as specified in the protection order.

Any employer who shall prejudice the right of the person under this section shall be penalized in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code and Civil Service Rules and Regulations. Likewise, an employer who shall prejudice any person for assisting a co-employee who is a victim under this Act shall likewise be liable for discrimination. Rule VI Mandatory Programs, Services And Entitlements For VAWC Victim-Survivors And Perpetrators Section 42. Ten-day paid leave in addition to other leave benefits. - At any time during the application of any protection order, investigation, prosecution and/or trial of the criminal case, a victim of VAWC who is employed shall be entitled to a paid leave of up to ten (10) days in addition to other paid leaves under the Labor Code and Civil Service Rules and Regulations and other existing laws and company policies, extendible when the necessity arises as specified in the protection order. The Punong Barangay/kagawad or prosecutor or the Clerk of Court, as the case may be, shall issue a certification at no cost to the woman that such an action is pending, and this is all that is required for the employer to comply with the 10-day paid leave. For government employees, in addition to the aforementioned certification, the employee concerned must file an application for leave citing as basis R.A. 9262. The administrative enforcement of this leave entitlement shall be considered within the jurisdiction of the Regional Director of the DOLE under Article 129 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, for employees in the private sector, and the Civil Service Commission, for government employees. The availment of the ten day-leave shall be at the option of the woman employee, which shall cover the days that she has to attend to medical and legal concerns. Leaves not availed of are noncumulative and not convertible to cash. The employer/agency head who denies the application for leave, and who shall prejudice the victim-survivor or any person for assisting a coemployee who is a victim-survivor under the Act shall be held liable for discrimination and violation of R.A 9262.

The provision of the Labor Code and the Civil Service Rules and Regulations shall govern the penalty to be imposed on the said employer/agency head. RA 7877 Sec. 3. Work, Education or Training-related Sexual Harassment Defined. Work, education or trainingrelated sexual harassment is committed by an employee, manager, supervisor, agent of the employer, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainor, or any other person who, having authority, influence or moral ascendancy over another in a work or training or education environment, demands, requests or otherwise requires any sexual favor from the other, regardless of whether the demand, request or requirement for submission is accepted by the object of said Act. (a) In a work-related or employment environment, sexual harassment is committed when: (1) The sexual favor is made as a condition in the hiring or in the employment, re-employment or continued employment of said individual, or in granting said individual favorable compensation, terms, conditions, promotions, or privileges; or the refusal to grant the sexual favor results in limiting, segregating or classifying the employee which in a way would discriminate, deprive or diminish employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect said employee; (2) The above acts would impair the employees rights or privileges under existing labor laws; or (3) The above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the employee. (b) In an education or training environment, sexual harassment is committed: (1) Against one who is under the care, custody or supervision of the offender; (2) Against one whose education, training, apprenticeship or tutorship is entrusted to the offender; (3) When the sexual favor is made a condition to the giving of a passing grade, or the granting of honors and scholarships, or the payment of a stipend, allowance or other benefits, privileges, or considerations; or

(4) When the sexual advances result in an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for the student, trainee or apprentice. Any person who directs or induces another to commit any act of sexual harassment as herein defined, or who cooperates in the commission thereof by another without which it would not have bn committed, shall also be held liable under this Act. Sec.4. Duty of the Employer or Head of Office in a Work-related, Education or Training Environment. It shall be the duty of the employer or the head of the work-related, educational or training environment or institution, to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment. Towards this end, the employer or head of office shall: (a) Promulgate appropriate rules and regulations in consultation with the jointly approved by the employees or students or trainees, through their duly designated representatives, prescribing the procedure for the investigation or sexual harassment cases and the administrative sanctions therefor. Administrative sanctions shall not be a bar to prosecution in the proper courts for unlawful acts of sexual harassment. The said rules and regulations issued pursuant to this section (a) shall include, among others, guidelines on proper decorum in the workplace and educational or training institutions. (c) Create a committee on decorum and investigation of cases on sexual harassment. The committee shall conduct meetings, as the case may be, with other officers and employees, teachers, instructors, professors, coaches, trainors and students or trainees to increase understanding and prevent incidents of sexual harassment. It shall also conduct the investigation of the alleged cases constituting sexual harassment. In the case of a work-related environment, the committee shall be composed of at least one (1) representative each from the management, the union, if any, the employees from the supervisory rank, and from the rank and file employees.

In the case of the educational or training institution, the committee shall be composed of at least one (1) representative from the administration, the trainors, teachers, instructors, professors or coaches and students or trainees, as the case maybe. "The employer or head of office, educational or training institution shall disseminate or post a copy of this Act for the information of all concerned. RA 9231 Section 2. Section 12 of the same Act, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows: "Sec. 2. Employment of Children - Children below fifteen (15) years of age shall not be employed except: "1) When a child works directly under the sole responsibility of his/her parents or legal guardian and where only members of his/her family are employed: Provided, however, That his/her employment neither endangers his/her life, safety, health, and morals, nor impairs his/her normal development: Provided, further, That the parent or legal guardian shall provide the said child with the prescribed primary and/or secondary education; or "2) Where a child's employment or participation in public entertainment or information through cinema, theater, radio, television or other forms of media is essential: Provided, That the employment contract is concluded by the child's parents or legal guardian, with the express agreement of the child concerned, if possible, and the approval of the Department of Labor and Employment: Provided, further, That the following requirements in all instances are strictly complied with: "(a) The employer shall ensure the protection, health, safety, morals and normal development of the child; "(b) The employer shall institute measures to prevent the child's exploitation or discrimination taking into account the system and level of remuneration, and the duration and arrangement of working time; and

"(c) The employer shall formulate and implement, subject to the approval and supervision of competent authorities, a continuing program for training and skills acquisition of the child. "In the above-exceptional cases where any such child may be employed, the employer shall first secure, before engaging such child, a work permit from the Department of Labor and Employment which shall ensure observance of the above requirements. "For purposes of this Article, the term "child" shall apply to all persons under eighteen (18) years of age." DO 65-04 SECTION 3. Definition of Terms As used in these Rules, the term: (a) Child refers to any person under 18 years of age. (b) Child labor refers to any work or economic activity performed by a child that subjects him/her to any form of exploitation or is harmful to his/her health and safety or physical, mental or psychosocial development. (c) Working child refers to any child engaged as follows: i. when the child is below eighteen (18) years of age, in work or economic activity that is not child labor as defined in the immediately preceding subparagraph; and ii. when the child is below fifteen (15) years of age, (i) in work where he/she is directly under the responsibility of his/her parents or legal guardian and where only members of the child s family are employed; or (ii) in public entertainment or information.

FACTS: Private respondent was a company nurse for the Philippine Aelous United Corporation. A memorandum was issued by the personnel manager of petitioner corporation to respondent Cortez asking her to explain why no action should be taken against her for (1) throwing a stapler at plant manager William Chua; (2) fro losing the amount of Php 1,488 entrusted to her; (3) for asking a co-employee to punch in her time card one morning when she was not there. She was then placed on preventive suspension. Another memorandum was sent to her asking her to explain why she failed to process the ATM applications of her coemployees. She submitted a written explanation as to the loss of Php 1,488 and the punching in of her time card. A third memorandum was sent to her informing her of her termination from service for gross and habitual neglect of duties, serious misconduct, and fraud or willful breach of trust. ISSUES: 1. W/N petitioner was illegally dismissed. 2. If such dismissal was illegal, W/N petitioner should be entitled to damages. HELD: 1. Yes. The grounds by which an employer may validly terminate the services of an employee must be strictly construed. As to the first charge, respondent claims that plant manager William Chua had been making sexual advances on her since her first year of employment and that when she would not accede to his requests, he threatened that he would cause her termination from service. As to the second charge, the money entrusted to her was not lost, but given to the personnel-in-charge for proper transmittal as evidence by a receipt signed by the latter. As to the third charge, she explains that she asked someone to punch in her card as she was doing an errand for one of the companys officers and with the permission of William Chua. As to the fourth charge, she asserts that she had no knowledge thereof. To constitute serious misconduct to justify dismissal, the acts must be done in relation to the performance of her duties as would show her to be unfit to continue working for her employer. The acts of did not pertain to her duties as a nurse nor did they constitute serious misconduct. However due to the strained relations, in lieu of reinstatement, she is to be awarded separation pay of one month for every year of service until finality of this judgment.

2. Yes. Private respondent admittedly allowed four years to pass before coming out with her employers sexual impositions; but the time to do such varies depending upon the needs, circumstances and emotional threshold of the employee. It is clear that respondent has suffered anxiety, sleepless nights, besmirched reputation and social humiliation by reason of the act complained of. Thus, she should be entitled to moral and exemplary damages for the oppressive manner with which petitioners effected her dismissal and to serve as a warming to officers who take advantage of their ascendancy over their employees.