Republic Act No.

9347 June 24, 2006

AN ACT RATIONALIZING T! CO"#O$ITION AN% &'NCTION$ O& T! NATIONAL
LA(OR R!LATION$ CO""I$$ION, A"!N%ING &OR TI$ #'R#O$! ARTICL! 2)3, 2)4,
2)* AN% 2)6 O& #.%. NO. 442, A$ A"!N%!%, OT!R+I$! ,NO+N A$ T! LA(OR
CO%! O& T! #ILI##IN!$
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
$!CTION ). Article 213 of the Presidential Decree 442, as amended, otherwise known as the
Labor Code of the Philippines, is hereby amended to read as follows:
A!"# 213# National Labor Relations Commission# $ "here shall be a %ational Labor
!elations Commission which shall be attached to the Department of Labor and
&mployment '(L&L) for pro*ram and policy coordination only, composed of a
Chairman and "+&%")$",!&& -23. /embers#
&01," -2. members each shall be chosen (%L) from amon* the nominees of the
workers and employers or*ani3ations, respecti4ely# "he Chairman and the '&5&% -6.
remainin* members shall come from the p7blic sector, with the latter to be chosen
P!&8&!A9L) from amon* the 0%C:/9&%" LA9(! A!90"&!'#
:pon ass7mption into office, the members nominated by the workers and employers
or*ani3ations shall di4est themsel4es of any affiliation with or interest in the federation or
association to which they belon*#
"he Commission may sit en banc or in &01," -2. di4isions, each composed of three -3.
members# "he Commission shall sit en banc only for p7rposes of prom7l*atin* r7les and
re*7lations *o4ernin* the hearin* and disposition of cases before any of its di4isions and
re*ional branches and form7latin* policies affectin* its administration and operations#
"he Commission shall e;ercise its ad<7dicatory and all other powers, f7nctions, and
d7ties thro7*h its di4isions# (f the &01," -2. di4isions, the first, second third, 8(:!",,
808", A%D '0=", di4isions shall handle cases comin* from the %ational Capital !e*ion
and other parts of L73on> and the '&5&%",, A%D &01," di4isions, cases from the
5isayas and /indanao, respecti4ely:Provided, "hat the Commission sittin* en banc may,
on temporary or emer*ency basis, allow cases within the <7risdiction of any di4ision to be
heard and decided by any other di4ision whose docket allows the additional workload
and s7ch transfer will not e;pose liti*ants to 7nnecessary additional e;penses# "he
di4isions of the Commission shall ha4e e;cl7si4e appellate <7risdiction o4er cases within
their respecti4e territorial <7risdiction#
"he conc7rrence of two -2. Commissioners of a di4ision shall be necessary for the
prono7ncement of a <7d*ment or resol7tion# +hene4er the re?7ired membership in a
di4ision is not complete and the conc7rrence of two -2. Commissioners to arri4e at a
<7d*ment or resol7tion cannot be obtained, the Chairman shall desi*nate s7ch n7mber
of additional Commissioners from the other di4isions as may be necessary#
"he concl7sions of a di4ision on any case s7bmitted to it for decision shall be reached
in cons7ltation before the case is assi*ned to a member for the writin* of the opinion# 0t
shall be mandatory for the di4ision to meet for p7rposes of the cons7ltation ordained
therein# A certification to this effect si*ned by the Presidin* Commissioner of the di4ision
shall be iss7ed, and a copy thereof attached to the record of the case and ser4ed 7pon
the parties#
"he Chairman shall be the Presidin* Commissioner of the first di4ision, and the '&5&%
-6. other members from the p7blic sector shall be the Presidin* Commissioners of the
second, third, fo7rth, fifth, si;th, se4enth and ei*ht di4isions, respecti4ely# 0n case of the
effecti4e absence or incapacity of the Chairman, the Presidin* Commissioner of the
second di4ision shall be the Actin* Chairman#
"he Chairman, aided by the &;ec7ti4e Clerk of the Commission, shall ha4e
administrati4e s7per4ision o4er the Commission and its re*ional branches and all its
personnel, incl7din* the Labor Arbiters#
"he Commission, when sittin* en banc, shall be assisted by the same &;ec7ti4e Clerk,
and, when actin* thr7 its Di4isions, by said &;ec7ti4e Clerk for its first di4ision and
'&5&% -6. other Dep7ty &;ec7ti4e Clerks for the second, third, fo7rth fifth, si;th,
se4enth and ei*ht di4isions, respecti4ely, in the performance of s7ch similar or
e?7i4alent f7nctions and d7ties as are dischar*ed by the Clerk of Co7rt and Dep7ty
Clerks of Co7rt of the Co7rt of Appeals#
"he Commission and its ei*ht -2. di4isions shall be assisted by the Commission
Attorneys in its Appellate and ad<7dicatory f7nctions whose term shall be cotermino7s
with the Commissioners with whom they are assi*ned# "he Commission Attorneys shall
be members of the Philippine 9ar with at least one -1. year e;perience or e;pos7re in
the field of labor$mana*ement relations# "hey shall recei4e ann7al salaries and shall be
entitled to the same allowances and benefits as those fallin* 7nder 'alary 1rade twenty$
si; -'1 2@.# "here shall be as many Commission Attorneys as may be necessary for the
effecti4e and efficient operations of the Commission b7t in no case more than three -3.
assi*ned to the (ffice of the Chairman and each Commissioner#
%o Labor Arbiter shall be assi*ned to perform the f7nctions of the Commission Attorney
nor detailed to the office of any Commissioner#
$!C. 2. Article 214 of the Labor Code is hereby amended to read as follows#
A!"# 214# Headquarters, Branches and Provincial !tension "nits# $ "he Commission
and its first, second, third, fo7rth, fifth and si;th di4isions shall ha4e their main offices in
/etropolitan /anila, and the se4enth and ei*ht di4isions in the cities of Ceb7 and
Ca*ayan de (ro, respecti4ely# "he Commission shall establish as many re*ional
branches as there are re*ional offices of the Department of Labor and &mployment, s7b$
re*ional branches or pro4incial e;tension 7nits# "here shall be as many Labor Arbiters
as may be necessary for the effecti4e and efficient operation of the Commission#
$!C. 3. Article 21A of the Labor Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
A!"# 21A# #ppointment and $ualifications% $ "he Chairmans and other Commissioners
shall be members of the Philippine 9ar and m7st ha4e been en*a*ed in the practice of
law in the Philippines for at least fifteen -1A. years, with at least fi4e -A. years e;perience
or e;pos7re in the field of labor$mana*ement relations, and shall preferably be residents
of the re*ion where they ',ALL hold office# "he Labor Arbiters shall likewise be
members of the Philippine 9ar and m7st ha4e been en*a*ed in the practice of law in the
Philippines for at least ten -1B. years, with at least fi4e -A. years e;perience or e;pos7re
in ",& 80&LD (8 labor$mana*ement relations#
"he Chairman, and the other Commissioners and the Labor Arbiters shall hold office
d7rin* *ood beha4ior 7ntil they reach the a*e of si;ty$fi4e -@A. years, 7nless sooner
remo4ed for ca7se as pro4ided by law or become incapacitated to dischar*e the d7ties
of their office# Provided, ho&ever, "hat the President of the !ep7blic of the Philippines
may e;tent the ser4ices of the Commissioners and Labor Arbiters 7p to the ma;im7m
a*e of se4enty -6. years 7pon the recommendation of the Commission en banc#
"he Chairman, the Di4ision Presidin* Commissioners and other Commissioners shall
all be appointed by the President# Appointment to any 4acancy in a specific di4ision shall
come only from the nominees of the sector which nominated the predecessor# "he Labor
Arbiters shall also be appointed by the President, 7pon recommendation of the
Commission en banc to a specific arbitration branch, preperably in the re*ion where they
are residents, and shall be s7b<ect to the Ci4il 'er4ice Law, r7les and
re*7lations: Provided, that the labor arbiters who are presently holdin* office in the
re*ion where they are residents shall be deemed appointed thereat#
"he Chairman and the Commission, shall appoint the staff and employees of the
Commission, and its re*ional branches as the needs of the ser4ice may re?7ire, s7b<ect
to the Ci4il 'er4ice Law, r7les and re*7lations, and 7p*rade their c7rrent salaries,
benefits and other emol7ments in accordance with law#
$!C. 4. Article 21@, as amended, is hereby f7rther amended to read as follows:
A!"# 21@# Salaries, benefits and other emoluments% "he Chairman and members of the
Commission shall ha4e the same rank, recei4e an ann7al salary e?7i4alent to, and be
entitled to the same allowances, retirement and benefits as, those of the Presidin*
C7stice and Associate C7stices of the Co7rt of Appeals, respecti4ely# Labor Arbiters shall
ha4e the same rank, recei4e an ann7al salary e?7i4alent to and be entitled to the same
allowances, retirement and other benefits and pri4ile*es as those of the <7d*es of the
re*ional trial co7rts# 0n no case, howe4er, shall the pro4ision of this Article res7lt in the
dimin7tion of the e;istin* salaries, allowances and benefits of the aforementioned
officials#
$!C. *. Implementation. $ "he creation of the additional di4isions shall be implemented for a
period of not more than three -3. years
$!C. 6. Separability Clause. $ 0f any part, section or pro4ision of this Act shall be held in4alid or
7nconstit7tional, the other pro4isions shall not be affected thereby#
$!C. 7. Repealing Clause. $ Presidential Decree 442, as amended, otherwise known as the
Labor Code of the Philippines, and all other acts, laws, e;ec7ti4e orders, presidential iss7ances,
r7les and re*7lations or any part thereof which are inconsistent herewith are hereby deemed
repealed or modified accordin*ly#
$!C. -. Effectivity. $ "his Ac shall take effect fifteen -1A. days after its p7blication in the 'fficial
(a)ette or in at least two newspapers of *eneral circ7lation, whiche4er comes earlier#