Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code

SECTION 14. Working scholars. There is no employer-employee

relationship between students on one hand, and schools, colleges or
universities on the other, where there is written agreement between
them under which the former agree to work for the latter in exchange
for the privilege to study free of charge, provided the students are
given real opportunities, including such facilities as may be
reasonable and necessary to finish their chosen courses under such
agreement.

Republic Act No. 9547

April 1, 2009

AN ACT STRENGTHENING AND EXPANDING THE COVERAGE

OF THE SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYMENT OF
STUDENTS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE PROVISIONS OF
R.A. NO. 7323, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE SPECIAL
PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYMENT OF STUDENTS

Section 1. Section 1 of R.A. 7323, otherwise known as the "Special

Program for Employment of Students (SPES)", is hereby amended to
read as follows:
"SECTION 1. Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding,
any person or entity employing at least ten (10) persons may employ
poor but deserving students fifteen (15) years of age but not more
than twenty-five (25) years old, paying them a salary or wage not
lower than the minimum wage for private employers and the
applicable hiring rate for the national and local government agencies:
Provided, that student enrolled in the secondary level shall only be
employed during summer and/or christmas vacations, while those
enrolled in the tertiary, vocational or technical education may be
employed at any time of the year: Provided, further, That their period
of employment shall be from twenty (20) to fifty-two (52) working

days only, except that during Christmas vacation, employment shall

be from ten (10) to fifteen (15) days which may be counted as part of
the students' probationary period should they apply in the same
company or agency after graduation: Provided, finally, That students
employed in activities related to their course may earn equivalent
academic credits as may be determined by the appropriate
government agencies.
"For purposes of this Act, poor but deserving students refer to those
whose parents' combined income, together with their own, if any,
does not exceed the annual regional poverty threshold level for a
family of six (6) for the preceding year as may be determined by the
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Employment
facilitation services for applicants to the program shall be done by
the Public Employment Service Office (PESO).
"Participating employers in coordination with the PESO, must inform
their SPES employees of their rights, benefits, and privileges under
existing laws, company policies, and employment contracts."

Section 2. Section 2 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as

follows:
"SEC. 2. Sixty per centum (60%) of the said salary or wage shall be
paid by the employers in cash and forty per centum (40%) by the
government in the form of a voucher which shall be applicable in the
payment for the students' tuition fees and books in any educational
institution for secondary, tertiary, vocational or technical education:
Provided, That local government units (LGUs) may assume
responsibility for paying in full his salary or wages. The amount of the
education vouchers shall be paid by the government to the
educational institutions concerned within thirty (30) days from its
presentation to the officer or agency designated by the Secretary of
Finance.

"The vouchers shall not be transferable except when the payees

thereof dies or for a justifiable cause stops in his duties, in which
case it can be transferred to his brothers or sisters. If there be none,
the amount thereof shall be paid his heirs or to the payee himself, as
the case may be."

"In case of partnerships or corporations, the managing partner,

general manager, or chief executive officer, as the case may be, shall
be criminally liable."

Section 5. Section 5 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as

follows:
Section 3. Section 3 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as
follows:

"SEC. 3. The Secretary of Labor and Employment, the Secretary of

Education, the Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education,
the Secretary of Budget and Management, the Secretary of Social
Welfare and Development and the Secretary of Finance shall issue
the corresponding rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of
this act.
"The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall be the Program
Chairman."

Section 4. Section 4 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as

follows:
"SEC. 4. Any persons or entity who refuses to honor education
vouchers or makes any fraudulent or fictitious claim under this Act,
regardless of whether payment has been made, shall upon
conviction be punished with imprisonment of not less than six (6)
months and not more than one (1) year and a fine of not less than
Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00), without prejudice to their
prosecution and punishment for any other offense punishable under
the Revised Penal Code or any other penal statute.

"SEC. 5. The Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment

shall include in the Department's program the operationalization of
the expanded Special Program for the Employment of Students.
"The amount necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act is
hereby authorized to be appropriated in the General Appropriations
Act for 1992 and the subsequent annual general appropriations acts:
Provided, That the appropriation, for the purposes of this Act, shall
not be reduced by Congress below the amount appropriated for the
previous year and, after approval; shall be automatically and
regularly released: Provided, further, That the appropriation herein
shall be increased by at least twenty per centum (20%) annually."

Section 6. If any provision or part of this Act, or the application

thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or the application of such
provision or part thereof to other persons or circumstances shall not
be affected thereby.

Section 7. All laws, orders, issuances, rules and regulations or parts

thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Section 8. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
complete publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2)
newspapers of national circulation, whichever comes earlier.

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 139 November 28, 1993

CREATING THE KABATAAN: 2000 STEERING COMMITTEE THE

ACTION OFFICERS COMMITTEE AND THE REGIONAL
STEERING COMMITTEE IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE YEARROUND YOUTH WORK PROGRAM, KABATAAN: 2000 AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES

Sec. 1. The Steering Committee; the Action Officers Committee, and

the Regional Steering Committee.

1.1
The Steering Committee. - There is hereby created the
KABATAAN: 2000 Steering Committee, composed of the following:
a.
b.

WHEREAS, there is a need to implement a year-round program for

the youth, which will make the youth contribute directly to the
government's Vision of Philippines: 2000;
WHEREAS, the 1993 President's Summer Youth Work Program
(PSYWP) implementation was a success, considering that 90,000
youths from all over the country benefited directly from the program;
WHEREAS, the PSYWP should be expanded to a year-round
program in order to involve more youths in the implementation of
community building projects, which contributes to the economic
pump-priming program of the government;
WHEREAS, the attainment of the people empowerment objective of
the government requires the active involvement of the youth, which
comprises 68% of the country's population, as driving force for
advocacy and for attaining economic and political stability;
WHEREAS, to ensure the continued success of the Program, it is
imperative to strengthen the mechanism therefor and its Steering
Committee for the purpose;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby
order:

c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
n.

Secretary of Labor and Employment (DOLE) - Chairman

Head, Presidential Management Saff (PMS)
Co-Chairman
Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS)
Member
Secretary of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Member
Secretary of Tourism (DOT) Member
Secretary of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Member
Secretary of Health (DOH) Member
Secretary of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
Member
Secretary of Agriculture (DA)
Member
Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) Member
Secretary of Budget and Management (DBM)- Member
Director General, National Economic Development
Authority(NEDA)Member
Director General, Philippine Information Agency (PIA)
Member
Chairman, Presidential Council for Youth Affairs
(PCYA)Member

1.2
The Action Officers Committee. There is hereby created the
KABATAAN: 2000 Action Officers Committee composed of the
following:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
n.

Representative, DOLE- Chairman

Representative, PMS Co-Chairman
Representative, DECS- Member
Representative, DILG Member
Representative, DOT Member
Representative, DSWD- Member
Representative, DOH Member
Representative, DPWH- Member
Representative, DAMember
Representative, DENR- Member
Representative, DBM Member
Representative, NEDA- Member
Representative, PIA
Member
Chief Executive Officer, PCYA- Member

o.

Chairman, Sangguniang Kabataan National Federation

(SKNF)Member

h.
i.
j.
k.
l.

Regional Director, DA
Member
Regional Director, DENR
Member
Regional Director, PIA Member
Regional Coordinator, PCYA
Member
Regional Board of Directors, SKNFMember

Sec. 2. Functions and Responsibilities of the different Committees.

2.1

Functions and Responsibilities of the Steering Committee:

a.
Oversee the implementation and ensure the success of the
Program;
b.
Solicit and review the support and contribution for the
purposes of the Program;
c.
Call upon any government department or agency for the
necessary assistance and support for the Program; and
d.
Perform such other functions as may be assigned by the
President.

1.3
The Regional Steering Committee. There is hereby created
the KABATAAN: 2000 Regional Steering Committee composed of
the following:

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

Regional Director, DOLE

Regional Director, DILG Regional Director, DECS
Regional Director, DOT Regional Director, DSWD
Regional Director, DOH Regional Director, DPWH

Chairman
Co-Chairman
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member

2.2
Functions and Responsibilities of the Action Officers
Committee:
a.
Formulate the guidelines for the implementation of the
Program;
b.
Review and evaluate the implementation of the various
components of the Program;

c.
Prepare and submit a regular report and assessment of the
Program; and
d.
Perform such other functions as may be assigned by the
Steering Committee.

2.3
Functions and Responsibilities of the Regional Steering
Committee:
a.
Supervise the implementation of the Program in the
Regional Level;
b.
Seek the support of the local government units and nongovernment organizations to ensure the success of the Program;
c.
Prepare and submit a regular report and assessment of the
Program in the Regional level; and
d.
Perform some other functions as may be assigned by the
Steering Committee.

Sec. 3. Program Secretariat. The Chief Executive Officer of the

Presidential Council for Youth Affairs (PCYA) is hereby directed to
provide a Secretariat for the KABATAAN: 2000 Steering Committee.
The Secretariat shall provide technical and administrative support to
the Committee, and perform such other functions as may be
assigned to it by the Committee.
The Chief Executive Officer of the PCYA shall also act as the Overall
Program Coordinator of the program.

Sec. 4. Program Components. KABATAAN: 2000 shall have two (2)

program components. The President's Youth Work Program (PYWP)
and the Weekend Youth Brigades (WYB).

4.1
The President's Youth Work Program (PYWP) - The PYWP
is the year-round implementation of the component programs of the
President's Summer Youth Work Program (PSWYP). The program
shall have eight (8) components, as follows:
a.
Government Internship Program (GIP). The GIP shall seek
to initiate its youth participants into public service by involving them
with government programs and projects, through the various
departments and agencies. The implementation of the program
components shall be coordinated by the Presidential Council for
Youth Affairs (PCYA);
b.
Work Appreciation Program (WAP) The WAP shall develop
the values of work appreciation and ethics among college and high
school students by providing them with apprenticeship and actual
work opportunities in private establishments. The Program shall
involve various private sector groups and employers federations and
shall be coordinated by the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE);
c.
Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES). The
objective of SPES is to develop the intellectual capacities of children
of poor families and harness their potentials for the country's
development. Specifically, the Program aims to help poor but
deserving students pursue their education by providing income or
augment their income by encouraging their employment during
summer and/or Christmas vacations;
d.
Program on Literacy cum Livelihood, Culture, Arts (PLLCA).
The Program aims to empower the youth with devisable knowledge,
skills, attitudes and values to make them self-reliant, responsible,

productive, humane and upright citizens who can contribute to the

sustainable development of the country. Program implementation
shall be undertaken by the Department of Education, Culture and
Sports (DECS);
e.
Immersion and Outreach Program (IOP). The IOP aims to
instill in the youth a sense of community service and volunteerism for
the less privileged sectors of the society. The Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall be the lead agency in the
implementation of this program;
f.
Health Outreach Program. (HOP). The HOP aims to promote
an understanding and sense of awareness among the youth on
critical health programs and issues, such as population,
environmental health, immunization, nutrition, and drug abuse,
among others;
g.
Youth and Infrastructure Development (YID). The program
aims to train and involve the youth in labor intensive infrastructure
programs in their respective localities. Through hands-on-training,
the youths are introduced to the values of discipline, hardwork and
labor; and
h.
Tourism Training and Appreciation Program (TTAP). The
TTAP aims to increase the level of knowledge and exposure of
students and instill in the minds of the youths the history, heritage,
and proud accomplishments of our forefathers. The program shall
also be geared towards environmental awareness and protection,
educational and leisure trips, and preservation of our cultural
heritage.

4.2.
The Weekend Youth Brigades (WYB) - The WYB are the
low-cost by high-impact weekend youth programs of various
government agencies and local government units. The WYB aims to
involve the youth in community building projects during the
weekends.

Sec. 5. Fund. - The lead agencies are hereby urged to realign their
1993 and 1994 budgets to provide for the implementation expenses
of the KABATAAN: 2000. The Department of Budget and
Management shall facilitate the realignment of the lead agencies
implementing the program components of KABATAAN: 2000. The
PCYA shall have a yearly appropriation of P2,000,000.00 to provide
for the operational expenses of the KABATAAN: 2000.

Sec. 6. Repealing Clause. - All orders, rules, regulations and other

administrative issuances or provisions thereof, which are contrary to
or inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly. lawphi1.net

Sec. 7. Effectivity. - This Executive Order shall take effect

immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 28th day of November in the year of
Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety-three.