An In-depth Study of the Prevalent Kasambahay Law in the

Philippines

Republic Act No. 10381 or the Batas Kasambahay-- an Act Instituting

Policies for the Protection and Welfare of Domestic Workers. The law became
enforceable on June 4, 2013. The law is a landmark piece of labor and social
legislation that recognizes for the first time domestic workers as similar to
those in the formal sector. It strengthens respect, protection, and promotion of
the rights and welfare of domestic workers or kasambahay.

The enactment into law of the Batas Kasambahay is a major step in

according decent working conditions, fair compensation, and sufficient benefits
to the domestic workers, but the greater challenge is ensuring that employers
will abide by the law.

Under the law, domestic work is no longer a part of the informal sector:
This affords workers with the same kinds of protections as those working in the
formal sector. It covers all household help, including “yayas”, cooks, gardeners,
laundry workers, and anyone who performs domestic work in a household on
an occupational basis. But family drivers, service providers, and children
under foster management don’t fall under this category.

The Social Security System records show that the number of registered
house help has been encouraging. From a handful of about 5,000 in 1993,
registration jumped to 180,000 in 2017. But the question remains: how many
of these registered employers and house help have been faithfully paying their
SSS contributions? It has been five years since the Kasambahay Law was
enacted, but the SSS still has to figure out the total number of employers in
the country who have not yet registered their house help for SSS coverage, and
the number of those who have been paying SSS contributions regularly.

Domestic work represents 11 percent of female employment and more

than 5.3 percent of total employment in the Philippines, according to the
Philippine Labor Force Survey Factsheet of October 2011. The Kasambahay
Law of 2013 has drawn the ire of employers who ask why they are being
charged for SSS contributions as far back 1990s. It is a question that has
discouraged other employers from registering helpers under the Kasambahay
Law.
 However, even with the protection of Batas Kasambahay, a lot of
domestic workers are still underpaid, overworked, and deprived of benefits
provided under the law. The Philippine Commission on Women cites the
following most common types of abuse household workers experience:
 Physical, psychological, and sexual abuse
 Exposure to harmful working conditions
 Low, unpaid, or delayed wages
 Vulnerability to trafficking and debt bondage
 Long working hours with no days off
 Performing multiple and all-around work
 Working in isolation and without support networks
 Lack of social security or health benefits
 Lack of opportunities for education and self-improvement

The Commission argues that these injustices continue because household

work is regarded as a lowly pursuit. RA 10361 ignores the fact that the
Philippines, household helps have a special relationship with their employers.
Household helps are not merely employed servants; they are considered part of
the employer’s extended family.

Despite the lapses and flaws in its implementation, the Kasambahay Law
remains to be a good law. It gave importance to an often neglected member of
the Filipino household, who provide a very important support system especially
for the middle class working people. Through this law, the country has taken a
major step in treating the kasambahays as worker. Since most live with their
employers, many have been subjected to a number of injustices – most of
which remain invisible to the outside world. Helplessness can loom in such
unsafe environments.

Larioza, Jolly
Ortiz, Aries Saul
Adversalo, Asuncion Rica
Alonzo, Charisse Joy