Is the Government Considered An Employer With Regard to 13th Month Pay?

ISSUE:

Are the branches, agencies, subdivisions, and instrumentalities of the Government, including government owned or controlled corporations, included among the 4 "employers"" under PD 851 which are required to pay their employees receiving a basic salary of not more than P1,000 a month, a thirteenth (13th) month pay not later than December 24 of every year?

RULING:
"It is an old rule of statutory construction that restrictive statutes and acts which impose burdens on the public treasury or which diminish rights and interests, no matter how broad their terms do not embrace the Sovereign, unless the Sovereign is specifically mentioned. (See Dollar Savings Bank v. United States, 19 Wall (U.S.) 227; United States v. United Mine Workers of America, 330 U.S. 265). The Republic of the Philippines, as sovereign, cannot be covered by a general term like "employer" unless the language used in the law is clear and specific to that effect."


REFERENCES:

Alliance of Government Workers vs Minister of Labor and Employment
GR L-60403 (1983, En Banc)

DOLE's FAQs on 13th Month Pay

1987 Philippine Constitution, Article 9 (b) Civil Service:

Section 5. The Congress shall provide for the standardization of compensation of government officials and employees, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters, taking into account the nature of the responsibilities pertaining to, and the qualifications required for their positions.