Laws for Schools in the Philippines

1. THE VARIOUS LEGAL ASPECTS
Of the Teaching Profession

2. OUTLINE - Three Parts:
1.Update on Cases Involving the
Teaching Profession
2.Statutory Benefits of Teachers
3.Child Protection Policy of the
DepEd

3. PART 1:
Update on the latest cases
involving the teaching
profession

4. First Case:
Yolanda Mercado et al. vs. AMA (GR NO.
183572, APRIL 13, 2010)
FIXED-TERM vs.
PROBATIONARY

5. FIXED-TERM Employment
A fixed-term contract is specifically
used only for the fixed term it offers.
For example, a replacement teacher
may be contracted for a fixed-term,
say, a period of one year, to
temporarily take the place of a
permanent teacher who went on a one-
year study leave…

6. FIXED-TERM Employment (cont.)
The fixed-term contract is valid in that case. After
one year, the contract or engagement of the
substitute teacher can be ended, precisely
because he was contracted only to be a substitute
for one year. The substitute teacher does not
become a probationary employee as he was never
employed on probationary basis in the first place.
His employment is for a specific purpose with
particular focus on the term and with every intent
to end his teaching relationship with the school
upon expiration of this term.

7. PROBATIONARY Employment
In the academe, when we say that an employee
is “on probation,” as a general rule, two
circumstances must concur (meaning, both
must be present):
1) he/she is still within the fixed-term, 3-year
probationary period; AND
2) the employee is still being evaluated if
he/she will meet the regularization standards
set by the school, which were made known to
the employee during his engagement…

8. PROBATIONARY Employment (cont.)
Thus, when the school opts NOT TO REGULARIZE
the employee, the school should not only say that
the contract would no longer be renewed or that the
probationary contract already expired. Rather, the
school must have grounds not to regularize the
employee. More to the point -- (1) the ground must
be that the probationary employee failed to meet
the regularization standards (e.g., not passing
LET); and (2) the regularization standards must
have been made known to the employee at the
start of his employment…

9. PROBATIONARY Employment (cont.)
Other than the usual performance standards
required to be met by Probationary Teachers,
the school may additionally impose stricter
performance standards, like attendance or
report compliance standards.

10. BOTTOMLINE:
A school can no longer have a "fixed-term
contract" with the provision that the "contract
shall automatically expire on the date
indicated herein without need of further
notice."
You can still sever your employment ties with
the concerned employees, but the ground
must be that the probationary employees
failed to meet the regularization standards or
other standards set by the school…

11. BOTTOMLINE (cont.):
The school cannot simply reason out that it is
no longer renewing the contract or that the
probationary contract already expired.
Incidentally, it is perfectly legal to lay off
probationary teachers if the school does not
have enough students for a certain SY.
Termination of employment on this basis is an
authorized cause under the Labor Code. (See
Art. 283 of the Labor Code)

12. Second Case:
CHERYLL SANTOS LEUS vs.
ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE WESTGROVE
and/or SR. EDNA QUIAMBAO, OSB,
(G.R. 187226, January 28, 2015)
SINGLE TEACHER HAVING
PRE-MARTIAL SEXUAL
RELATIONS AND GETTING
PREGNANT OUT OF
WEDLOCK

13. ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE WESTGROVE
(G.R. 187226, January 28, 2015)
Facts:
Cheryll Santos Leus, an employee of
St. Scholastica's College - Westgrove
(SSCW), was found to have committed
pre-marital sexual relations with his
boyfriend and eventually got pregnant
out of wedlock.

14. ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE WESTGROVE
(G.R. 187226, January 28, 2015)
Facts (cont.):
SSCW dismissed the employee for "disgraceful
or immoral conduct," which is a just cause for
termination of employment under the 1992
Manual of Regulation for Private Schools
(MRPS).

15. ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE WESTGROVE
(G.R. 187226, January 28, 2015)
Issue: Can a Catholic School lawfully
dismiss an employee on the grounds of
premarital sexual relations and pregnancy
out of wedlock?
Decision:
Dismissal was illegal.

16. ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE WESTGROVE
(G.R. 187226, January 28, 2015)
Decision (cont.):
Even if employee’s indiscretion is against
Catholic Church teachings, prevailing
norms of conduct do not consider it as
disgraceful or immoral.
“(Public and secular) morality, as defined
under the law, is different from religious
morality.”

17. ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE WESTGROVE
(G.R. 187226, January 28, 2015)
Decision (cont.):
“There is no law which penalizes an unmarried
mother by reason of her sexual conduct or
proscribes consensual sexual activity between
two unmarried persons. Such conduct is not
denounced by public and secular morality. It
may be an unusual arrangement, but it certainly
is not disgraceful or immoral within the
contemplation of the law.”

18. ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE WESTGROVE
(G.R. 187226, January 28, 2015)
Decision (cont.):
“Premarital relations between two
consenting adults who have no impediment
to marry each other, and consequently
conceiving a child out of wedlock, gauged
from a purely public and secular view of
morality, does not amount to a disgraceful or
immoral conduct under Section 94 of the
1992 MRPS.”

19. ST. SCHOLASTICA'S COLLEGE WESTGROVE
(G.R. 187226, January 28, 2015)
Decision (cont.):
“Further… SSCW, at the time of the controversy,
does not have any policy or rule against an
employee who engages in premarital sexual
relations and conceives a child as a result
thereof. There being no valid basis in law or
even in SSCW’s policy and rules, SSCW’s
dismissal of the petitioner is despotic and
arbitrary and thus not a valid exercise of
management prerogative.”

20. PART 2:
Statutory Benefits of Teachers

21. 1. STATUTORY BENEFITS
Please check :
http://ro2.dole.gov.ph/fndr/
mis/files/handbook.pdf

22. WAGES / PAY

23. HOLIDAY Pay (Art. 94)
•There are ONLY 12 REGULAR HOLIDAYS (unless
otherwise modified by law of proclamation):
1.New Year (Jan 1)
2.Maundy Thursday
3.Good Friday
4.Araw ng Kagitingan (Apr 9)
5.Labor Day (May 1)
6.Independence Day (June 12)
7.National Heroes Day (Last Mon of Aug)

24. HOLIDAY Pay (Art. 94)
8. Eidl Fitr
9. Eidl Adha
10. Bonifacio Day (Nov. 30)
11. Christmas (Dec. 25)
12. Rizal Day (Dec. 30)

25. Note, however, that there are “3 SPECIAL
DAYS” under E.O. 292:
1.Ninoy Aquino Day (Aug. 21)
2.All Saints Day (Nov. 1)
3.Last Day of the Year (Dec. 31)
•No work, no pay on these special days
•But if you work on these days, basic pay
plus 30%

26. 13th Month Pay (PD 851)
•Rank and file employees who have worked
for at least 1 month during a calendar year
•Not applicable to employees paid on
commission or boundary basis
•Given not later than Dec. 24, but can be ½
first half of the year, and other half before
Dec. 24
•Computation: only basic salary

27. OVERTIME PAY (Article 87)
1.For work in excess of eight (8) hours
performed on ordinary working days:
Plus 25% of the hourly rate.
2. For work in excess of eight (8) hours
performed on a scheduled rest day, a
special day, and a regular holiday:
Plus 30% of the hourly rate on said
days.

28. SEPARATION PAY (Articles 297 to 298)
•Applicable only if separation of employee is due to
AUTHORIZED CAUSES (as opposed to JUST
CAUSES)
•If due to retrenchment, closure of business, employee
suffering from illness not curable within a period 6
months: ½ month for every year of service
•If due to installation of labor-saving devices,
redundancy: 1 month for every year of service
•Employer must notify employee and DOLE 1 month
before date of separation

29. RETIREMENT PAY (Article 301)
•60 years old and have served the company for at least
5 years
•Mandatory: 65 years old (no service required)
•½ month for every year of service; service of at least 6
months is considered 1 year

30. Leave Benefits…

31. 1. SERVICE INCENTIVE LEAVE (Article 95)
•5 Days SIL for every year of service
•1 year, whether continuous or broken
•May be used as SL or VL
•Availed of AFTER 1 year of service
•Unused SIL is commutable to cash at the
end of the year

32. 2. MATERNITY LEAVE (RA 1161, as
amended by RA 8282)
•All female employees, whether married or unmarried
•60 or 78 days
•To avail:
Female employee should be an SSS member
Female employee should give notification to SSS
thru employer
Employer paid at least 3 monthly contributions
before childbirth

33. 3. PATERNITY LEAVE (RA 8187)
•Only to MARRIED male employees
•Regardless of employment status
•First 4 deliveries only of LAWFUL wife
•7 Calendar days before or after each
delivery
•Male employee should apply for PL
•Not convertible to cash

34. 4. PARENTAL LEAVE FOR SOLO PARENTS
(RA 8972)
•SOLO PARENT: spouse died, marriage annulled,
legally separated for at least 1 year, abandoned for at
least 1 year
•7 days
•To avail:
1 year of service
Employer is notified
Presentation of Solo Parent ID from DSWD
•Non-convertible to cash if not availed

35. 5. LEAVE FOR VICTIMS OF “VAWC”
(RA 9262)
•Victim of physical, sexual or psychological violence
•to attend to medical or legal concerns
•10-day leave, at the option of the woman-victim
•10 days may be extended if required by TPO
•To avail:
Simply present a Certification from Barangay or Clerk
of Court that an action for VAWC is pending
•Non-convertible to cash if not availed

36. 6. SPECIAL LEAVE FOR WOMEN (RA 9710)
•For women suffering from Gynecological Disorders
that would require surgical procedures
•Includes hysterectomy, ovariectomy, and mastectomy
•2 months leave with pay
•To avail:
At least 6 months of employment service
Undergone surgery for Gynecological Disorders
Filed application for special leave
•Non-convertible to cash if not availed

37. OTHER BENEFITS (paid by the Government)
•PHILHEALTH BENEFITS
(RA 7875, as amended by RA 9241)
•SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
(RA 1161, as amended by RA 8282)
•EMPLOYEES’ COMPENSATION PROGRAM
(PD 626)
•PAG-IBIG BENEFITS

38. Part 3:
DepEd’s Child
Protection Policy
(DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012)

39. DepEd launched its
CHILD PROTECTION POLICY
on May 3, 2012
(DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012)
Aim: to promote a zero-tolerance policy
for any act of child abuse, exploitation,
violence, discrimination, bullying and
other related offenses

40. Why a Child Protection Policy?
A BASELINE STUDY ON VIOLENCE
AGAINST CHILDREN IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS showed the following:

41.  3 out of 10 children in Grades 1-3 and
almost 5 out of 10 from high school
experienced physical violence (such as
pinching and hitting) committed by
teachers;
 4 out of 10 children in Grades 1-3 and 7
out of 10 in higher grade levels experienced
verbal abuse by their teachers;

42.  36.53 % of children in Grades 4-6 and
42. 88% of high school students
experienced verbal sexual violence in
school
 11.95% of children in Grades 4-6 and
17.60% of high school students have
experienced inappropriate touching.

43. And then there are also those coming from
PEERS
• physical violence
• verbal abuse
• verbal sexual violence
• inappropriate touching

44. Under the DepEd Child Protection Policy, the
following are the PROHIBITED ACTS:
a. Child abuse;
b. Discrimination against children;
c. Child exploitation;
d. Violence against children in school;
e. Corporal punishment;
f. Any analogous or similar acts; and
g. Bullying or peer abuse

45. Violence against children
committed in schools
• a single act or a series of acts
• committed by school administrators,
academic and non-academic personnel
• against a child
• which result in or is likely to result in

46.  Physical harm

47.  Psychological harm

48.  Sexual harm

49. Violence against children committed in schools…
• or other abuses including threats…
or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

50. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
(note the definition very well!)
- refers to a kind of punishment or penalty
imposed for an alleged or actual offense,
which is carried out or inflicted, for the
purpose of discipline, training or control, by
a teacher, school administrator, an adult, or
any other child who has been given or has
assumed authority or responsibility for
punishment or discipline.

51. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
SCHOOLS (among others)
 Adopt a child protection policy
 Organize and convene
the Child Protection Committee (CPC)
of the school;

52. CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE: Members
School Head/Administrator – Chairperson
 Guidance Counselor/ Teacher –Vice Chairperson
Teachers’ Rep (designated by the Faculty Club)
Parents’ Rep (designated by the PTA)
Pupils’ Rep (designated by the Student Council)
Representative from the Community (designated
by the Punong Barangay, preferably from the
Barangay Council for the Protection of Children)

53. Protective & Remedial Measures to
Address BULLYING and Other Acts of
Abuse by a Pupil, Student or Learner
All bullying incidents shall be reported to the School
Head.
The School Head shall in turn inform the parents of
the pupils concerned and a meeting shall be held for
that purpose.
The student shall be referred to the CPC for
counseling and other interventions.
The School may impose Non-punitive Measures in
accordance with the principles of Positive and Non-
Violent Discipline.
Punitive measures will be a last resort.

54. Protective & Remedial Measures to
Address Bullying and Other Acts of Abuse by a
Pupil, Student or Learner
All bullying incidents shall be reported to the
School Head.
The School Head shall in turn inform the parents
of the pupils
concerned and a meeting shall be held for that
purpose.
The student shall be referred to the CPC for
counseling and
other interventions.
The School may impose Non-punitive Measures