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Date:
May 13, 1994
Source:
Department of Labor and
Employment
Subject:
Rules And Regulations
Implementing Republic Act No. 7658, An Act Prohibiting the Employment of
Children Below Fifteen (15) Years of Age in Public and Private Undertakings,
Amending Section 12, Article VIII of Republic Act No. 7610

Text:
Department Order No. 18
RULES AND REGULATION IMPLEMENTING THE REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 1658
By virtue of the provisions of
Section 2 of Republic Act No. 758, an Act Prohibiting the Employment to Children
Below Fifteen (15) years of Age in Public and Private Undertaking, Amending
Section 12, Article VII of Republic Act No. 7610, the following Rules and
Regulations governing the employment of children are hereby issued:
Section 1. General Prohibition.
Except as otherwise provided in this Rules, children below 15 years of age shall
not be employed, permitted or suffered to work, in any public or private
establishment in the Philippines.
Section 2. Definition of Terms.
-
"Employer" – any parent, legal guardian or
producer acting as employer who hires or engages the services of any child below
15 years of age.
-
"Legal Guardian" – any person duly appointed by a
court of competent authority to exercise care and custody for parental authority
over the person of such child/employee.
-
"Producer" – any individual or group of
individual engaged in the production of movies, films, motion pictures, shows or
advertisement, whether on cinema, theater, radio or television, wherein the
services of such child/employee is hired.
-
"Members of the Family" - those persons having
family relations referred to under Article 150 of the Family Code of the
Philippines. It shall include the Employer-parent’s or legal guardian's
husband or wife, parent, children, to her ascendants or descendants, brothers
and sisters whether of full or half blood.
-
"Department" - The Department of Labor and
Employment.
Section 3. Exceptions and conditions. The following shall be
the only exception to the prohibition on the employment of children below 15
years of age and the conditions for availment of said exceptions:
-
When the child works directly under the sole responsibility
of his/her parents or legal guardian who employs members of his/her family only,
under the following conditions:
-
The employment does not endanger the child’s life, safety,
health and morals;
-
The employment does not impair the child’s normal
development;
-
The employer parent or legal guardian provides the child with
the primary and/or secondary education prescribed by the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports; and
-
Where the child’s employment or participation in public
entertainment or information through cinema, theater, radio or television is
essential, provided that:
-
the employment does not involve advertisements or commercials
promoting alcohol beverages, intoxicating drinks, tobacco and its by-products or
exhibiting violence;
-
there is a written contract approved by the Department of
Labor and Employment; and
-
the conditions prescribed in Section 3 above are met.
SECTION 4. Pre-employment requirements. Before an employer
engages a child for employment under the exceptions enumerated above, he/she
must first secure a work permit from the Regional Office of the Department
having jurisdiction over the workplace.
The Regional Office shall require the employer to submit the
following documents in support of the application for a work permit.
-
Two (2) pictures of the child, one full body and the other
showing the child’s face, both of which must be neatly taken and recognizable;
-
The child’s Birth Certificate or in its absence, his/her
Baptismal Certificate and a joint affidavit of his/her two nearest relatives,
showing the year he/she was born and a duly authenticated proof of legal
guardianship where the employer is a legal guardian;
-
A certificate of enrollment issued by the school where he/she
is currently or last enrolled or a statement from the parent or legal guardian
that the child is attending school;
-
A written undertaking that:
-
Measures shall be instituted by the employer to prevent the
child’s exploitation and discrimination such as payment of minimum wage, hours
of work and other terms and conditions required by law; and
-
The employer shall ensure the protection, health, safety,
morals and normal development of the child;
-
A medical certificate showing that the child is fit for
employment;
-
A certification of a continuing program for training and
skills acquisition, approved and supervised by any competent authority, nearest
the place of work, which may be recognized vocational or training school, the
regional or local office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and
the National Manpower and Youth Council; and
-
A written contract of employment concluded by the child’s
parent or legal guardian with the employer in cases of employment or
participation in public entertainment or information through cinema, theater,
radio or television. Said contract shall bear the express agreement of the child
concerned, if possible, and shall state the nature of full description of the
job and the justification that the child's employment or participation is
essential.
Section 5. Hours of Work. Subject to consultations with the
sectors concerned, the Department shall by appropriate regulations issue
standards governing the hours of work and time of day that children may be
allowed to work.
Section 6. Effect on other issuances. The provisions of
existing rules and administrative issuances not otherwise repealed, modified or
inconsistent with this Order shall continue to have full force and effect.
Section 7. Penalties. Any person who shall violate any
provision of Article 12 of RA 7610 as amended by RA 7658, shall suffer the
penalty of a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) but not more
than Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than three (3)
months but not more than three (3) years, or both at the discretion of the
court: Provided, that in case of repeated violations of the provisions of this
Article, the offender's license to operate shall be revoked.
Section 8. Effectivity. This Rules and Regulations shall take
effect fifteen (15) days after its publications in a newspaper with general
circulation.
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