As Christmas Day nears, Senator Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday, Oct. 5 urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Local Government Units (LGUs) to require all employers to release the 13th month payment of their employees on or before Dec. 24, 2022, otherwise risk the non-renewal of their business permits.
During the joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment and Human Resources Development on Oct. 4, Tulfo said DOLE should sign a MOA with the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) to block the renewal of business permits of non-compliant and non-paying employers.
Under the law, employees must receive their 13th month pay on or before December 24 of each year.
Despite a law in place, Tulfo said many Filipino employers are not paying their workers the government-mandated compensation.
Tulfo said he already handled several complaints from aggrieved Filipino workers who did not receive their 13th month pay.
In the MOA, Tulfo said it should be highlighted that companies renewing their business permits should first present evidence to BPLO that they have already given their employees’ 13th month pay and that it was released on time.
Tulfo told DOLE Assistant Secretary Leonard Constantine-Serrano that merely issuing advisories requiring employers to release their employees’ 13th month pay would not work after the latter made such suggestion.
To alert employers about this MOA, Tulfo suggested that DOLE should issue an official statement before the media warning erring employers of the possible non-renewal of their business permits should they fail to comply with the Department’s order.