Professional Documents
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de La Salle University Araneta v. Bernardo, February 13, 2017
de La Salle University Araneta v. Bernardo, February 13, 2017
htm
FIRST DIVISION
G.R. No. 190809, February 13, 2017
DECISION
Before Us is a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court filed
by De La Salle-Araneta University (DLS-AU) seeking the annulment and reversal of the
Decision[1] dated June 29, 2009 and Resolution[2] dated January 4, 2010 of the Court
of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 106399, which affirmed in toto the Decision[3] of the
National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in NLRC NCR CA No. 043416-05. The
NLRC reversed and set aside the Labor Arbiter's Decision[4] dated December 13, 2004
in NLRC NCR Case No. 00-02-02729-04 and found that respondent Juanito C. Bernardo
(Bernardo) was entitled to retirement benefits.
On February 26, 2004, Bernardo filed a complaint against DLS-AU and its
owner/manager, Dr. Oscar Bautista (Dr. Bautista), for the payment of retirement
benefits. Bernardo alleged that he started working as a part-time professional lecturer
at DLS-AU (formerly known as the Araneta University Foundation) on June 1, 1974 for
an hourly rate of P20.00. Bernardo taught for two semesters and the summer for the
school year 1974-1975. Bernardo then took a leave of absence from June 1, 1975 to
October 31, 1977 when he was assigned by the Philippine Government to work in
Papua New Guinea. When Bernardo came back in 1977, he resumed teaching at DLS-
AU until October 12, 2003, the end of the first semester for school year 2003-2004.
Bernardo's teaching contract was renewed at the start of every semester and summer.
However, on November 8, 2003, DLS-AU informed Bernardo through a telephone call
that he could not teach at the school anymore as the school was implementing the
retirement age limit for its faculty members. As he was already 75 years old, Bernardo
had no choice but to retire. At the time of his retirement, Bernardo was being paid
P246.50 per hour.[5]
Bernardo immediately sought advice from the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE) regarding his entitlement to retirement benefits after 27 years of employment.
In letters dated January 20, 2004[6] and February 3, 200,[7] the DOLE, through its
Public Assistance Center and Legal Service Office, opined that Bernardo was entitled to
receive benefits under Republic Act No. 7641, otherwise known as the "New Retirement
Law," and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.
Yet, Dr. Bautista, in a letter[8] dated February 12, 2004, stated that Bernardo was not
entitled to any kind of separation pay or benefits. Dr. Bautista explained to Bernardo
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that as mandated by the DLS-AU's policy and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA),
only full-time permanent faculty of DLS-AU for at least five years immediately
preceeding the termination of their employment could avail themselves of the post-
employment benefits. As part-time faculty member, Bernardo did not acquire
permanent employment under the Manual of Regulations for Private Schools, in relation
to the Labor Code, regardless of his length of service.
Aggrieved by the repeated denials of his claim for retirement benefits, Bernardo filed
before the NLRC, National Capital Region, a complaint for non-payment of retirement
benefits and damages against DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista.
DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista averred that DLS-AU is a non-stock, non profit educational
institution duly organized under Philippine laws, and Dr. Bautista was then its Executive
Vice-President. DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista countered that Bernardo was hired as a part-
time lecturer at the Graduate School of DLS-AU to teach Recent Advances in Animal
Nutrition for the first semester of school year 2003-2004. As stated in the Contract for
Part Time Facuity Member Semestral, Bernardo bound himself to teach "for the period
of one semester beginning June 9, 2003 to October 12, 2003." The contract also
provided that "this Contract shall automatically expire unless expressly renewed in
writing."[9] Prior contracts entered into between Bernardo and DLS-AU essentially
contained the same provisions. On November 8, 2003, DLS-AU informed Bernardo that
his contract would no longer be renewed. DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista were surprised when
they received a letter from Bernardo on February 18, 2004 claiming retirement benefits
and Summons dated February 26, 2004 from the NLRC in relation to Bernardo's
complaint.[10]
DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista maintained that Bernardo, as a part-time employee, was not
entitled to retirement benefits. The contract between DLS-AU and Bernardo was for a
fixed term, i.e., one semester. Contracts of employment for a fixed term are not
proscribed by law, provided that they had been entered into by the parties without any
force, duress, or improper pressure being brought to bear upon the employee and
absent any other circumstance vitiating consent. That DLS-AU no longer renewed
Bernardo's contract did not necessarily mean that Bernardo should be deemed retired
from service.
DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista also contended that Bernardo, as a part time employee, was
not entitled to retirement benefits pursuant to any retirement plan, CBA, or
employment contract. Neither was DLS-AU mandated by law to pay Bernardo
retirement benefits. The compulsory retirement age under Article 302 [287] of the
Labor Code, as amended, is 65 years old. When the employee reaches said age, his/her
employment is deemed terminated. The matter of extension of the employee's service
is addressed to the sound discretion of the employer; it is a privilege only the employer
can grant. In this case, Bernardo was effectively separated from the service upon
reaching the age of 65 years old. DLS-AU merely granted Bernardo the privilege to
teach by engaging his services for several more years after reaching the compulsory
retirement age. Assuming arguendo that Bernardo was entitled to retirement benefits,
he should have claimed the same upon.reaching the age of 65 years old. Under Article
291 of the Labor Code, as amended, all money claims arising from employer-employee
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relations shall be filed within three years from the time the cause of action accrues.
Still according to DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista, Bernardo had no cause of action against Dr.
Bautista because the latter was only acting on behalf of DLS-AU as its Executive Vice-
President. It is a well-settled rule that a corporation is a juridical entity with a legal
personality separate and distinct from the people comprising it and those acting for and
on its behalf. There was no showing that Dr. Bautista acted deliberately or maliciously
in refusing to pay Bernardo his retirement benefits, so as to make Dr. Bautista
personally liable for any corporate obligations of DLS-AU to Bernardo.
Finally, DLS-AU asserted that Bernardo failed to establish the factual and legal bases
for his claims for actual, moral, and exemplary damages, and attorney's fees. There
was no proof of the alleged value of the profits or any other loss suffered by Bernardo
because of the non-payment of his retirement benefits. There was likewise no evidence
of bad faith or fraud on the part of DLS-AU in refusing to grant Bernardo retirement
benefits.
On December 13, 2004, the Labor Arbiter rendered its Decision dismissing Bernardo's
complaint on the ground of prescription, thus:
xxxx
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"The language of Article 291 of the Labor Code does not limit its
application only to "money claims specifically recoverable under
said Code," but covers all money claims arising from employer-
employee relations. Since petitioners' demand for unpaid
retirement/separation benefits is a money claim arising from their
employment by private respondent, Article 291 of the Labor Code
is applicable. Therefore, petitioners' claim should be filed within
three years from the time their cause of action accrued, or
forever barred by prescription."
It cannot be denied that the claim for retirement benefits/pay arose out of
employer-employee relations. In line with the decision of the Supreme Court
in De Guzman, it should be treated as a money claim that must be claimed
within three years from the time the cause of action accrued.
Bernardo appealed the foregoing Labor Arbiter's Decision to the NLRC, arguing that
since he continuously worked for DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista until October 12, 2003, he
was considered retired and the cause of action for his retirement benefits accrued only
on said date. There was clearly an agreement between Bernardo and DLS-AU that the
former would continue teaching even after reaching the compulsory retirement age of
65 years. In addition, under Republic Act No. 7641, part-time workers are entitled to
retirement pay of one-half month salary for every years of service, provided that the
following conditions are present: (a) there is no retirement plan between the employer
and employees; (b) the employee has reached the age of 60 years old for optional
retirement or 65 years old for compulsory retirement; and (c) the employee should
have rendered at least five years of service with the employer. Bernardo avowed that
all these conditions were extant in his case.
The NLRC, in its Decision dated June 30, 2008, reversed the Labor Arbiter's ruling and
found that Bernardo timely filed his complaint for retirement benefits. The NLRC
pointed out that DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista, knowing fully well that Bernardo already
reached the compulsory age of retirement of 65 years old, still extended Bernardo's
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employment. Thus, Bernardo's cause of action for payment of his retirement benefits
accrued only on November 8, 2003, when he was informed by DLS-AU that his contract
would no longer be renewed and he was deemed separated from employment. The
principle of estoppel was also applicable against DLS-AU and Dr. Bautista who could not
validly claim prescription when they were the ones who permitted Bernardo to work
beyond retirement age. As to Bernardo's entitlement to retirement benefits, the NLRC
held:
In a Resolution dated September 15, 2008, the NLRC denied the Motion for
Reconsideration ofDLS-AU and Dr. Bautista for lack of merit.
DLS-AU filed before the Court of Appeals a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition,
imputing grave abuse of discretion on the part of the NLRC for (1) holding that
Bernardo was entitled to retirement benefits despite the fact that he was a mere part-
time employee; and (2) not holding that Bernardo's claim for retirement benefits was
barred by prescription.
The Court of Appeals promulgated its Decision on June 29, 2009, affirming in toto the
NLRC judgment. The Court of Appeals ruled that the coverage of, as well as the
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exclusion from, Republic Act No. 7641 are clearly delineated under Sections 1 and 2 of
the Implementing Rules of Book VI, Rule II of the Labor Code, as well as the Labor
Advisory on Retirement Pay Law; and part-time employees are not among those
excluded from enjoying retirement benefits. Labor and social laws, being remedial in
character, should be liberally construed in order to further their purpose. The appellate
court also declared that the NLRC did not err in relying on the Implementing Rules of
Republic Act No. 7641 because administrative rules and regulations issued by a
competent authority remain valid unless shown to contravene the Constitution or used
to enlarge the power of the administrative agency beyond the scope intended.
The Court of Appeals additionally determined that Bernardo's cause of action accrued
only upon his separation from employment and the subsequent denial of his demand
for retirement benefits. To the appellate court, the NLRC was correct in applying the
equitable doctrine of estoppel since the continuous extension of Bernardo's
employment, despite him being well over the statutory compulsory age of retirement,
prevented him from already claiming his retirement benefits for he was under the
impression that he could avail himself of the same eventually upon the termination of
his employment.
The Motion for Reconsideration of DLS-AU was denied by the Court of Appeals in its
Resolution dated January 4, 2010.
Hence, DLS-AU lodged the present petition before us, raising the following issues:
I.
II.
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There is no dispute that Bernardo was a part-time lecturer at DLS-AU, with a fixed-term
employment. As a part-time lecturer, Bernardo did not attain permanent status. Section
93 of the 1992 Manual of Regulations for Private Schools provided:
Sec. 93. Regular or Permanent Status. - Those who have served the probationary
period shall be made regular or permanent. Full-time teachers who have satisfactorily
completed their probationary period shall be considered regular or permanent.
Per Section 92 of the same Regulations, probationary period for academic personnel
"shall not be more than three (3) consecutive years of satisfactory service for those in
the elementary and secondary levels, six (6) consecutive regular semesters of
satisfactory service for those in the tertiary level, and nine (9) consecutive trimesters
of satisfactory service for those in the tertiary level where collegiate courses are offered
on the trimester basis."
Thus, jurisprudence identified the requisites which should concur for a private school
teacher to acquire permanent status, viz.: (1) the teacher is a full-time teacher; (2) the
teacher must have rendered three consecutive years of service; and (3) such service
must have been satisfactory.[17]
Our jurisprudence had likewise settled the legitimacy of fixed-term employment. In the
landmark case of Brent School, Inc. v. Zamora,[19] the Court pronounced:
From the premise - that the duties of an employee entail "activities which
are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the
employer" - the conclusion does not necessarily follow that the employer
and employee should be forbidden to stipulate any period of time for the
performance of those activities. There is nothing essentially contradictory
between a definite period of an employment contract and the nature of the
employee's duties set down in that contract as being "usually necessary or
desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer." The concept of the
employee's duties as being "usually necessary or desirable in the usual
business or trade of the employer" is not synonymous with or identical to
employment with a fixed term. Logically, the decisive determinant in the
term employment should not be the activities that the employee is called
upon to perform, but the day certain agreed upon by the parties for the
commencement and termination of their employment relationship, a day
certain being understood to be "that which must necessarily come, although
it may not be known when." Seasonal employment, and employment for a
particular project are merely instances of employment in which a period,
where not expressly set down, is necessarily implied.
xxxx
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Such interpretation puts the seal on [Bibiso v. Victorias Milling Co., Inc.]
upon the effect of the expiry of an agreed period of employment as still good
rule - a rule reaffirmed in the recent case of Escudero v. Office of the
President (G.R. No. 57822, April 26, 1989) where, in the fairly analogous
case of a teacher being served by her school a notice of termination
following the expiration of the last of three successive fixed term
employment contracts, the Court held:
Bernardo's employment with DLS-AU had always been for a fixed term, i.e., for a
semester or summer. Absent allegation and proof to the contrary, Bernardo entered
into such contracts of employment with DLS-AU knowingly and voluntarily. Hence,
Bernardo's contracts of employment with DLS-AU for a fixed term were valid, legal, and
binding. Bernardo's last contract of employment with DLS-AU ended on October 12,
2003, upon the close of the first semester for school year 2003-2004, without DLS-AU
offering him another contract for the succeeding semester.
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Nonetheless, that Bernardo was a part-time employee and his employment was for a
fixed period are immaterial in this case. Bernardo is not alleging illegal dismissal nor
claiming separation pay. Bernardo is asserting his right to retirement benefits given the
termination of his employment with DLS-AU when he was already 75 years old.
his financial support, and are a form of reward for his loyalty and service to the
employer. Retirement benefits, where not mandated by law, may be granted by
agreement of the employees and their employer or as a voluntary act on the part of the
employer.
In the present case, DLS-AU, through Dr. Bautista, denied Bernardo's claim for
retirement benefits because only full-time permanent faculty of DLS-AU are entitled to
said benefits pursuant to university policy and the CBA. Since Bernardo has not been
granted retirement benefits under any agreement with or by voluntary act of DLS-AU,
the next question then is, can Bernardo claim retirement benefits by mandate of any
law?
Republic Act No. 7641 is a curative social legislation. It precisely intends to give the
minimum retirement benefits to employees not entitled to the same under collective
bargaining and other agreements. It also applies to establishments with existing
collective bargaining or other agreements or voluntary retirement plans whose benefits
are less than those prescribed in said law.[21]
Article 302 [287] of the Labor Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 7641, reads:
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five (5) years in said establishment, may retire and shall be entitled to
retirement pay equivalent to at least one-half (1/2) month salary for every
year of service, a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one
whole year.
Unless the parties provide for broader inclusions, the term one-half month
salary shall mean fifteen (15) days plus one twelfth (1/12) of the 13th
month pay and the cash equivalent of not more than five (5) days of service
incentive leaves.
xxxx
Book VI, Rule II of the Rules Implementing the Labor Code clearly describes the
coverage of Republic Act No. 7641 and specifically identifies the exemptions from the
same, to wit:
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Through a Labor Advisory dated October 24, 1996, then Secretary of Labor, and later
Supreme Court Justice, Leonardo A. Quisumbing (Secretary Quisumbing), provided
Guidelines for the Effective Implementation of Republic Act No. 7641, The Retirement
Pay Law, addressed to all employers in the private sector. Pertinent portions of said
Labor Advisory are reproduced below:
A. COVERAGE
RA 7641 or the Retirement Pay Law shall apply to all employees in the
private sector, regardless of their position, designation or status and
irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid. They shall
include part-time employees, employees of service and other job
contractors and domestic helpers or persons in the personal service
of another.
The law does not cover employees of retail, service and agricultural
establishments or operations employing not more than [ten] (10) employees
or workers and employees of the National Government and its political
subdivisions, including Government-owned and/or controlled corporations, if
they are covered by the Civil Service Law and its regulations.
xxxx
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Republic Act No. 7641 states that "any employee may be retired upon reaching the
retirement age x x x;" and "[i]n case of retirement, the employee shall be entitled to
receive such retirement benefits as he may have earned under existing laws and any
collective bargaining agreement and other agreements." The Implementing Rules
provide that Republic Act No. 7641 applies to "all employees in the private sector,
regardless of their position, designation or status and irrespective of the method by
which their wages are paid, except to those specifically exempted x x x." And Secretary
Quisumbing's Labor Advisory further clarifies that the employees covered by Republic
Act No. 7641 shall "include part-time employees, employees of service and other job
contractors and domestic helpers or persons in the personal service of another."
The only exemptions specifically identified by Republic Act No. 7641 and its
Implementing Rules are: (1) employees of the National Government and its political
subdivisions, including government-owned and/or controlled corporations, if they are
covered by the Civil Service Law and its regulations; and (2) employees of retail,
service and agricultural establishments or operations regularly employing not more
than 10 employees.
Based on Republic Act No. 7641, its Implementing Rules, and Secretary Quisumbing's
Labor Advisory, Bernardo, as a part-time employee of DLS-AU, is entitled to retirement
benefits. The general coverage of Republic Act No. 7641 is broad enough to encompass
all private sector employees, and part-time employees are not among those specifically
exempted from the law. The provisions of Republic Act No. 7641 and its Implementing
Rules are plain, direct, unambiguous, and need no further elucidation. Any doubt is
dispelled by the unequivocal statement in Secretary Quisumbing's Labor Advisory that
Republic Act No. 7641 applies to even part-time employees.
Under the rule of statutory construction of expressio unius est exclusio alterius,
Bernardo's claim for retirement benefits cannot be denied on the ground that he was a
part-time employee as part-time employees are not among those specifically exempted
under Republic Act No. 7641 or its Implementing Rules. Said rule of statutory
construction is explained thus:
xxxx
The rule of expressio unius est exclusio alterius and its variations are canons
of restrictive interpretation. They are based on the rules of logic and the
natural workings of the human mind. They are predicated upon one's own
voluntary act and not upon that of others. They proceed from the premise
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that the legislature would not have made specified enumeration in a statute
had the intention been not to restrict its meaning and confine its terms to
those expressly mentioned.[22]
The NLRC and the Court of Appeals did not err in relying on the Implementing Rules of
Republic Act No. 7641 in their respective judgments which favored Bernardo.
Congress, through Article 5 of the Labor Code, delegated to the Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE) and other government agencies charged with the
administration and enforcement of said Code the power to promulgate the necessary
implementing rules and regulations. It was pursuant to Article 5 of the Labor Code that
then Secretary of Labor Ma. Nieves R. Confesor issued on January 7, 1993 the Rules
Implementing the New Retirement Law, which became Rule II of Book VI of the Rules
Implementing the Labor Code.
We further find that the Implementing Rules and Secretary Quisumbing's Labor
Advisory are consistent with Article 4 of the Labor Code, which expressly mandates that
"all doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of this Code,
including its implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved in favor of labor."
There being no compelling argument herein to convince us otherwise, we uphold the
legality and validity of the Implementing Rules and Secretary Quisumbing's Labor
Advisory, and likewise apply the same to Bernardo's case.
For the availment of the retirement benefits under Article 302 [287] of the Labor Code,
as amended by Republic Act No. 7641, the following requisites must concur: (1) the
employee has reached the age of 60 years for optional retirement or 65 years for
compulsory retirement; (2) the employee has served at least five years in the
establishment; and (3) there is no retirement plan or other applicable agreement
providing for retirement benefits of employees in the establishment. Bernardo - being
75 years old at the time of his retirement, having served DLS-AU for a total of 27
years, and not being covered by the grant of retirement benefits in the CBA - is
unquestionably qualified to avail himself of retirement benefits under said statutory
provision, i.e., equivalent to one-half month salary for every year of service, a fraction
of at least six months being considered as one whole year.[25]
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Art. 306 [291]. Money claims. - All money claims arising from employer-
employee relations accruing during the effectivity of this Code shall be filed
within three years from the time the cause of action accrued; otherwise they
shall be forever barred.
DLS-AU invokes UST Faculty Union v. National Labor Relations Commission,[26] wherein
it was held that when an employee or official has reached the compulsory retirement
age, he is thereby effectively separated from the service. And so, DLS-AU maintains
that Bernardo's cause of action for his retirement benefits, which is patently a money
claim, accrued when he reached the compulsory retirement age of 65 years old, and
had already prescribed when Bernardo filed his complaint only 10 years later, when he
was already 75 years old.
The case of UST Faculty Union is not in point as the issue involved therein was the right
of a union to intervene in the extension of the service of a retired employee. Professor
Tranquilina J. Marilio (Prof. Marilio) already reached the compulsory retirement age of
65 years old, but was granted by the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) an extension of
two years tenure. We ruled in said case that UST no longer needed to consult the union
before refusing to further extend Prof. Marilio's tenure.
A cause of action has three elements, to wit, (1) a right in favor of the plaintiff by
whatever means and under whatever law it arises or is created; (2) an obligation on
the part of the named defendant to respect or not to violate such right; and (3) an act
or omission on the part of such defendant violative of the right of the plaintiff or
constituting a breach of the obligation of the defendant to the plaintiff.[27]
Bernardo's right to retirement benefits and the obligation of DLS-AU to pay such
benefits are already established under Article 302 [287] of the Labor Code, as amended
by Republic Act No. 7641. However, there was a violation of Bernardo's right only after
DLS-AU informed him on November 8, 2003 that the university no longer intended to
offer him another contract of employment, and already accepting his separation from
service, Bernardo sought his retirement benefits, but was denied by DLS AU. Therefore,
the cause of action for Bernardo's retirement benefits only accrued after the refusal of
DLS-AU to pay him the same, clearly expressed in Dr. Bautista's letter dated February
12, 2004. Hence, Bernardo's complaint, filed with the NLRC on February 26, 2004, was
filed within the three-year prescriptive period provided under Article 291 of the Labor
Code.
Even granting arguendo that Bernardo's cause of action already accrued when he
reached 65 years old, we cannot simply overlook the fact that DLS-AU had repeatedly
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extended Bernardo's employment even when he already reached 65 years old. DLS-AU
still knowingly offered Bernardo, and Bernardo willingly accepted, contracts of
employment to teach for semesters and summers in the succeeding 10 years. Since
DLS-AU was still continuously engaging his services even beyond his retirement age,
Bernardo deemed himself still employed and deferred his claim for retirement benefits,
under the impression that he could avail himself of the same upon the actual
termination of his employment. The equitable doctrine of estoppel is thus applicable
against DLS-AU. In Planters Development Bank v. Spouses Lopez,[28] we expounded on
the principle of estoppels as follows:
Section 2, Rule 131 of the Rules of Court provides that whenever a party
has, by his own declaration, act, or omission, intentionally and deliberately
led another to believe that a particular thing is true, and to act upon such
belief, he cannot, in any litigation arising out of such declaration, act or
omission, be permitted to falsify it.
DLS-AU, in this case, not only kept its silence that Bernardo had already reached the
compulsory retirement age of 65 years old, but even continuously offered him contracts
of employment for the next 10 years. It should not be allowed to escape its obligation
to pay Bernardo's retirement benefits by putting entirely the blame for the deferred
claim on Bernardo's shoulders.
SO ORDERED.
Sereno, C. J., (Chairperson), Del Castillo, Perlas-Bernabe, and Caguioa, JJ., concur.
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[1] Rollo, pp. 38-49; penned by Associate Justice Ricardo R. Rosario with Associate
[17] St. Mary's University v. Court of Appeals, 493 Phil. 232, 237 (2005).
[21] MLQU v. National Labor Relations Commission, 419 Phil. 776, 783 (2001).
[22] Malinias v. Commission on Elections, 439 Phil. 319, 335-336 (2002), citing Ruben
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E. Agpa1o, Statutory Construction, (1990), pp. 160-161, which, in turn, cited People v.
Aquino, 83 Phil. 614 (1949); Lerum v. Cruz, 87 Phil. 652 (1950); Canlas v. Republic,
103 Phil. 712 ( 1958); Lao Oh Kim v. Reyes, 103 Phil. 1139 (1958); Manila Lodge No.
761 v. Court of Appeals, 165 Phil. 161 (1976); Escribano v. Judge Avila, 174 Phil. 490
(1978); Santos v. Court of Appeals, 185 Phil. 331 (1980); Velazco v. Bias, 201 Phil.
122 (1982).
[24] Amores v. Acting Chairman, Commission on Audit, 291-A Phil. 445, 450 (1993).
[25] Under Book VI, Rule II, Section 5.2 of the Rules Implementing the Labor Code, the
(a) Fifteen (15) days salary of the employee based on his latest salary rate. As used
herein, the term "salary" includes all remunerations paid by an employer to his
employees for services rendered during normal working days and hours, whether such
payments are fixed or ascertained on a time, task, piece of commission basis, or other
method of calculating the same, and includes the fair and reasonable value, as
determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, of food, lodging or other
facilities customarily furnished by the employer to his employees. The term does not
include cost of living allowances, profit-sharing payments and other monetary benefits
which are not considered as part of or integrated into the regular salary of the
employees.
(b) The cash equivalent of not more than five (5) days of service incentive leave.
(d) All other benefits that the employer and employee may agree upon that should be
included in the employee's retirement pay.
[27] Auto Bus Transport System Inc. v. Bautista, 497 Phil. 863, 875 (2005).
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