Finally, after almost a year of research and consultation, the Institute for Labor Studies in 2001 has come-out with this Rules and Regulations Implementing the Labor Code and Related Laws. This serves as a companion reference to our earlier publications of the Integrated Labor and Labor-Related Laws in June 1999 and November 2000.  

This book is not meant to be the Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor code but is just a compilation of controlling rules and guidelines on labor and related laws. We merely compiled in one document the controlling rules as we are aware that any amendments to the Omnibus Rules have to undergo the required process first. It has to be reviewed by the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) and the DOLE Technical Committee on Legislative Matters (TCLM). The approval of the Secretary of Labor and Employment and publication in newspapers of general circulation are also required.  

We complied the rules using the outline of the existing Omnibus Rules. DOLE issuances, which are not integrated yet in the rules, are reflected in the appropriate Book. Among the issuances reflected here are: Department Order No. 7 [2000] implementing the Public Employment service Office Act of 1999; D.O. No. 9 [1997], amended the rules implementing Book V of the Labor Code; D.O. No. 10 [1997], amended the rules implementing Books III and VI of the Labor Code; the Omnibus Rules and Regulations Implementing the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995; the Rules and Regulations Governing Private Recruitment and Placement Agency for Local Employment; and the Magna Carta for Disabled Workers. Various regulations and issuances on alien employment, training, Muslim and other holidays, wages, employment of students, and occupational safety and health were also integrated.  

The compilation was made possible by the DOLE bureaus, regional offices and attached agencies’ valuable inputs and comments to the draft. The Institute is grateful for the inputs, which we have classified into two types. The first are those that pointed out corrections and/or omissions of certain provisions in the draft. The second are proposals meant to improve DOLE’s delivery of services to its publics. While we cannot reflect the proposals in this compilation, we however, document them as recommendations for consideration by the TIPC and TCLM.

Lastly, we dedicate this book to the workers, employers, labor administrators, students and labor law practitioners whose need for compiled rules and guidelines on labor and related laws this book seeks to address.