Palace to study 14th month pay proposal for employees

Malacañang will study the proposal to require private sector employers to pay their rank-and-file employees a 14th month pay.

President Duterte has yet to make known his stand on the proposed bill filed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

“You know, unfortunately, I can only speak on behalf of the President, and the President has not given me any indication on his position on the matter,” he said in a press briefing on Thursday.

Earlier, labor groups expressed optimism that the bill would be passed with the election of Sotto, the measure’s author, as Senate President last May.

Senate Bill No. 2 has been pending in the Senate since July 2016. It proposes that employees regardless of their employment status or designation are entitled to 14th month pay, as long as they worked at least one month during the calendar year. —JULIE M. AURELIO