Palace: 13th-month pay can’t be deferred without amending law

MANILA, Philippines — Deferring the release of the mandated 13th-month pay of workers cannot be done without amending the law, Malacañang said Monday.

“The law has not been amended. That is the law. That is a mandatory provision of the Labor Code,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing when sought for comment on the matter.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) earlier said it is looking at the possibility of allowing business owners badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to defer the release of the 13-month pay.

“E pabayaan po natin pag-aralan ng DOLE. Pero sa aking tingin, hanggang magkaroon ng bagong batas, e baka hindi po yan pupuwede ma-defer,” Roque said.

(Let DOLE study it. But I think, unless there is a new law, it cannot be deferred.)

Under the Labor Code. all employers are required to pay employees a 13th-month pay regardless of their position, designation, or employment status, and irrespective of the methods by which their wages are paid, provided they worked for at least one month in a year.