A legislative proposal filed in the House of Representatives is pushing to mandate additional compensation for employees required to report for duty during natural disasters and extreme weather events.
Trabaho Party-List Representative Johanne Bautista introduced House Bill No. 4435, designated as the proposed Calamity Pay Law.
The measure seeks to obligate both public and private sector employers to provide a 30 percent premium on top of an employee’s basic wage when working under hazardous weather or disaster conditions.
According to a statement from the Trabaho Party-List, the legislative initiative gained widespread online traction following weeks of torrential rainfall.
“Daily commuters shared their ordeals of surviving through deep floodwaters and enduring severe weather brought by the combined effects of the enhanced Habagat and tropical cyclones Luis, Maymay, and Neneng just to avoid pay deductions or employer sanctions,” Trabaho Party-List said.
“…The TRABAHO Party-List maintained that establishing a statutory calamity pay standard is long overdue in a disaster-prone country like the Philippines,” it added.
The proposed statutory premium would activate under specific parameters: when an area is under an official state of calamity, subjected to a Red Rainfall Warning or at least Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3, covered by government-mandated work suspensions, or officially declared severely affected by disasters such as floods or earthquakes.
Exemptions are outlined for personnel whose primary duties involve emergency and disaster response, as well as micro-sized retail and service enterprises employing fewer than 10 workers. The bill also introduces worker protections against salary reductions or administrative penalties if conditions prevent them from reporting to work.
To mandate compliance, HB 4435 proposes punitive measures including fines up to ₱100,000, six to twelve months of imprisonment for accountable corporate officers, and the non-renewal of local business permits for non-compliant employers.
Bautista, who chairs the House Committee on Social Services, framed the bill as a matter of social justice and fair compensation for working Filipinos facing hazardous conditions.
The legislative push coincides with National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reports indicating that over six million individuals have been impacted by the combined effects of the Southwest Monsoon and recent tropical cyclones.