Do Government Employees Have Labor Rights? Civil Service vs Labor Code

Filipino government workers are protected by law — but not by the Labor Code most private-sector guides describe. Teachers, clerks, engineers, nurses in public hospitals, and rank-and-file staff in national agencies, local government units and government-owned or controlled corporations answer to an entirely different legal framework: the Civil Service Law, not Presidential Decree No. 442.

That distinction is not a technicality. It changes which office hears a complaint, whether a worker can be dismissed only “for cause,” whether a strike is even legally possible, and whether a person is a government employee at all — a question that, as a 2024 Supreme Court ruling on PAGCOR’s job order workers shows, is not automatic just because someone works inside a government agency.

This guide explains what the Constitution and the Civil Service Law actually give government employees, where those rights differ sharply from private-sector labor rights, and what happens when a government worker’s classification itself is in dispute.

Direct Answer

Yes — but under a different law. Government employees have labor-type rights under the 1987 Constitution and the Civil Service Law (Executive Order No. 292, Book V), not the Labor Code. Article 291 of the Labor Code itself says so: the terms and conditions of employment of all government employees, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations, are governed by Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, and other applicable laws.^[2]

Government employees have constitutionally guaranteed security of tenure and the right to self-organize,^[1] but the Supreme Court has consistently held that this does not include the right to strike.^[7][9] They negotiate through Collective Negotiation Agreements (CNAs), not Collective Bargaining Agreements, and they resolve disputes through the Civil Service Commission or the Ombudsman — not DOLE, SEnA or the NLRC.

Key Takeaways

Article 291 of the Labor Code expressly excludes government employees from its coverage and places them under Civil Service Law instead.^[2]
The civil service covers all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities and agencies of government, including GOCCs with original charters — but GOCCs incorporated under the general Corporation Code, without an original charter, fall under the Labor Code and NLRC jurisdiction instead.^[1][8]
Government employees have a constitutional right to security of tenure and to self-organization, but not a legal right to strike, join a picket line, or stage a mass walkout.^[1][7][9]
Instead of a CBA, recognized government employee organizations negotiate a Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA), and only over matters not already fixed by law, budget or appropriation.^[3]
Government employees are covered by GSIS, not SSS, for retirement, life insurance, disability and survivorship benefits.^[5]
Not everyone who works for a government office is legally a “government employee.” Contract of Service (COS) and Job Order (JO) workers are explicitly excluded from Civil Service coverage and government benefits under a 2017 CSC-COA-DBM joint circular, a rule the Supreme Court upheld in 2024.^[6][10]
Disputes over dismissal, discipline or benefits go through the agency, the Civil Service Commission, or the Ombudsman — not DOLE’s SEnA process or the NLRC, which have no jurisdiction over civil service personnel actions.^[7]
A government employee removed through a bad-faith reorganization is entitled to reinstatement with back pay, or separation benefits if the reorganization was valid.^[4]

Legal Basis

Authority	Classification	Rule Supported	Effect
1987 Constitution, Article IX-B, Section 2	Constitutional provision	Civil service coverage, security of tenure, right to self-organization	Supreme law; binding
Labor Code, Article 291	Labor Code provision	Government employees are governed by Civil Service Law, not the Labor Code	Binding law
Executive Order No. 180 (1987)	Executive issuance	Right to organize, Public Sector Labor-Management Council, CNA framework	Binding on the executive branch
Republic Act No. 6656	Statute	Security of tenure during government reorganization	Binding law
Republic Act No. 8291 (GSIS Act of 1997)	Statute	Compulsory GSIS coverage of government employees	Binding law
CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2017	Administrative issuance	Job Order and Contract of Service workers are not government employees	Binding on government agencies
SSS Employees Association v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 85279, July 28, 1989	Supreme Court jurisprudence	No right to strike for government employees despite the right to self-organize	Controlling jurisprudence
National Service Corp. v. NLRC, G.R. No. L-69870, November 29, 1988	Supreme Court jurisprudence	GOCCs without original charters fall under the Labor Code, not Civil Service Law	Controlling jurisprudence
Manila Public School Teachers Assn. v. Laguio, Jr., G.R. No. 95445, August 6, 1991	Supreme Court jurisprudence	Mass leave/absence by public-sector workers can be treated as a prohibited strike	Controlling jurisprudence
Abadilla v. PAGCOR, G.R. No. 258658, June 19, 2024	Supreme Court jurisprudence	Job Order/Contract of Service workers are not civil service employees	Controlling jurisprudence

Who Counts as a “Government Employee”?

Under Article IX-B, Section 2(1) of the 1987 Constitution, “the civil service embraces all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities, and agencies of the Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters.”^[1] That single sentence draws the line for almost every question that follows.

In practical terms, the civil service covers:

All employees of the national government — executive departments, bureaus, offices and attached agencies.
All employees of the legislative and judicial branches.
All employees of local government units: provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays.
Employees of state universities and colleges and other constitutional commissions.
Employees of GOCCs with an original charter — meaning the corporation was created directly by a special law or charter (such as the SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, or a state university), rather than incorporated under the general Corporation Code.

GOCCs With Original Charters vs Without

This distinction matters enormously in practice. In National Service Corporation (NASECO) v. NLRC, the Supreme Court held that a GOCC organized and incorporated under the general Corporation Code — without its own special charter — is not part of the civil service. Its employees are covered by the Labor Code, and labor disputes go to the NLRC, not the Civil Service Commission.^[8] The 1987 Constitution’s own “with original charters” qualifier was what settled this: before it, GOCCs of every kind had been treated as part of the civil service.

This is why some government-linked corporations negotiate ordinary CBAs and can lawfully strike, while others — like the Social Security System, whose employees are covered by an original charter — cannot. In SSS Employees Association v. Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court confirmed that the SSS, created by its own charter, is squarely within the civil service, and its employees may not strike even though they had organized and bargained collectively over certain terms.^[7]

For a fuller picture of how Philippine law defines an employment relationship generally, see LaborCode.ph’s guide to Employee vs Employer Under Philippine Labor Law.

Civil Service Law vs the Labor Code: The Core Differences

Aspect	Civil Service Law (Government Employees)	Labor Code (Private-Sector Employees)
Governing framework	1987 Constitution, Art. IX-B; Executive Order No. 292, Book V; CSC rules	Labor Code of the Philippines (P.D. No. 442)
Hiring standard	Merit and fitness, generally through civil service eligibility and qualification standards	Employer discretion within anti-discrimination and labor-standards limits
Compensation	Salary Standardization Law and the Salary Grade system set pay; not individually negotiated	Wage may be individually or collectively negotiated, subject to minimum wage floors
Right to organize	Yes, under Executive Order No. 180, through registered employee organizations	Yes, through unions under the Labor Code
Collective negotiation	Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) — limited to matters not fixed by law or appropriation	Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) — broader scope, including wages
Right to strike	No — concerted mass actions and strikes are prohibited by CSC rules and jurisprudence	Yes, subject to Labor Code notice and cooling-off requirements
Dispute forum	Agency grievance machinery, Civil Service Commission, Ombudsman	DOLE, SEnA, NLRC
Social insurance	GSIS (RA 8291)	SSS
Security of tenure source	1987 Constitution, Art. IX-B, Sec. 2(3): removal or suspension only “for cause provided by law”	Labor Code, Arts. 294–299: just and authorized causes, twin-notice due process

For how salaries are actually set under the government pay scale, see Salary Grade in the Philippines: Government Pay Scale Explained.

Rights Government Employees Do Have

Security of tenure

Article IX-B, Section 2(3) of the Constitution provides that “no officer or employee of the civil service shall be removed or suspended except for cause provided by law.”^[1] A permanent civil service appointee cannot be dismissed at will; removal must follow due process and rest on a legally recognized ground, whether disciplinary (misconduct, dishonesty, neglect of duty) or non-disciplinary (abolished position, expiration of a term).

Protection during reorganization

Republic Act No. 6656 protects civil service officers and employees when an agency reorganizes. A removal is presumed made in bad faith if, among other things, the reorganization results in more positions than before, an abolished office is replaced by one performing substantially the same functions, or a less qualified employee replaces one with better performance and standing.^[4] A permanent employee illegally separated is entitled to reinstatement or reappointment without loss of seniority, plus back pay for the period of separation; one legally and validly separated is entitled to separation pay, early retirement benefits, or a separation gratuity.^[4]

The right to self-organization

The Constitution states plainly that “the right to self-organization shall not be denied to government employees.”^[1] Executive Order No. 180 implements this: government employees, except high-level policy-making, managerial or confidential personnel, and except members of the Armed Forces, police, firefighters and jail guards, may form, join or assist employee organizations of their own choosing.^[3] Government authorities may not interfere with an organization’s formation or administration, and no employee may be discriminated against for joining one.

Collective negotiation, within limits

A registered government employee organization with the majority of a bargaining unit may negotiate a Collective Negotiation Agreement with management over working conditions — but only on matters not already fixed by law, executive order or appropriation, since compensation and most benefits are set by the Salary Standardization Law and the national budget, not by contract.^[3]

GSIS coverage

Republic Act No. 8291 makes GSIS membership compulsory for practically all national government, GOCC, and local government employees, whether elected or appointed, permanent or temporary, as long as they receive compensation and are not otherwise excluded. GSIS provides retirement, life insurance, disability and survivorship benefits — the government-sector counterpart to the SSS system that covers private-sector workers.^[5] For the SSS side of that comparison, see LaborCode.ph’s SSS Contribution Table guide.

Leave benefits, due process in discipline, and grievance machinery

Civil Service Commission rules give government employees their own leave system (vacation and sick leave credits, special privilege leave, and other statutory leaves also available to private-sector workers, such as maternity, paternity, solo parent and VAWC leave), a formal grievance machinery for workplace complaints, and — in disciplinary cases — a right to written charges, to answer, to a hearing, and to appeal an adverse decision, mirroring in spirit (though not in citation) the twin-notice due process private-sector employees receive under the Labor Code.

Rights Government Employees Do Not Have (or Have Differently)

No right to strike

This is the sharpest difference from private-sector labor law. In SSS Employees Association v. Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court held that “government workers cannot use the same weapons employed by workers in the private sector to secure concessions from their employers,” and that while the Constitution guarantees government employees the right to self-organization, it does not extend that guarantee to the right to strike.^[7] Executive Order No. 180 likewise provides that civil service laws and rules governing concerted activities and strikes in government service continue to apply, pending legislation granting anything broader.^[3]

This is not limited to a formal picket line. In Manila Public School Teachers Association v. Laguio, Jr., the Supreme Court treated a coordinated mass leave of absence by public school teachers as the functional equivalent of a strike, since it disrupted public service through a concerted work stoppage — even without a picket sign in sight.^[9]

No CBA, no NLRC jurisdiction

Government employees under civil service do not sign a Labor Code-style CBA and cannot bring a labor dispute to the NLRC. Compensation is fixed by the Salary Standardization Law and annual appropriations, not by bargaining, and personnel disputes go through the agency, the Civil Service Commission, or the Ombudsman instead. For a look at how CBAs actually work on the private-sector side, see LaborCode.ph’s Collective Bargaining Agreement guide.

No SSS, no standard 13th month pay under PD 851

Government employees are covered by GSIS rather than SSS.^[5] Presidential Decree No. 851, the law mandating 13th month pay, applies to private-sector employers; government workers instead receive a Year-End Bonus and Cash Gift under separate budget issuances, which is comparable in purpose but is not the same legal entitlement and is not computed under PD 851’s rules.

The Job Order and Contract of Service Problem

Not everyone who reports to a government office every day is legally a government employee — and this gap is one of the most common sources of confusion and abuse in the public sector.

Many national agencies and LGUs engage workers as Job Order (JO) personnel or under a Contract of Service (COS) to perform clerical, utility, or project-based work. Under CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, series of 2017, Section 7.4, the services of JO and COS workers “are not covered by Civil Service law and rules thus, not creditable as government service. They do not enjoy the benefits enjoyed by government employees, such as leave, PERA, RATA and thirteenth month pay.”^[6]

The Supreme Court applied this squarely in 2024. In Abadilla v. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, the Court held that PAGCOR’s job order and contract of service workers were not government employees and fell outside Civil Service Commission jurisdiction, because “there is no employer-employee relationship between the government and job order workers, and the latter’s services are not considered government service.”^[10] The Court nonetheless admonished the agency that its hiring authority “should not be used to mistreat or otherwise mismanage” these workers — a signal that the absence of civil service coverage is not an invitation to disregard basic fairness, even if it removes the normal legal remedies.

In practice, this means a JO or COS worker who is abruptly dropped, or who is denied basic protections, generally cannot invoke Civil Service security of tenure, cannot file a CSC complaint as a government employee, and does not automatically fall under the Labor Code either, since the engagement is meant to be a service contract rather than employment. Where the facts show the person was actually treated as a regular employee in substance — fixed hours, direct supervision, disciplinary control, indefinite renewal for necessary and desirable work — that misclassification itself becomes the issue to raise, typically through the engaging agency first and, where a genuine employer-employee relationship with a private contractor is shown instead, through DOLE or the NLRC.

Supreme Court Cases That Define These Limits

SSS Employees Association v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 85279, July 28, 1989)

Holding: SSS employees, as civil service personnel under a GOCC with an original charter, have no right to strike, even though the Constitution guarantees their right to self-organize. The Regional Trial Court, not the NLRC, had jurisdiction to enjoin the strike, since labor disputes involving government employees fall under the Public Sector Labor-Management Council framework, not the Labor Code.^[7]

Practical lesson: Organizing is not the same as striking. A government employees’ association can lawfully exist and negotiate a CNA, but a work stoppage to force concessions is not a protected activity, however sympathetic the underlying grievance.

National Service Corporation v. NLRC (G.R. No. L-69870, November 29, 1988)

Holding: A GOCC incorporated under the general Corporation Code, without its own original charter, is not part of the civil service. Its employees are covered by the Labor Code, and the NLRC — not the Civil Service Commission — has jurisdiction over their labor disputes.^[8]

Practical lesson: “Government-owned or controlled” is not, by itself, enough to make someone a civil service employee. The charter question decides it, and workers at GOCCs should confirm which framework actually applies to their specific corporation before assuming either set of rules.

Manila Public School Teachers Association v. Laguio, Jr. (G.R. No. 95445, August 6, 1991)

Holding: A coordinated mass leave of absence by public school teachers, undertaken to press demands on the Department of Education, was properly treated as a prohibited strike-equivalent concerted activity, not an exercise of individual leave rights.^[9]

Practical lesson: Calling a coordinated work stoppage something other than a “strike” — a mass sick-out, a mass filing of leave — does not change its legal character in the civil service.

Abadilla v. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (G.R. No. 258658, June 19, 2024)

Holding: PAGCOR’s Job Order and Contract of Service workers are not government employees and are not covered by Civil Service law, consistent with CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2017. They may not invoke Civil Service Commission jurisdiction over their engagement or its termination.^[10]

Practical lesson: A government-issued ID, a desk in a government building, and years of service do not by themselves establish civil service employment. The nature of the engagement, not its location, controls.

How Discipline and Complaints Work in Government Service

Government employees who face discipline are entitled to a formal charge, an opportunity to answer and be heard, and a written decision — administered by the employing agency in the first instance, with the Civil Service Commission as the central personnel agency handling appeals, and the Office of the Ombudsman handling many complaints alleging graft, corruption or abuse of authority by public officers and employees. Where a workplace dispute is not disciplinary in nature — a grievance over an assignment, a working condition, or a benefit — an agency’s internal grievance machinery is generally the first stop.

What government employees do not use is DOLE’s Single Entry Approach (SEnA) or an NLRC complaint, since those forums exist for employer-employee relationships governed by the Labor Code. For a walk-through of how that private-sector process actually works, see LaborCode.ph’s guide on how to file a case against an employer — useful mainly as a point of contrast, or for a government worker who has genuinely been misclassified into a private-sector arrangement.

Government Employees vs Private-Sector Employees

Question	Government Employee (Civil Service)	Private-Sector Employee (Labor Code)
Can be dismissed only for cause?	Yes, cause provided by law, with due process	Yes, just or authorized cause, with twin-notice due process
Can join a union/organization?	Yes, a registered employee organization	Yes, a labor union
Can bargain collectively?	Limited: CNA on matters not fixed by law	Broad: CBA including wages and benefits
Can legally strike?	No	Yes, with Labor Code notice/cooling-off requirements
Social insurance system	GSIS	SSS
Primary dispute forum	Agency, Civil Service Commission, Ombudsman	DOLE, SEnA, NLRC

What to Do Next

If you are a government employee

Confirm your actual classification. Check your appointment paper: permanent, temporary, coterminous, casual — or Job Order/Contract of Service, which is not civil service employment at all.
Identify the right forum before filing anything. A disciplinary matter goes through your agency and the Civil Service Commission (or the Ombudsman for graft-related complaints), not DOLE or the NLRC.
Use your agency’s grievance machinery first for non-disciplinary workplace disputes, before escalating.
Document any reorganization that affects your position — staffing patterns, comparative qualifications, and whether your functions were genuinely abolished or simply renamed, in case RA 6656’s bad-faith indicators apply.
If you are engaged as Job Order or Contract of Service, understand that this status does not carry civil service benefits or security of tenure, and raise any misclassification concern with your agency’s HR or legal office directly.

If you are a government agency or HR office

Apply Civil Service Commission rules, not the Labor Code, to your regular plantilla personnel.
Follow RA 6656’s procedural and good-faith requirements before any reorganization-driven separation.
Keep Job Order and Contract of Service engagements genuinely limited to the scope contemplated by CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2017, and do not use them as a substitute for regular plantilla positions performing continuing, necessary functions.
Register recognized employee organizations and negotiate CNAs in good faith on matters within your authority to negotiate.
Route disciplinary matters through proper written charges, an opportunity to be heard, and a reasoned decision, consistent with due process.

HR/Agency Compliance Checklist

Confirm each personnel’s correct appointment status (permanent, temporary, casual, coterminous, JO/COS) and apply the correct rules for that status.
Do not allow JO/COS engagements to substitute for regular, continuing government positions.
Register and recognize legitimate employee organizations without interference.
Negotiate CNAs only on matters within the agency’s authority, excluding items fixed by law or appropriation.
Follow RA 6656’s bad-faith indicators before any reorganization-related separation.
Maintain a functioning internal grievance machinery.
Ensure GSIS enrollment and remittance for all covered personnel.
Apply CSC disciplinary due process — written charge, opportunity to answer, hearing where warranted, and a reasoned decision — before any suspension or dismissal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a government employee be fired without due process?

No. Article IX-B, Section 2(3) of the Constitution requires cause provided by law before removal or suspension, and Civil Service Commission rules require written charges, an opportunity to answer, and a reasoned decision before discipline is imposed.

Can government employees form a union?

Yes, subject to Executive Order No. 180. They may form, join or assist a registered employee organization, except for high-level policy-making, managerial or confidential personnel, and except members of the Armed Forces, police, firefighters and jail guards.

Why can’t government employees go on strike?

The Supreme Court has held that the constitutional right to self-organization does not extend to a right to strike for government employees, reasoning that government workers cannot use the same economic weapons private-sector workers use against a private employer, since the government is not an ordinary employer and public services cannot be disrupted the same way.

Are all employees of government-owned corporations covered by Civil Service Law?

No. Only GOCCs with an original charter — created directly by special law — are part of the civil service. GOCCs incorporated under the general Corporation Code, without an original charter, are covered by the Labor Code instead, and their employees may organize, bargain collectively through a CBA, and file cases with the NLRC.

Is a Job Order or Contract of Service worker a government employee?

No. Under CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2017, and as the Supreme Court confirmed in the 2024 PAGCOR ruling, JO and COS engagements are not considered government service and do not carry civil service benefits, leave credits, or security of tenure.

What retirement and insurance system covers government employees?

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) under Republic Act No. 8291, not the Social Security System (SSS), which covers private-sector workers.

Where does a government employee file a complaint about unfair treatment or dismissal?

Through the employing agency’s grievance machinery for workplace disputes, or through the Civil Service Commission for personnel actions and appeals, and through the Office of the Ombudsman for complaints involving graft, corruption or abuse of authority. DOLE’s SEnA process and the NLRC generally do not have jurisdiction over civil service personnel matters.

Conclusion

Government employees in the Philippines do have real, legally enforceable labor-type rights — security of tenure that can only be overcome for cause, a constitutional right to organize, protection during reorganization, and a dedicated social insurance system in GSIS. What they do not have is the Labor Code’s toolkit: no CBA in the private-sector sense, no NLRC forum, and, critically, no right to strike, a line the Supreme Court has drawn consistently since 1989.

The harder problem in practice is often not what rights apply, but who the rules apply to at all. GOCCs without an original charter sit under the Labor Code, not Civil Service Law, and Job Order or Contract of Service workers — however long they have worked inside a government office — generally are not government employees at all under current CSC-COA-DBM rules, a position the Supreme Court reaffirmed as recently as 2024. Anyone unsure which framework covers their position should start there before assuming either set of protections automatically applies.

Sources and Legal Citations

Constitution

[1] 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Article IX-B (Civil Service Commission), Section 2, The LawPhil Project. Supports: civil service coverage including GOCCs with original charters, security of tenure, and the right to self-organization of government employees. Status: verified official source.

Labor Code

[2] Department of Labor and Employment, Labor Code of the Philippines, Article 291 (Government Employees). Supports: government employees are governed by Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, and not by the Labor Code. Status: verified official source.

Executive Issuance

[3] Executive Order No. 180, s. 1987, The LawPhil Project. Supports: the right to organize of government employees, the Public Sector Labor-Management Council, exclusions, and the Collective Negotiation Agreement framework. Status: verified official source.

Statutes

[4] Republic Act No. 6656, The LawPhil Project. Supports: security of tenure during government reorganization, bad-faith indicators, and remedies of reinstatement, back pay or separation benefits. Status: verified official source.

[5] Republic Act No. 8291 (Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997), Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Supports: compulsory GSIS coverage of government employees in place of SSS. Status: verified official source.

Administrative Issuance

[6] CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2017, Department of Budget and Management. Supports: Job Order and Contract of Service workers are not covered by Civil Service law and do not enjoy government-employee benefits. Status: verified official source.

Supreme Court Decisions

[7] Social Security System Employees Association v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 85279, July 28, 1989, Supreme Court of the Philippines, The LawPhil Project. Supports: government employees have no right to strike despite the constitutional right to self-organization; GOCCs with original charters are within the civil service. Status: verified official source.

[8] National Service Corporation v. National Labor Relations Commission, G.R. No. L-69870, November 29, 1988, Supreme Court of the Philippines, The LawPhil Project. Supports: GOCCs without an original charter are covered by the Labor Code and NLRC jurisdiction, not Civil Service Law. Status: verified official source.

[9] Manila Public School Teachers Association v. Laguio, Jr., G.R. No. 95445, August 6, 1991, Supreme Court of the Philippines, The LawPhil Project. Supports: a coordinated mass leave by public-sector workers can be treated as a prohibited strike-equivalent concerted activity. Status: verified official source.

[10] Abadilla v. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, G.R. No. 258658, June 19, 2024, Supreme Court of the Philippines, The LawPhil Project. Supports: Job Order and Contract of Service workers are not government employees and are not covered by Civil Service Commission jurisdiction. Status: verified official source.

Prepared by: LaborCode.ph Editorial Team
Editorial review: Reviewed under the LaborCode.ph Content Review Policy
Sources rechecked as of: September 9, 2026
Last materially reviewed: September 9, 2026
Article-level legal review status: No named lawyer-review credit has been assigned to this article.
Legal review invitation: Qualified Philippine labor lawyers interested in reviewing this article or suggesting a correction may contact LaborCode.ph.

This guide is for general educational and legal-information purposes only and is not legal advice. Civil service classification, discipline and benefits depend on specific facts, applicable issuances and current jurisprudence. Checklists and examples are illustrative and do not guarantee a legal result. Government employees and agencies may need assistance from the Civil Service Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman, another appropriate government authority, or a qualified Philippine lawyer. LaborCode.ph is an independent information platform and is not a government agency, tribunal or law firm.