Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 47)
The National Labor Relations Commission shall be composed of the Minister of Labor and Employment as Chairman and nine (9) Commissioners.
In the absence of the Minister of Labor and Employment, his duly authorized Deputy Minister shall act as Chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission.
The Commission may sit en banc or in three divisions, each composed of three Members. It determines by rules approved by the Chairman which cases it shall decide en banc and which a division shall decide. The decision of a division has the same force and effect as a decision of the Commission.
The Commission has its main office in Metropolitan Manila and establishes branches in as many regional offices of the Ministry of Labor and Employment as needed, with Labor Arbiters assigned to each branch and headed by an Executive Labor Arbiter.
Commissioners must have at least five (5) years experience in handling labor-management relations and must be members of the bar.
Executive Labor Arbiters and Labor Arbiters must have at least two (2) years experience in handling labor-management relations and must be members of the bar.
The Commissioners are appointed by the President for a term of six (6) years without prejudice to reappointment.
Of the first appointed Commissioners, some hold office for six (6) years, three for four (4) years, and three for two (2) years to provide for staggered terms.
Executive Labor Arbiters and Labor Arbiters are appointed by the President and are subject to the Civil Service Law and applicable rules and regulations.
The Minister of Labor and Employment exercises administrative supervision over the Commission, its regional branches, and their personnel.
The Presiding Commissioner of the First Division acts as the Vice-Chairman of the Commission and serves as its day-to-day administrator.
Commissioners shall receive an annual salary of not less than eighty-seven thousand pesos (P87,000.00) and Labor Arbiters shall receive not less than seventy-two thousand pesos (P72,000.00).
All laws, orders, issuances, rules, and regulations or any parts thereof inconsistent with Executive Order No. 47 are repealed or modified accordingly.
The Executive Order took effect immediately upon its signing on September 10, 1986.