WHEREAS, under Article 286 of the Labor Code as amended, the Bureau of Workmen's Compensation, Workmen's Compensation Commission and the Workmen's Compensation Units in the Regional Offices of the Department of Labor shall be considered abolished on December 31, 1975;

WHEREAS, on the basis of reports gathered by the Department of Labor, there are still more than 2,000 workmen's compensation cases which have been decided by the different Workmen's Compensation Units of the Department of Labor throughout the country during the months of October, November and December that are expected to Reach the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Commission on or after December 31, 1975;

WHEREAS, in order to afford substantial justice to these appellees and to enable winning claimants to enforce through the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Commission and the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Units the awards and decisions rendered in their favor, all of whom would otherwise be deprived of any other available remedy in law, it is necessary that the workmen鈥檚 compensation program be extended up to and until March 31, 1976.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree as follows:

SECTION 1. The first paragraph of Article 286 of the Labor Code as amended is hereby to read as follows:

鈥淎RT. 826. Termination of the workmen鈥檚 compensation program.鈥擳he Bureau of Workmen鈥檚 Compensation, the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Commission and the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Units in the regional offices of the Department of Labor shall continue to exercise the functions and the respective jurisdictions over workmen鈥檚 compensation cases vested upon them by Act No. 3428, as amended, otherwise known as the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Act, until March 31, 1976. Likewise, the term of office of incumbent members of the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Commission, including its Chairman, and any commissioner deemed retired as of December 31, 1975, as well as the present employees and officials of the Bureau of Workmen鈥檚 Compensation, Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Commission and the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Unit shall continue up to that date. Thereafter, said office shall be considered abolished and all officials and personnel thereof shall be transferred to and mandatory absorbed by the Department of Labor, subject to Presidential Decree No. 6, Letters of Instructions Nos. 14 and 14-A and the Civil Service laws and rules.

SEC. 2. Such amount as may be necessary to cover the operational expenses of the Bureau of Workmen鈥檚 Compensation, the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Commission and the Workmen鈥檚 Compensation Units including the salaries of incumbent personnel for the period up to March 31, 1976 shall be appropriated from the unprogrammed funds of the Department of Labor.

SEC. 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 31st day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-five.