Beyond the Office Walls: How DO 259-26 Widens the Reach of Workplace Violence and Harassment Protections

Authors: Rashel Ann C. Pomoy, Lawrence Ivan Manalo, Annie Erika T. Dee

Many Philippine companies already maintain policies addressing workplace violence and harassment. The question raised by Department Order No. 259, Series of 2026 (“DO 259‑26”) is whether these policies still reach far enough.

Issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (“DOLE”) on 31 July 2026 after the Philippines ratified International Labour Organization Convention No. 190 (“ILO C190”), DO 259‑26 protects the right of workers and employers to a world of work free from violence and harassment. It does not displace existing policies. Rather, it expands their scope in four areas: who is covered, what counts as violence and harassment, where it can happen, and what the employer must do about it.

 

Beyond Regular Employees: Who Your Policy Should Cover

DO 259‑26 covers all private-sector establishments, regardless of size, category, nature of business, number of workers, or employment arrangement. Coverage extends well beyond regular employees to include all persons working irrespective of contractual status; persons in training, including interns and apprentices; workers whose employment has ended; volunteers; jobseekers and job applicants; and individuals exercising the authority, duties, or responsibilities of an employer.

An incident therefore need not involve two regular employees. A complaint by an intern against a contractor, or by an applicant against an interviewer, falls within the scope of the policy.

 

Beyond Physical and Sexual Harm: What Your Policy Should Cover

Violence and harassment include unacceptable behaviours, practices, or threats that aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm. They may occur once or repeatedly and may include gender-based violence and harassment.

Physical violence and harassment include acts of physical aggression. Psychological violence and harassment may represent unfamiliar ground for some employers and can include bullying, derogatory comments, harassing performance monitoring or reviews, workplace exclusion, and repeated intimidation, humiliation, or isolation. Repeated derogatory gossip that leads co-workers to exclude an employee may qualify, depending on the circumstances.

Economic violence and harassment may include deliberately withholding wages or benefits to intimidate, punish, coerce, or retaliate against an employee, or wilfully delaying final pay, a Certificate of Employment, or the remittance of social protection and welfare benefits.

Sexual violence and harassment range from sexual assault and unwelcome physical contact to intrusive questions, insulting comments about gender identity or sexual orientation, repeated requests for dates after rejection, sexually explicit messages, and cyberstalking. These include acts already covered by the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act and the Safe Spaces Act.

This broader scope does not, however, transform legitimate management action into harassment. DO 259‑26 expressly preserves legitimate management prerogatives, including supervision, performance evaluation, discipline, work assignment, and investigation, provided that they are exercised in good faith, without discrimination, and in accordance with law.

Violence and harassment may also come from outside the organisation. The Revised OSH Implementing Rules already recognise third-party conduct in sexual harassment cases, while DO 259‑26 applies this principle more broadly. Employers should therefore ensure that their policies also address conduct by customers and clients.

 

Beyond the Office Walls: Where Your Policy Should Apply

DO 259‑26 applies to every site, location, and space where work is performed, whether inside or outside the employer’s usual place of business. These include places where workers are paid or take breaks, work‑related trips, training and social activities, commuting to and from work, work‑related digital communications, and work done through internet-based platforms. A group chat, a client dinner, or a ride home from a company event may therefore fall within its scope.

 

Beyond Having a Policy: How Employers Can Comply With DO 259-26

Employers are expected to develop and implement a policy that both prevents violence and harassment and responds to it. In unorganised establishments, employers and workers must develop and post a stand-alone policy and agree on its implementation.

In organised workplaces, the relevant provisions must be incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement in coordination with the Sole and Exclusive Bargaining Agent (“SEBA”). These may cover leave credits for victim-survivors, working arrangements, sanctions, whistleblower protection, and support for those experiencing domestic violence.

Existing Committees Take on a Broader Role

Implementation is not HR’s responsibility alone. Employer and employee representatives must jointly implement the policy, including representatives from the rank-and-file and supervisory levels and, where applicable, unions and the SEBA.

Rather than requiring a new structure, DO 259‑26 builds on bodies that most establishments already have. The Occupational Safety and Health (“OSH”) Committee develops and oversees the policy, monitors its implementation, and conducts quarterly compliance audits. The Committee on Decorum and Investigation (“CODI”), or an equivalent mechanism where none exists, handles and resolves complaints under the policy.

 

A Report Should Trigger Protection, Not Retaliation

Once a report is received, the applicable grievance mechanism should be activated. The OSH Committee and CODI should establish a step-by-step procedure for receiving and resolving complaints. The process must protect the anonymity and confidentiality of reporting parties, and the policy must include a non-retaliation provision covering anyone who reports or files a complaint, including on behalf of another employee.

Employers must establish a referral system that gives victim-survivors access to support interventions, including mental health support and reintegration assistance. They may offer additional paid leave or work accommodations.

Unresolved matters, or matters arising in workplaces without an active internal mechanism, may be brought before the Single Entry Approach (“SEnA”), the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (“NCMB”), or the National Labor Relations Commission (“NLRC”).

Training, Monitoring, and Reporting

Information and Training. Workers must be informed of the policy and its reporting procedures during onboarding. Every worker must receive orientation, regardless of rank, status, or employment arrangement. Members of CODI and other relevant committees must likewise receive appropriate training. Training should cover applicable laws, ILO C190, gender sensitivity and gender-fair language, and the establishment’s own policy.

Monitoring and Evaluation. The OSH Committee, together with the Human Resource Management Office (“HRMO”), must monitor and evaluate the policy’s implementation every quarter. Changes to existing policies must be made in cooperation with workers, and confidentiality protocols under the Data Privacy Act must identify the persons authorised to access information relating to each case.

Reporting. Employers must report to DOLE by 30 January each year on the status of their policies and the number of cases filed, pending, and disposed of. The HRMO must maintain these records and make them available upon request to authorised DOLE representatives.

 

Work has moved beyond the office, and violence and harassment have followed it into digital communications, work-related travel, social activities, and even commuting to and from work. For most employers, the task is not to draft a policy from scratch but to assess whether their existing policies respond adequately to a wider definition, a longer list of covered persons, and a workplace that no longer ends at the reception desk.