In line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to safeguard workers from extreme heat, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has released Labor Advisory No. 20, Series of 2026, outlining guidelines to address and manage heat stress during El Niño.
Signed by Secretary Francis N. Tolentino on October 27, the advisory sets safety protocols for all employers and workers in the private sector and on project sites where employees face actual or expected heat stress due to El Niño conditions.
Employers, through their safety and health teams and in consultation with worker representatives, must conduct and document a Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Control (HIRAC) to address heat stress and El Niño-related workplace risks.
To anticipate heat risks and El Niño impacts, employers must track PAGASA El Niño advisories, heat index data from PAGASA Automatic Weather Stations, iHeatMAP five-day heat index forecast, and hourly heat index forecasts from http://panahon.gov.ph for specific locations.
Employers are required to build heat stress and El Niño contingencies into their Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) programs, HIRAC risk evaluations, emergency response, and business continuity plans. Under RA 11058, DOLE Department Order 252-25, and relevant OSH rules, employers must also ensure that all workplace welfare facilities remain clean, safe, accessible, and well-equipped.
Employers must also safeguard workers by ensuring full SSS coverage, complying with contributions, and tracking all work-related heat illnesses in medical logs and annual medical reports.
Heat index-based guidelines
When the heat index reaches the caution level (27°C–32°C), employers must ensure workers have ready access to safe drinking water, shaded or ventilated break spots, regular hydration reminders, and proper training on heat stress symptoms and first aid.
In the extreme caution range (33°C–41°C heat index), employers must enforce routine rest and hydration breaks, maintain designated cooling zones with active cooling, provide appropriate protective gear, and ensure trained first-aiders with rapid cooling packs are on-site at all times.
At danger levels (42°C–51°C heat index), employers should implement flexible work arrangements to limit heat exposure. At extreme danger levels (52°C and higher), employers must immediately re-evaluate tasks and halt, reschedule, or relocate work if conditions cannot be safely controlled or pose an immediate threat.
DOLE continues to take steps to protect Filipino workers from the health risks, exhaustion, and unsafe working conditions caused by Super El Niño's dangerously high temperatures.(Nino Aclan)