Exclusive right of employees to receive their salary

Dear PAO,

My husband refuses to provide regular financial support to our minor children, even though he has a stable job in a private company, from which he receives regular income. We are no longer living together, but as his wife, is it possible for me to contact his employer and ask them to directly give me part of his salary?

Lian

Dear Lian,

Please be informed that Article 105 of Presidential Decree 442, otherwise known as the «Labor Code of the Philippines,» provides:

«Article 105. Direct payment of wages. Wages shall be paid directly to the workers to whom they are due, except:

»(a) In cases of force majeure rendering such payment impossible or under other special circumstances to be determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate regulations, in which case, the worker may be paid through another person under written authority given by the worker for the purpose; or

"(b) Where the worker has died, in which case, the employer may pay the wages of the deceased worker to the heirs of the latter without the necessity of intestate proceedings. The claimants, if they are all of age, shall execute an affidavit attesting to their relationship to the deceased and the fact that they are his heirs, to the exclusion of all other persons. If any of the heirs is a minor, the affidavit shall be executed on his behalf by his natural guardian or next-of-kin. The affidavit shall be presented to the employer who shall make payment through the Secretary of Labor and Employment or his representative. The representative of the Secretary of Labor and Employment shall act as referee in dividing the amount paid among the heirs. The payment of wages under this Article shall absolve the employer of any further liability with respect to the amount paid." (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)

In line with this, Section 5, Book Three, Rule VIII of the pertinent Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) provides:

«SECTION 5. Direct payment of wages. — Payment of wages shall be made direct to the employee entitled thereto except in the following cases:

»(a) Where the employer is authorized in writing by the employee to pay his wages to a member of his family;

"(b) Where payment