Short answer. Generally no. An employer cannot require workers to make deposits used to cover loss of or damage to employer-supplied tools, materials, or equipment, unless the trade or business is one where this practice is recognized, or the Secretary of Labor and Employment has determined it necessary or desirable by regulation.
What the law says
No employer shall require his worker to make deposits from which deductions shall be made for the reimbursement of loss of or damage to tools, materials, or equipment supplied by the employer, except when the employer is engaged in such trades, occupations or business where the practice of making deductions or requiring deposits is a recognized one, or is necessary or desirable as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate rules and regulations.
Labor Code, Article 114 — Deposits For Loss Or Damage. Read the full provision →
The default is a flat prohibition
This article opens with a blanket rule, not a general guideline: no employer shall require his worker to make deposits from which deductions shall be made for the reimbursement of loss of or damage to tools, materials, or equipment supplied by the employer. A cash bond collected upfront so the employer can later deduct from it for damaged or lost equipment is, by default, not something your employer is allowed to demand from you as a condition of working.
The exception is narrow and specific to certain trades
The article allows deposits only where the employer is "engaged in such trades, occupations or business where the practice of making deductions or requiring deposits is a recognized one." This is not a general business judgment call your employer gets to make on their own — it depends on whether the specific trade or occupation is one where this practice is already recognized as legitimate, not simply convenient for the employer to impose.
Or where the Secretary of Labor has specifically authorized it
The second path to a valid deposit requirement is regulatory: it applies where requiring deposits is "necessary or desirable as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate rules and regulations." That determination has to come from the Secretary of Labor and Employment through actual rules and regulations — it is not something an individual employer can decide is necessary for its own operations and then simply impose.
What to check if you are being asked for a bond
If your employer is asking for a cash bond before you start, the questions this article puts in front of you are narrow but important: is your specific trade or occupation one where deposit-taking is recognized, and is there an actual Secretary of Labor and Employment regulation authorizing it for your situation. Absent one of those two things, the default prohibition is what governs, and a general policy preference on the employer's part is not enough to bring the arrangement within the exception.