Short answer. Yes. A kasambahay must be paid a cash wage, and free food, lodging and medical attendance are given on top of it, never instead of it. The rule now comes from Republic Act No. 10361, the Batas Kasambahay, not from the Labor Code chapter that once governed househelpers.
What the law says
The minimum wage rates prescribed under this Chapter shall be the basic cash wages which shall be paid to the househelpers in addition to lodging, food and medical attendance.
Labor Code, Article 144 — Minimum Cash Wage. Read the full provision →
Where the rule actually comes from today
Article 144 of the Labor Code once said this, and it is still printed in the Code: Minimum cash wage. The minimum wage rates prescribed under this Chapter shall be the basic cash wages which shall be paid to the househelpers in addition to lodging, food and medical attendance. That article is no longer the law. Republic Act No. 10361 (2013), the Batas Kasambahay, expressly repealed the whole Labor Code chapter on the employment of househelpers, and it is that Act which now fixes what a domestic worker is owed. So the answer to the question has not changed, but the source of the answer has. If someone hands you the Labor Code text as the rule, they are working from a repealed provision.
Board and lodging are not the wage
The principle that survives is the important one for a kasambahay: the wage is money. Being fed and housed by the household is not payment. An employer who says the free room and the meals are worth more than the wage, and therefore nothing in cash is due, is not describing a lawful arrangement. Under Republic Act No. 10361 the cash wage and the provision of board, lodging and medical attendance sit side by side as separate obligations. The amount of the minimum cash wage is set under that Act and is adjusted over time, so check the Act and the wage rate in force for your region rather than relying on any figure quoted from the old Code.
What this means in a real household
In practice the disputes are about deductions. A kasambahay is told her wage is being reduced because of the electricity she uses, or the food she eats, or a broken appliance. The starting point is that her wage is hers, and that the Batas Kasambahay governs whether any deduction from it is lawful and on what terms. Do not assume a deduction is valid simply because it was mentioned when she was hired. The same Act, and not the repealed Labor Code chapter, also covers the written employment contract, registration and the benefits a domestic worker is entitled to receive.
If the cash wage is not being paid
Keep whatever record exists: the employment contract, any payslips or notebook of payments, dates and amounts actually handed over, and the period covered. Unpaid wages are a money claim, and a claim is far easier to press when the amount and the period are concrete. Because the governing law is Republic Act No. 10361 rather than the old Labor Code articles, the remedies and the process are the ones that Act provides. This page is general legal information about what the law requires, not advice on a particular household; the outcome of any claim depends on the facts and on what can be proved.