Short answer. Yes, but not under the Labor Code article usually quoted. That article was repealed by Republic Act No. 10361 (2013), the Batas Kasambahay, which now governs domestic employment and provides for the certificate a departing kasambahay is entitled to receive.
What the law says
Upon the severance of the household service relation, the employer shall give the househelper a written statement of the nature and duration of the service and his or her efficiency and conduct as househelper.
Labor Code, Article 151 — Employment Certification For Househelpers. Read the full provision →
The old article, and what happened to it
Article 151 of the Labor Code provided that Upon the severance of the household service relation, the employer shall give the househelper a written statement of the nature and duration of the service and his or her efficiency and conduct as househelper. That article was expressly repealed by Republic Act No. 10361 (2013), the Batas Kasambahay, whose repealing clause struck out the whole Labor Code chapter on the employment of househelpers. The right did not disappear with it — the current Act carries its own provision on the certificate of employment — but the source of the right, and the terms on which it must be given, come from that Act.
What the certificate is for
A certificate of employment is a plain record: who employed her, what the work was, and over what period. It is what the next household will ask for, and it is often the only documentary proof a domestic worker has that the years she worked actually happened. It is not a reference and it is not a character report, and a household that is unhappy about how the engagement ended does not thereby acquire a reason to withhold it. Under Republic Act No. 10361 the entitlement and the period for issuing it are set by the Act, so check its terms.
It cannot be held hostage
The commonest abuse is conditional: the certificate will be issued once she signs a quitclaim, once she gives up a wage claim, or once she agrees not to complain. That trade is not what the law contemplates. The obligation to issue the certificate stands on its own footing and is not payment for something else. The same goes for personal documents and identification belonging to the worker, which are hers. If a certificate is being used as leverage, that is worth recording as part of the wider picture of how the employment was ended.
Asking for one
Ask in writing, keep a copy, and note the date of the request — that single step converts a refusal from a he-said-she-said into a documented one. Keep the employment contract, the registration papers and any record of wages paid, because those support the same period the certificate covers. If the request goes unanswered, the remedy runs through the framework Republic Act No. 10361 provides. This page is general legal information about the entitlement and which law now creates it, not advice on a particular household, and no outcome is promised.