Short answer. This section gives the law its official name: Republic Act No. 8187 is formally titled the "Paternity Leave Act of 1996." It is the statute under which qualified married male employees in the Philippines, in both the private and public sectors, may take a short paid leave when their legitimate spouse gives birth or suffers a miscarriage.
What the law says
This Act shall be known as the "Paternity Leave Act of 1996."
RA 8187, Section 1 — Paternity Leave Act Of 1996. Read the full provision →
The official short title
Section 1 does one narrow but important job: it names the statute. Everywhere else in Philippine law, in court filings, government issuances, collective bargaining agreements and employment policies, Republic Act No. 8187 is referred to by this short title rather than by its number alone, which is why "Paternity Leave Act of 1996" is the phrase most people search for when trying to find this specific employee benefit and confirm which law governs it.
What the law more broadly provides
The Act that this section names goes on, in its later sections, to grant a married male employee a short period of fully paid leave for a limited number of deliveries by his legitimate spouse, provided the spouse is cohabiting with him at the time of delivery. The benefit applies to qualified employees in both the government and private sectors, subject to conditions spelled out in the sections that follow this one, including how the leave must be applied for and used within a defined period after the delivery or miscarriage.
Why the short title is useful to know
Knowing the correct short title matters practically: it is what appears on Department of Labor and Employment issuances, employee handbooks and HR policies that implement the benefit, and it is the term to use when asking an employer's human resources office to confirm coverage or when researching the law's other provisions online or in a law library. Citing the wrong title, or confusing it with a differently named statute, can slow down an otherwise routine leave request or benefits inquiry, so getting the name right from the start saves time for both the employee and whoever processes the claim.
How this section relates to the rest of the Act
The short title in Section 1 does not itself create any leave benefit or entitlement, that comes from the operative sections that follow, including the section defining who qualifies and the section fixing the number of leave days. Section 1 exists so that the Act can be cited consistently, and so that later amendments, implementing rules issued by labor and civil service authorities, or court decisions can all refer back to a single, fixed name rather than a shifting description.
When this section comes up in practice
Employees and employers rarely cite Section 1 directly in a dispute, since it does not set out rights or obligations. It becomes relevant mainly when someone is trying to confirm they are looking at the correct law, or when a document needs to formally identify the statute being invoked, such as in a leave application, a labor complaint or a legal opinion.