QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 570-A)
P.D. No. 570-A amends certain sections of P.D. No. 442 (the Labor Code), including articles on applicability of rights/benefits, objectives of the State on employment, private employment agencies, boards for overseas employment and seamen, labor relations/jurisdiction, labor standards, and various renumbering/penalty provisions.
Yes. The amended Article 6 provides that all rights and benefits granted to workers under the Code shall apply alike to all workers, whether agricultural or non-agricultural, unless otherwise provided.
The amended Article 12 lists policies such as promoting full employment through manpower training/allocation, protecting citizens seeking local or overseas work with the best terms, facilitating free choice of available employment in the national interest, regulating worker movement, regulating alien employment via registration/work permits, phasing out private fee-charging employment agencies, and ensuring careful selection of Filipinos for overseas employment to protect the Philippines’ good name abroad.
The Department of Labor must phase out the operation of all private fee-charging employment agencies within four (4) years from the effectivity of the Labor Code.
No new application for a license to operate a private fee-charging domestic employment agency shall be entertained upon the effectivity of the Code. Existing licenses remain valid only until their expiration.
After completion of the phaseout, no person or entity may directly or indirectly engage, for profit or any pecuniary or material advantage, in any recruitment or placement activity.
An Overseas Employment Board is created (composition and Executive Director appointment are specified in Article 17), and the Board has power to impose and collect fees from workers and employers, deposited to the Board’s account and used exclusively to promote its objectives (Article 23).
The Executive Director is appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary of Labor. The Executive Director must be a Filipino citizen with sufficient experience in manpower administration, including overseas employment activities.
The National Seamen Board is attached to the Department of Labor for policy/program coordination and includes the Secretary of Labor (Chairman), the Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, and representatives from specified agencies/organizations (e.g., DFA, Maritime Industry Authority, Central Bank, national seafarers organization, and national shipping association).
The individual must register with the Overseas Employment Development Board before filing the application with the embassy of the country of intended destination, and the registration includes information such as name, address, civil status, profession/occupation, and country of destination.
No. No individual or entity may engage in the business of a private fee-charging employment agency without first obtaining a license from the Department of Labor.
No. They are prohibited from engaging in recruitment and placement of workers for overseas employment whether for profit or not.
Violations of provisions of the Labor Code (under the referenced Title) and implementing rules fall within the concurrent jurisdiction of Military Tribunals and regular courts; the court that first assumes jurisdiction excludes the other.
All matters or questions involving employer-employee relations (including money claims arising from the Title) fall under the original and exclusive jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Commission, except cases involving Filipino seamen employed overseas, which fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Seamen Board.
Conviction may result in imprisonment of not less than two (2) years nor more than five (5) years or a fine of not less than P2,000 nor more than P30,000, or both—at the discretion of the court. Additional consequences include bond forfeiture in favor of the proper Board, automatic revocation of license/authority/permits/privileges.