Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 11227)
The official title is 'Handbook for OFWs Act of 2018'.
The Handbook is created to serve as a ready reference for migrant workers to assert their rights and responsibilities and to inform them about maintaining decent employment conditions overseas.
Every land-based and sea-based overseas Filipino worker shall receive the Handbook free of charge.
The Handbook shall be written in English with translations in local languages as may be necessary.
The objectives include empowering OFWs about their rights and responsibilities, complementing worker education programs, providing labor and living condition information in destination countries, informing about benefits and drawbacks of working overseas, and providing reintegration information.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is mandated to do so.
It further amends Section 23(b.1) to mandate the POEA to inform migrant workers of their rights as workers and as human beings, instruct them on asserting these rights, provide mechanisms for redress, develop the Handbook, and implement intensified programs against illegal recruitment.
The POEA, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), and Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) are involved.
The initial funding comes from the POEA's appropriations, with subsequent funding to be included in the General Appropriations Act after the enactment.
It took effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette and in at least one newspaper of general circulation.