Legal basis and governing rule
- Republic Act No. 8042 (the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995) provides the governing statutory framework for overseas employment regulation.
- Section 60 of the Rules and Regulations implementing Republic Act No. 8042 requires joint and solidary liability for specified claims.
- The rule under Section 60 expressly requires that the solidary liability provision be incorporated into the overseas employment contract as a condition precedent for approval.
Policy and purpose statement
- The circular implements a contractual requirement to secure enforceable solidary liability between principals/employers and recruitment placement agencies.
- The circular ensures that contracts submitted for overseas employment processing include the solidary liability term mandated by Section 60 of the implementing rules.
Core contractual requirement: solidary liability
- The liability of the principal/employer and the recruitment placement agency must be joint and solidary for any and all claims under the applicable rule (Section 60).
- The joint and solidary liability must be incorporated in the contract for overseas employment.
- The solidary liability contract clause is a condition precedent for approval of the overseas employment contract.
Who must comply and what must be submitted
- Employment contracts to be submitted in support of requests for accreditation of principals must include the required solidary liability provision.
- Employment contracts submitted in support of processing of documents must include the required solidary liability provision.
- The principal/employer and the recruitment placement agency are the contracting parties covered by the joint and solidary liability requirement.
Implementation mechanics and compliance directive
- Contracting parties must ensure that the overseas employment contract submitted to the POEA contains the joint and solidary liability provision.
- The solidary liability clause must be included as a pre-approval requirement for the contract’s approval.
- The POEA requires immediate compliance with the circular’s contractual inclusion rule.
Sanctions, separability, repeal, and deadlines
- The circular contains a directive of immediate compliance but does not provide a specific fine, penalty amount, or enumerated sanction for non-compliance within its own text.
- The circular contains no separability clause, repealing clause, or sunset provision in its own terms.
- The circular does not provide additional deadlines beyond the directive for immediate compliance.