Law Summary
Access to Legal Assistance and Justice
- Guarantee of free legal access regardless of poverty
- Establishment of mechanisms to protect distressed overseas Filipinos, including undocumented workers
Government Support for Skill Development
- Provision of free and accessible skills development programs
- Deployment limited to skilled Filipino workers as soon as practicable
Recognition of Partners in Migrant Worker Welfare
- State partnership with NGOs, trade unions, workers associations, and recruitment agencies
- Cooperation founded on trust and mutual respect
Definition of Overseas Filipino Worker
- Broad definition encompassing those engaged in remunerated activities outside Philippine citizenship
- Includes work on foreign vessels and offshore installations
Deployment Conditions for Overseas Filipino Workers
- Deployment permitted only to countries protecting migrant workers' rights through laws, treaties, or bilateral agreements
- Issuance of deployment permits conditioned on verified guarantees by Philippine foreign posts
- Penalties including dismissal and disqualification for officials violating deployment rules
- Deployment allowed to compliant foreign vessels and international companies
Termination or Ban on Deployment
- POEA may terminate or impose deployment bans upon national interest or public welfare concerns, after consultation with DFA
Definition and Acts Constituting Illegal Recruitment
- Illegal recruitment includes acts by unlicensed persons or agencies and unethical conduct such as charging excessive fees, misrepresentation, substitution of contracts, obstructing inspections, among others
- Special provisions against syndicate or large scale illegal recruitment
- Prohibited acts including predatory loans, compulsory exclusive arrangements, and improper deductions
- Liability extends to principals, agents, corporate officers
- Authorized parties may initiate prosecution
Penalties for Illegal Recruitment and Related Offenses
- Imprisonment from 12 years and 1 day up to 20 years, plus fines from P1M to P2M
- Economic sabotage offenses penalized with life imprisonment and higher fines
- Prohibited acts penalized with imprisonment from 6 years and 1 day to 12 years and fines of P500K to P1M
- Deportation imposed on alien offenders
- Automatic revocation of licenses upon conviction
Jurisdiction Over Money Claims
- Exclusive original jurisdiction of NLRC to resolve employment-related claims within 90 days
- Joint and several liability of principal/employer and recruitment/placement agency
- Incorporation of money claim provisions into employment contracts
- Performance bond guarantees payment of claims
- Remedies for unjust termination and unauthorized salary deductions
- Disqualification of foreign employers with final judgments against them
- Administrative penalties for officials failing to resolve cases timely
Free Legal Assistance for Illegal Recruitment Victims
- Established legal assistance mechanism in POEA anti-illegal recruitment branch
- Coordination with DOJ, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, NGOs, and volunteers
Mandatory Repatriation of Underage Migrant Workers
- Immediate repatriation of workers below age requirement
- Automatic license revocation and substantial fines for responsible agencies
- Full refund of recruitment-related fees to underage workers or guardians
- Additional indemnification for damages
National Reintegration Center for Overseas Filipino Workers (NRCO)
- Created to facilitate reintegration and promote local employment and national development
- DOLE, OWWA, and POEA to develop productive options and training priorities for returnees
Functions of the NRCO
- Livelihood, entrepreneurship, savings and financial literacy programs
- Coordination with stakeholders and international bodies
- Maintenance of an accessible computer-based information system
- Job opportunity assessments
- Promotion of welfare programs
- On-line client registration and communication
- Capacity-building for workers and stakeholders
- Policy research and program development
Operations of Overseas Assistance Centers
- 24/7 operation including holidays
- Staffing by Foreign Service, social workers, psychologists, lawyers, local hires fluent in local laws and language
- Coordination under Labor Attache with embassy officials
Shared Government Information System for Migration
- Multi-agency interagency committee creation for data sharing and linkage
- Inclusion of comprehensive data sets concerning migrant workers and legal cases
- Regular meetings and report submissions to Congress
Powers and Functions of POEA
- Licensing and regulation of private sector recruitment
- Promotion and monitoring of overseas employment with attention to vulnerable sectors
- Pre-Employment Orientation Seminars including topics on illegal recruitment and gender sensitivity
- Recruitment limited to government-to-government arrangements and countries with bilateral agreements
Powers and Functions of OWWA
- Assistance to migrant workers and families in enforcement of contracts
- Welfare program formulation
- Payment of repatriation expenses under guidelines
Regulation of Health Examinations by DOH
- Fee regulation and publication
- Medical examinations required only when hire is certain and job-specific
- Freedom of clinic choice by migrant workers
- Operation of DOH clinics in regions and hospitals
- Compliance to international standards
- Penalties for non-compliant clinics and officials
Role of Local Government Units (LGUs)
- Active dissemination of overseas employment information
- Facilitation of orientation seminars
- Establishment of help desks linked to government databases
Legal Assistance Cooperation
- Utilization of reputable law firms, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and government legal experts
Legal Assistance Fund (LAF)
- Established with P100 million from various government sources
- Fund treated as a special fund, non-reverting
- Consolidation of existing legal assistance funds
Uses of the Legal Assistance Fund
- Exclusive for migrant workers' legal services including litigation costs and foreign lawyers
- Annual report including audited expenditures required
- Exemption from Government Procurement Act for urgent hiring of foreign counsel
Expanded Membership in POEA and OWWA Boards
- Addition of three members each from women, sea-based, and land-based sectors
- Open and democratic nomination and selection processes
- Qualifications and terms defined
- Presidential appointment and reappointment process
- Applicability to other government agencies with OFW representation
Reporting Requirements to Congress
- Semi-annual reporting by DFA and DOLE on implementation including overseas post data
- Administrative penalties for failure to report
Tax Exemptions for Migrant Workers
- Exemption from travel tax and airport fees upon proof
- Exemption from documentary stamp tax on remittances with proof
Compulsory Insurance for Agency-Hired Workers
- Recruitment agencies must secure no-cost insurance covering accidental natural death, permanent disability, repatriation costs, subsistence allowance, and money claims
- Additional benefits including compassionate visits, medical evacuation, and repatriation
- Qualification criteria for insurance providers including ownership restrictions
- Responsibilities and procedures for claims submission and payment
- Penalties for insurance cost passed to workers
- Creation of a foreign employers guarantee fund for government-to-government hires
- Annual assessment of insurance providers and blacklist for non-compliance
- Formulation of implementing rules by DOLE, IC, NLRC, POEA
- Automatic review of insurance provisions after 3 years
Congressional Oversight Committee
- Composition: 5 Senators and 5 Representatives, co-chaired by labor and overseas workers committees
- Functions: oversight of the law's implementation, transparency, budget approval, report submission, legislative recommendations
- Powers: hearings, subpoena, staff organization
- No additional compensation except expenses
- Ten (10) year existence, extendable by joint resolution
Implementation and Funding
- Departments/agencies to adopt rules within 60 days
- Funding included in General Appropriations Act
- Oversight Committee allocated initial P25 million from Senate and House budgets
Separability and Repealing Clauses
- Invalid provisions do not affect the rest of the law
- Repeals inconsistent laws, decrees, orders, regulations
Effectivity
- Law effective 15 days after publication in two newspapers of general circulation