Amendment to Migrant Workers Welfare Law

Policy and State commitments

The State must continuously uphold the dignity of Filipino citizens whether in the country or overseas, including Filipino migrant workers, while considering national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination paramount in relations with other states (Section 2(a), amending Section 2(a) of Republic Act No. 8042).
The State must continuously monitor international conventions and adopt, signatory to, and ratify those that guarantee protection to migrant workers, and must endeavor to enter into bilateral agreements with countries hosting overseas Filipino workers (Section 2(a)).
Free access to courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance must not be denied due to poverty, and an effective mechanism must ensure that rights and interests of distressed overseas Filipinos and Filipino migrant workers—whether regular/documented or irregular/undocumented—are adequately protected (Section 2(e), amending Section 2(e) of Republic Act No. 8042).
Skills are recognized as the most effective tool for empowerment; the government must provide free and accessible skills development and enhancement programs and, as soon as practicable, deploy and/or allow deployment only of skilled Filipino workers (Section 2(g)).
Non-government organizations, trade unions, workers associations, stakeholders, and similar legitimate entities are recognized as State partners in protecting migrant workers and promoting welfare, and recruitment/manning agencies’ contributions must form part of this partnership (Section 2(h)).

Key definitions and coverage

An “Overseas Filipino worker” means a person to be engaged, engaged, or previously engaged in remunerated activity in a state of which the person is not a citizen, or on board a vessel navigating foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or non-commercial purposes, or on an installation offshore or on the high seas—then declared to be used interchangeably with “migrant worker” (Section 3, amending Section 3(a) of Republic Act No. 8042).
Illegal recruitment is defined for purposes of the Act as acts of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring, or procuring workers, including referring, contract services, promising or advertising for employment abroad whether for profit or not, when undertaken by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority under Article 13(f) of Presidential Decree No. 442 (Labor Code), subject to specific deeming and additional prohibited acts (Section 5, amending Section 6 of Republic Act No. 8042).

Deployment controls and bans

Deployment of overseas Filipino workers is allowed only in countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected (Section 4, amending Section 4 of Republic Act No. 8042).
A receiving country’s guarantee of protection must be recognized through any of the following:
- Existing labor and social laws protecting workers, including migrant workers (Section 4; subparagraph (a));
- Being a signatory to and/or ratifier of multilateral conventions, declarations, or resolutions relating to protection of workers including migrant workers (Section 4; subparagraph (b));
- Concluding a bilateral agreement or arrangement with the government on protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers (Section 4; subparagraph (c)).
Deployment is conditioned on the receiving country taking positive, concrete measures to protect migrant workers’ rights in furtherance of any guarantee under the above subparagraphs (Section 4; proviso).
If there is no clear showing that any of the enumerated guarantees exists in the country of destination, no permit for deployment is issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) (Section 4).
POEA governing board members who actually voted in favor of an order allowing deployment despite absence of the guarantees must suffer penalties of removal or dismissal from service with disqualification to hold any appointive public office for five (5) years (Section 4).
The same penalties apply to the government official or employee responsible for issuing the permit or allowing deployment in violation of the section and in direct contravention of an order by the POEA governing board prohibiting deployment (Section 4).
The Department of Foreign Affairs, through its foreign posts, must issue a certification to the POEA specifying the pertinent provisions of the receiving country’s labor/social law, or the convention/declaration/resolution, or the bilateral agreement/arrangement protecting migrant workers’ rights (Section 4).
Deployment to vessels navigating foreign seas, offshore installations, or on high seas is allowed only if owners/employers are compliant with international laws and standards protecting migrant workers’ rights (Section 4).
Deployment is likewise allowed to companies and contractors with international operations only if compliant with standards and conditions embodied in POEA-prescribed employment contracts and in accordance with internationally-accepted standards (Section 4).
Notwithstanding the above, the POEA governing board—after consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs—may at any time terminate or impose a ban on deployment of migrant workers in pursuit of national interest or when public welfare so requires (Section 5, amending Section 5 of Republic Act No. 8042).

Illegal recruitment definition and liability

Illegal recruitment includes recruitment acts done by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority under the Labor Code, and it includes referring, contract services, promising, or advertising for employment abroad whether for profit or not (Section 5, amending Section 6).
A person who offers or promises fee employment abroad to two or more persons is deemed to be engaged even if the person lacks license or authority (Section 5 proviso).
Illegal recruitment also includes charging or accepting directly or indirectly amounts greater than the schedule of allowable fees prescribed by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, or making a worker pay or acknowledge any amount greater than the loan/advance actually received (Section 5; subparagraph (a)).
False notices/information/documents in relation to recruitment or employment are unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (b)).
Misrepresentation or false notice/testimony/information/documents to secure a license or authority under the Labor Code, or to document hired workers with the POEA, including reprocessing workers through a job order for nonexistent work, work different from actual overseas work, or work with a different employer whether registered or not with the POEA, is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (c)).
Inducing or attempting to induce a worker already employed to quit to offer another is unlawful unless designed to liberate the worker from oppressive terms and conditions of employment (Section 5; subparagraph (d)).
Influencing or attempting to influence any person or entity not to employ a worker who has not applied for employment through the agency, or who formed/ joined/supports or contacted/is supported by a union or workers’ organization is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (e)).
Recruitment or placement into jobs harmful to public health or morality or to the dignity of the Republic of the Philippines is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (f)).
Obstructing or attempting to obstruct inspection by the Secretary of Labor and Employment or authorized representative is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (g)).
Failing to submit required reports on employment status, placement vacancies, remittance of foreign exchange earnings, separation, departures, and other required information is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (h)).
Substituting or altering employment contracts approved and verified by the Department of Labor and Employment from signing up to and including expiration without DOLE approval is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (i)).
A recruitment/placement agency officer/agent becoming an officer or member of the Board of a corporation engaged in a travel agency or being engaged in travel agency management directly or indirectly is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (j)).
Withholding or denying travel documents from applicant workers before departure for monetary/financial considerations or for reasons other than authorized under the Labor Code and implementing rules is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (k)).
Failure to actually deploy a contracted worker without valid reason determined by the Department of Labor and Employment is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (l)).
Failure to reimburse expenses incurred by the worker for documentation and processing for purposes of deployment where deployment does not actually take place without the worker’s fault is unlawful, and illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate or large scale is treated as an offense involving economic sabotage (Section 5; subparagraph (m)).
Allowing a non-Filipino citizen to head or manage a licensed recruitment/manning agency is unlawful (Section 5; subparagraph (n)).
Illegal recruitment is deemed committed by a syndicate when carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another (Section 5).
Illegal recruitment is deemed committed in large scale if committed against three (3) or more persons individually or as a group (Section 5).
Additional prohibited acts include:
- Granting loans to an overseas Filipino worker with interest exceeding 8% per annum for payment of legal and allowable placement fees and making the worker issue postdated checks in relation to the loan (Section 5; prohibited acts (1));
- Imposing compulsory and exclusive arrangement requiring a worker to avail only from specifically designated institutions/persons (Section 5; prohibited acts (2));
- Refusing to condone or renegotiate a loan incurred after the employment contract has been prematurely terminated through no fault of the worker (Section 5; prohibited acts (3));
- Imposing compulsory and exclusive arrangement requiring health examinations only from specifically designated clinics/institutions/entities/persons, except for seafarers whose medical exam cost is shouldered by principal/shipowner (Section 5; prohibited acts (4));
- Imposing compulsory and exclusive arrangement requiring training/seminar/instruction/schooling only from specifically designated institutions/entities/persons, except recommendatory trainings mandated by principals/shipowners where the latter shoulder the cost (Section 5; prohibited acts (5));
- For a suspended recruitment/manning agency to engage in recruitment activity, including processing pending applications (Section 5; prohibited acts (6));
- For a recruitment/manning agency or foreign principal/employer to pass on or deduct from salary the cost of insurance fees/premium/related charges as provided under compulsory worker insurance coverage (Section 5; prohibited acts (7)).
Principals, accomplices, and accessories are criminally liable for these offenses, and in juridical persons, officers with ownership, control, management, or direction, and responsible employees/agents are liable (Section 5).
For filing illegal recruitment and prohibited acts cases, the Secretary of Labor and Employment, POEA Administrator or duly authorized representatives, or any aggrieved person may initiate criminal action with the appropriate office, and affidavits/testimonies of Department of Labor and Employment, POEA, and other law enforcement agency operatives or personnel who witnessed the acts are sufficient to prosecute (Section 5).
Public prosecutors of the Department of Justice must collaborate with the anti-illegal recruitment branch of the POEA, and in certain cases allow POEA lawyers to take the lead in prosecution, and POEA lawyers acting as prosecutors receive additional allowances as determined by the POEA Administrator (Section 5).
Filing a punishable offense under the Act does not prejudice filing cases under other existing laws, rules, or regulations (Section 5).

Criminal penalties and consequences

Illegal recruitment penalties are:
- Imprisonment of not less than twelve (12) years and one (1) day but not more than twenty (20) years, plus a fine of not less than PHP 1,000,000.00 nor more than PHP 2,000,000.00 (Section 6(a), amending Section 7(a) of Republic Act No. 8042).
- Life imprisonment plus a fine of not less than PHP 2,000,000.00 nor more than PHP 5,000,000.00 if illegal recruitment constitutes economic sabotage as defined in the Act (Section 6(b)).
The maximum penalty applies if the illegally recruited person is less than eighteen (18) years of age or if committed by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority (Section 6(b) proviso).
For any prohibited act under the illegal recruitment section, the penalty is imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (1) day but not more than twelve (12) years, plus a fine of not less than PHP 500,000.00 nor more than PHP 1,000,000.00 (Section 6(c)).
If the offender is an alien, deportation is imposed in addition to prescribed penalties without further proceedings (Section 6(c)).
Conviction in every case automatically revokes the license or registration of the recruitment/manning agency, lending institution, training school, or medical clinic (Section 6).

Money claims, jurisdiction, and labor arbitration timelines

Labor Arbiters of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) have original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide within ninety (90) calendar days after filing of the complaint the claims arising out of an employer-employee relationship or by virtue of law or contract involving Filipino workers for overseas deployment, including claims for actual, moral, exemplary, and other forms of damages (Section 7, amending Section 10).
The principal/employer and recruitment/placement agency are jointly and severally liable for all claims under the section, and this must be incorporated in the overseas employment contract as a condition precedent for approval (Section 7).
The performance bond filed by the recruitment/placement agency is answerable for all money claims or damages awarded to the workers (Section 7).
If the recruitment/placement agency is a juridical being, corporate officers and directors and partners are jointly and solidarily liable with the corporation or partnership for the claims and damages (Section 7).
Liability continues throughout the entire period/duration of the employment contract and is not affected by any substitution, amendment, or modification locally or in a foreign country of the contract (Section 7).
Compromise/amicable settlement or voluntary agreement on money claims inclusive of damages must be paid within thirty (30) days from approval by the appropriate authority (Section 7).
If overseas employment is terminated without just, valid, or authorized cause, or if unauthorized deductions are made from the migrant worker’s salary, the worker is entitled to:
- Full reimbursement of placement fee and deductions made, with interest at 12% per annum; and
- Salaries for the unexpired portion of the employment contract or for three (3) months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less (Section 7).
A final and executory judgment against a foreign employer/principal automatically disqualifies it without further proceedings from participating in the Philippine Overseas Employment Program and from recruiting and hiring Filipino workers until the judgment award is fully satisfied (Section 7).
Noncompliance with mandatory resolution periods subjects responsible officials to:
- Withholding of salary if the official fails to render decision/resolution within the prescribed period, or causing the withholding until compliance (Section 7(a));
- Suspension for not more than ninety (90) days (Section 7(b));
- Dismissal with disqualification to hold any appointive public office for five (5) years (Section 7(c)).
These penalties do not prejudice other liability incurred under other existing laws or rules as a consequence of violating the paragraph (Section 7, proviso).

Free legal assistance and victims’ support

A mechanism for free legal assistance for victims of illegal recruitment is established in the anti-illegal recruitment branch of the POEA, including its regional offices, and it must include coordination and cooperation with the Department of Justice, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and other non-governmental organizations and volunteer groups (Section 8, amending Section 13).

Mandatory repatriation of underage workers

When foreign service officers discover or are informed of migrant workers whose actual ages fall below the minimum age requirement for overseas deployment, responsible officers in foreign service must without delay repatriate the workers and advise the Department of Foreign Affairs through the fastest means of communication about the discovery and relevant information (Section 9, amending Section 16).
The license of the recruitment/manning agency that recruited or deployed an underage migrant worker is automatically revoked (Section 9).
A fine of not less than PHP 500,000.00 but not more than PHP 1,000,000.00 is imposed against the recruitment/manning agency (Section 9).
All fees pertinent to processing papers/documents in recruitment or deployment must be refunded in full without need of notice to the underage migrant worker or to parents/guardian (Section 9).
The refund is independent of and in addition to indemnification for damages sustained by the underage migrant worker (Section 9).
The refund must be paid within thirty (30) days from the date of mandatory repatriation (Section 9).

Reintegration center creation and functions

A National Reintegration Center for Overseas Filipino Workers (NRCO) is created in the Department of Labor and Employment for returning Filipino migrant workers, providing reintegration into Philippine society, serving as a promotion house for local employment, and tapping skills and potentials for national development (Section 10, amending Section 17).
Within ninety (90) days from effectivity of the Act, the Department of Labor and Employment, OWWA, and POEA must formulate a program motivating migrant workers to plan productive options such as entry into highly technical jobs or undertakings, livelihood and entrepreneurial development, better wage employment, and investment of savings (Section 10).
Priority must be given to returnees who had been employed as domestic helpers and entertainers in relation to TESDA, TLRC, and other training/livelihood agencies (Section 10).
The NRCO must provide services including livelihood/entrepreneurship/savings/investment/financial literacy programs, coordination with stakeholders and international organizations for development and utilization of returnees’ potentials, and establishment of a computer-based information system accessible to local recruitment agencies and employers (Section 11, amending Section 18).
The NRCO must provide periodic study and assessment of job opportunities, develop and implement welfare programs, maintain an internet-based communication system for online registration and interaction and upgrade computer-based service capabilities, conduct capacity-building, and conduct research for policy recommendations and program development (Section 11).

Shared information system for migration

An interagency committee must implement a shared government information system for migration, composed of named agencies and other concerned government agencies, including (among others) the Department of Foreign Affairs, its attached agency, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the Department of Labor and Employment and attached agencies, Department of Tourism, Department of Justice, Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of the Interior and Local Government, National Telecommunications Commission, Commission on Information and Communications Technology, National Computer Center, National Statistical and Coordination Board, and National Statistics Office (Section 13, amending Section 20).
The committee initially makes available information contained in existing data bases/files to itself, and the second phase involves linking computer facilities for free-flow data exchanges and sharing (Section 13).
The committee is co-chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment; the National Computer Center provides technical assistance and sets ICT standards to facilitate sharing (Section 13).
The committee meets regularly to ensure immediate and full implementation and explores a central storage facility; progress is included in the report to Congress under Section 33 (Section 13).
The committee identifies existing data bases that may be declassified and shared, and shared data bases must initially include masterlists of migrants by occupation/job category, civil status, and destination state including visa classification, inventory of pending legal cases, masterlist of departing/arriving Filipinos, statistical profile, blacklisted foreigners/undesirable aliens, basic data on legal systems and policies in receiving countries, lists of labor and human rights instruments, a tracking system of past and present gender-disaggregated cases including minors, and listing of overseas posts that may render assistance (Section 13).

POEA, OWWA, DOH, LGU duties

POEA must regulate private sector participation in recruitment and overseas placement by setting up licensing and registration, implement and coordinate systems for promoting and monitoring overseas employment considering welfare and domestic manpower requirements, and regulate overseas employment from pre-employment stage including securing best possible terms and conditions, taking into account vulnerable sectors and peculiarities of sea- and land-based workers (Section 14, amending Section 23(b.1)).
POEA must allow lifting of suspension of erring agencies upon payment of PHP 50,000.00 for every month of suspension in appropriate cases (Section 14).
POEA must inform migrant workers of rights as workers and as human beings, instruct how to assert rights, provide available mechanisms to redress violations, and implement intensified programs against illegal recruitment activities with law-enforcement agencies (Section 14).
POEA must provide Comprehensive Pre-Employment Orientation Seminars (PEOS) including prevention of illegal recruitment and gender-sensitivity (Section 14).
POEA must not engage in recruitment and placement except on a government-to-government arrangement only (Section 14).
In recruitment for trained and competent Filipino workers of foreign governments and their instrumentalities and other public interests, POEA must deploy only to countries where the Philippines has concluded bilateral labor agreements or arrangements, and such countries must guarantee protection and observe/comply with international laws and standards for migrant workers (Section 14).
OWWA, through the welfare officer (or coordinating officer), must assist migrant workers and families in enforcement of contractual obligations by agencies/entities and/or principals, and must represent and may convene conferences or conciliation meetings to settle complaints/problems (Section 15, amending Section 23(b.2)).
OWWA must formulate and implement welfare programs while abroad and upon return and ensure awareness of these programs by overseas Filipino workers and families (Section 15).
In repatriation, OWWA is authorized to pay repatriation-related expenses such as fines or penalties subject to guidelines prescribed by the OWWA Board of Trustees (Section 15).
The Department of Health must regulate health examinations required for overseas employment and must ensure that fees are regulated, regularly monitored, duly published, and reasonable and not exorbitant (Section 16(c.1)).
Health examinations must be required only when there is reasonable certainty of hiring/deployment and must be limited to absolutely necessary examinations for the job type or those specifically required by the foreign employer (Section 16(c.2)).
No group of clinics may have monopoly exclusively conducting health examinations on migrant workers for certain receiving countries (Section 16(c.3)).
Every migrant worker must have freedom to choose DOH-accredited or DOH-operated clinics, and the “decking practice” requiring registration then farming out to a different clinic is not allowed (Section 16(c.4)).
Within three (3) years from effectivity, DOH regional/provincial hospitals must establish and operate clinics to serve health examination requirements to lessen transportation and lodging expenses (Section 16(c.5)).
DOH-accredited clinics must observe the same standard operating procedures and comply with internationally accepted standards (Section 16(c.6)).
Any foreign employer that does not honor results of valid health examinations by DOH-accredited/DOH-operated clinics must be temporarily disqualified from participating in the overseas employment program pursuant to POEA rules and regulations (Section 16(c)).
If an overseas Filipino worker is found not medically fit upon immediate arrival in the destination, the medical clinic that conducted the health examination/s must pay for repatriation and the cost of deployment (Section 16(c)).
Any DOH-accredited clinic that violates provisions on health examinations must suffer penalty of revocation of DOH accreditation in addition to other liability (Section 16(c)).
Any government official or employee who violates the health-examination provisions must be removed or dismissed from service with disqualification to hold any appointive public office for five (5) years, without prejudice to other liabilities (Section 16(c)).
LGUs must take a proactive stance against illegal recruitment by primarily disseminating information on overseas employment aspects to constituents, with these specific tasks:
- Provide a venue for PEOS by POEA and other concerned agencies and NGOs on a regular basis (Section 16(d.1));
- Establish overseas Filipino worker help desk or kiosk linked to databases of concerned agencies, particularly POEA for updated overseas job orders and licensed agencies in good standing, and provide current information to constituents (Section 16(d.2)).

Legal assistance fund and uses

A Legal Assistance Fund for migrant workers is established in the amount of PHP 100,000,000.00, constituted from:
- PHP 50,000,000.00 from the Contingency Fund of the President (Section 18);
- PHP 30,000,000.00 from the Presidential Social Fund (Section 18);
- PHP 20,000,000.00 from the Welfare Fund for Overseas Workers established under Letter of Instruction No. 537, as amended by Presidential Decree Nos. 1694 and 1809 (Section 18);
- An appropriation in the annual GAA of not less than PHP 30,000,000.00 per year (Section 18).
The balance of the Legal Assistance Fund including the amount appropriated for the year must not be less than PHP 100,000,000.00 (Section 18).
The Fund must be treated as a special fund in the National Treasury and its balance, including GAA amounts forming part of the Fund, must not revert to the General Fund (Section 18).
Any balances of existing funds set aside specifically as legal assistance or defense fund for migrant workers must be turned over to and become part of the Legal Assistance Fund upon effectivity (Section 18).
The Legal Assistance Fund must be used exclusively to provide legal services to migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress under guidelines, criteria, and procedures promulgated under Section 24(a) (Section 19, amending Section 25).
Eligible expenditures include:
- Fees for foreign lawyers hired by the Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers Affairs to represent migrant workers facing charges or filing cases against erring or abusive employers abroad;
- Bail bonds to secure temporary release of workers under detention;
- Court fees and other litigation expenses (Section 19).
At the end of every year, the Department of Foreign Affairs must include in its report to Congress the Legal Assistance Fund status, including expenditures duly audited by the Commission on Audit (Section 19).
Hiring foreign legal counsels in urgent circumstances is exempt from the coverage of Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement Act) (**