Article 10Labor and Agrarian Laws and Social Legislation, p. 10

LABOR LAWS AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION SPECIAL LAWS AND IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

non-governmental

organizations

assisting

migrant

workers, to ensure effective coordination and cooperation

in the provision of legal assistance to migrant workers;

(c)To tap the assistance of reputable law firms, the

Integrated Bar of the Philippines, other bar associations,

and other government legal experts on overseas Filipino

worker laws to complement the government's efforts to

provide legal assistance to our migrant workers; (As

amended by RA No 10022, [March 8, 2010])

(d)To administer the legal assistance fund for migrant

workers established under Section 25 hereof and to

authorize disbursements therefrom in accordance with

the purposes for which the fund was set up; and

(e)To keep and maintain the information system as

provided in Section 20.

The Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers Affairs shall

have authority to hire private lawyers, domestic or foreign,

in order to assist him in the effective discharge of the

above functions.

SECTION 25. Legal Assistance Fund . — There is

hereby established a legal assistance fund for migrant

workers, hereinafter referred to as the Legal Assistance

Fund, in the amount of One hundred million pesos

(P100,000,000.00) to be constituted from the following

sources:

Fifty

million

pesos

(P50,000,000.00)

from

the

Contingency Fund of the President;

Thirty

million

pesos

(P30,000,000.00)

from

the

Presidential Social Fund;

Twenty

million

pesos

(P20,000,000.00)

from

the

Welfare Fund for Overseas Workers established under

Letter of Instruction No. 537, as amended by Presidential

Decree Nos. 1694 and 1809; and

An

amount

appropriated

in

the

annual General

Appropriations Act (GAA) which shall not be less than

Thirty

million

pesos

(P30,000,000.00)

per

year:

Provided, That the balance of the Legal Assistance Fund

(LAF) including the amount appropriated for the year

shall

not

be

less

than

One

hundred

million pesos

(P100,000,000.00): Provided, further, That the Fund shall

be treated as a special fund in the National Treasury and

its balance, including the amount appropriated in the

GAA, which shall form part of the Fund, shall not revert to

the General Fund.

Any balances of existing funds which have been set

aside by the government specifically as legal assistance

or defense fund to help migrant workers shall, upon

effectivity of this Act, be turned over to, and form part of,

the Fund created under this Act. ( As amended by RA No

10022, [March 8, 2010])

SECTION 26. Uses of the Legal Assistance Fund . —

The Legal Assistance Fund created under the preceding

section shall be used exclusively to provide legal services

to migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress in

accordance with the guidelines, criteria and procedures

promulgated in accordance with Section 24(a) hereof. The

expenditures

to

be

charged against the Fund shall

include the fees for the foreign lawyers to be hired by the

Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers Affairs to represent

migrant workers facing charges or in filing cases against

erring or abusive employers abroad, bail bonds to secure

the temporary release of workers under detention, court

fees and charges and other litigation expenses: Provided,

That at the end of every year, the Department of Foreign

Affairs shall include in its report to Congress, as provided

for under Section 33 of this Act, the status of the Legal

Assistance Fund, including the expenditures from the

said fund duly audited by the Commission on Audit

(COA): Provided, further, That the hiring of foreign legal

counsels, when circumstances warrant urgent action,

shall be exempt from the coverage of Republic Act No.

9184 or the Government Procurement Act . (As amended

by RA No 10022, [March 8, 2010])

VI. Country-Team Approach

SECTION 27. Priority Concerns of Philippine Foreign

Service

Posts .

—

The

country-team

approach,

as

enunciated under Executive Order No. 74 , series of 1993,

shall be the mode under which Philippine embassies or

their personnel will operate in the protection of the

Filipino migrant workers as well as in the promotion of

their welfare. The protection of the Filipino migrant

workers and the promotion of their welfare, in particular,

and the protection of the dignity and fundamental rights

and freedoms of the Filipino citizen abroad, in general,

shall be the highest priority concerns of the Secretary of

Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Foreign Service Posts.

SECTION 28. Country-Team Approach . — Under the

country-team approach, all officers, representatives and

personnel of the Philippine government posted abroad

regardless of their mother agencies shall, on a per

country basis, act as one country-team with a mission

under the leadership of the ambassador. In this regard,

the ambassador may recommend to the Secretary of the

Department

of

Foreign Affairs the recall of officers,

representatives

and

personnel

of

the

Philippine

government

posted

abroad

for acts inimical to the

national interest such as, but not limited to, failure to

provide the necessary services to protect the rights of

overseas Filipinos.

Upon

receipt

of

the

recommendation

of

the

ambassador, the Secretary of the Department of Foreign

Affairs shall, in the case of officers, representatives and

personnel

of

other

departments,

endorse

such

recommendation to the department secretary concerned

for

appropriate

action.

Pending

investigation

by

an

appropriate

body

in

the

Philippines,

the

person

recommended for recall may be placed under preventive

suspension by the ambassador.

In

host

countries

where

there

are

Philippine

consulates, such consulates shall also constitute part of

the

country-team

under

the

leadership

of

the

ambassador.

In the implementation of the country-team approach,

visiting

Philippine

delegations shall be provided full

support and information.

VII. Deregulation and Phase-Out

Repealed by Republic Act No. 9422, [April 10, 2007]

SECTION 29. Comprehensive Deregulation Plan on

Recruitment Activities .

SECTION

30. Gradual

Phase-out

of

Regulatory

Functions .

VIII. Professional and Other Highly-Skilled

Filipinos Abroad

SECTION 31. Incentives to Professionals and Other

Highly-Skilled

Filipinos

Abroad . — Pursuant to the

objective

of

encouraging

professionals

and

other

highly-skilled Filipinos abroad especially in the field of

science and technology to participate in, and contribute

to national development, the government shall provide

proper and adequate incentives and programs so as to

secure their services in priority development areas of the

public and private sectors.

IX. Miscellaneous Provisions

SECTION

32. POEA, OWWA and other Boards;

Additional

Memberships.

—

Notwithstanding

any

provision of law to the contrary, the respective Boards of

the POEA and the OWWA shall, in addition to their

present composition, have three (3) members each who

shall come from the women, sea-based and land-based

sectors respectively, to be selected and nominated openly

by

the

general

membership

of

the

sector

being

represented.

© Compiled By RGL

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