Article 7Labor and Agrarian Laws and Social Legislation, p. 7

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

hundred million pesos (P100,000,000.00), inclusive of

outstanding balances.

SECTION 16. Mandatory Repatriation of Underage

Migrant Workers . — Upon discovery or being informed of

the presence of migrant workers whose actual ages fall

below

the

minimum

age

requirement

for

overseas

deployment,

the

responsible

officers

in

the

foreign

service shall without delay repatriate said workers and

advise the Department of Foreign Affairs through the

fastest

means

of

communication

available

of

such

discovery and other relevant information. The license of a

recruitment/manning

agency

which

recruited

or

deployed

an

underage

migrant

worker

shall

be

automatically revoked and shall be imposed a fine of not

less than Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00)

but not more than One million pesos (Php1,000,000.00).

All

fees

pertinent

to

the

processing

of

papers

or

documents in the recruitment or deployment shall be

refunded in full by the responsible recruitment/manning

agency, without need of notice, to the underage migrant

worker or to his parents or guardian. The refund shall be

independent of and in addition to the indemnification for

the damages sustained by the underage migrant worker.

The refund shall be paid within thirty (30) days from the

date of the mandatory repatriation as provided for in this

Act. (As amended by RA No 10022, [March 8, 2010])

SECTION

17.

Establishment

of

National

Reintegration Center for Overseas Filipino Workers. —

A

national

reintegration

center

for

overseas Filipino

workers (NRCO) is hereby created in the Department of

Labor and Employment for returning Filipino migrant

workers

which

shall

provide a mechanism for their

reintegration

into

the

Philippine

society, serve as a

promotion house for their local employment, and tap

their skills and potentials for national development.

The Department of Labor and Employment, the

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and

the

Philippine

Overseas

Employment

Administration

(POEA) shall, within ninety (90) days from the effectivity

of this Act, formulate a program that would motivate

migrant workers to plan for productive options such as

entry

into

highly

technical

jobs

or

undertakings,

livelihood and entrepreneurial development, better wage

employment, and investment of savings.

For this purpose, the Technical Education and Skills

Development

Authority

(TESDA),

the

Technology

Livelihood

Resource

Center

(TLRC),

and

other

government agencies involved in training and livelihood

development shall give priority to returnees who had

been employed as domestic helpers and entertainers. (As

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

SECTION

18.

Functions

of

the

National

Reintegration Center for Overseas Filipino Workers. —

The Center shall provide the following services:

(a) Develop and support programs and projects for

livelihood, entrepreneurship, savings, investments and

financial literacy for returning Filipino migrant workers

and

their

families

in

coordination

with

relevant

stakeholders,

service

providers

and

international

organizations;

(b) Coordinate with appropriate stakeholders, service

providers and relevant international organizations for the

promotion,

development

and

the

full

utilization

of

overseas Filipino worker returnees and their potentials;

(c) Institute, in cooperation with other government

agencies

concerned,

a

computer-based

information

system on returning Filipino migrant workers which shall

be

accessible

to

all

local recruitment agencies and

employers, both public and private;

(d) Provide a periodic study and assessment of job

opportunities for returning Filipino migrant workers;

(e)

Develop

and

implement

other

appropriate

programs to promote the welfare of returning Filipino

migrant workers;

(f)

Maintain

an

internet-based

communication

system

for

on-line

registration

and

interaction

with

clients,

and

maintain

and

upgrade

computer-based

service capabilities of the NRCO;

(g) Develop capacity-building programs for returning

overseas

Filipino

workers

and

their

families,

implementers, service providers, and stakeholders; and

(h) Conduct research for policy recommendations

and program development. (As amended by RA No

10022, [March 8, 2010])

SECTION 19. Establishment of a Migrant Workers

and

Other

Overseas

Filipinos Resource Center . —

Within

the

premises

and

under

the

administrative

jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in countries where

there

are

large

concentrations

of

Filipino

migrant

workers, there shall be established a Migrant Workers and

Other

Overseas

Filipinos

Resource

Center

with

the

following services:

(a)Counselling and legal services;

(b)Welfare assistance including the procurement of

medical and hospitalization services;

(c)Information, advisory and programs to promote

social

integration

such

as

post-arrival

orientation,

settlement

and

community networking services and

activities for social interaction;

(d)Institute

a

scheme

of

registration

of

undocumented

workers

to

bring

them

within

the

purview of this Act. For this purpose, the Center is

enjoined to compel existing undocumented workers to

register with it within six (6) months from the effectivity

of

this

Act,

under

pain

of

having

his/her

passport

cancelled;

(e)Human resource development, such as training

and skills upgrading;

(f)Gender sensitive programs and activities to assist

particular needs of women migrant workers;

(g)Orientation program for returning workers and

other migrants; and

(h)Monitoring of daily situations, circumstances and

activities affecting migrant workers and other overseas

Filipinos.

The establishment and operations of the Center shall

be

a

joint

undertaking

of

the

various

government

agencies. The Center shall be open for twenty-four (24)

hours daily including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays,

and shall be staffed by Foreign Service personnel, service

attaches

or

officers

who

represent

other

Philippine

government agencies abroad and, if available, individual

volunteers and bona fide non-government organizations

from the host countries. In countries categorized as

highly problematic by the Department of Foreign Affairs

and the Department of Labor and Employment and

where

there

is

a

concentration

of

Filipino

migrant

workers, the government must provide a Shari'a or

human rights lawyer, a psychologist and a social worker

for

the

Center.

In

addition to these personnel, the

government must also hire within the receiving country,

in such number as may be needed by the post, public

relation officers or case officers who are conversant, orally

and in writing, with the local language, laws, customs and

practices.

The

Labor

Attache

shall

coordinate

the

operation of the Center and shall keep the Chief of

Mission informed and updated on all matters affecting it.

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

The

Center

shall

have

a

counterpart

24-hour

information and assistance center at the Department of

Foreign Affairs to ensure a continuous network and

coordinative mechanism at the home office.

SECTION

20.

Establishment

of

a

Shared

Government Information System for Migration. — An

interagency committee composed of the Department of

Foreign Affairs and its attached agency, the Commission

on Filipinos Overseas, the Department of Labor and

Employment and its attached concerned agencies, the

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